ALCOHOL

Terms
 Alcohol—drug found in certain
beverages that depresses the brain
and nervous system
 Fermentation—process in which
yeast, sugar, and water are combined
to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide
 Proof—measure of the amount of
alcohol in a beverage (double the %
of alcohol in a beverage)
Three Most Common Alcoholic
Beverages
 Beer
 Made by fermenting barley, corn, or rye
 4% alcohol
 Light beer has same alcohol, but fewer calories
 Wine
 Made by fermenting grapes or other fruits
12-14% alcohol
 Wine cooler 1.5-6% alcohol
 Liquor
 Made by distillation—process that uses a fermented mixture
to obtain an alcoholic beverage with a high alcohol content
 Whiskey, bourbon, rye, rum, gin, vodka, tequila, brandy
 40% alcohol (80 proof)
How Alcohol Enters the Body
 Enters bloodstream within minutes
 20% absorbed through walls of the
stomach
 Rest absorbed through the walls of the
intestine
 Moves quickly to bloodstream
 Goes to all the body systems before
being excreted
How Alcohol Leaves the Body
 Kidney eliminates 5% in urine
 Lungs exhale 5%
 Liver breaks down rest
 changes alcohol to harmless waste—
 one drink per hour
 Excess builds up in body and increases
BAC
 Headache
One Drink
 ½ ounce of alcohol equals one drink
 One can of beer
 4-5 ounces of wine
 One mixed drink
 Drinking more than one drink causes
BAC to rise
Short term effects
 Lose coordination and stagger
 Slur speech
 Confusion and disorientation
 Friendly and talkative OR aggressive
and angry
 Reaction time slows
 May think they are fine
 May act totally out of character
More Than One Drink
 Toxin—substance that is poisonous
 Stomach will reject it and vomit
 Takes a long time to be excreted
 No way to speed it up—coffee,
showers, fresh air
 Could still feel “drunk” the next
morning
Alcohol Poisoning
 Violent vomiting
 Extreme sleepiness
 Unconsciousness
 Difficulty breathing
 Dangerously low blood sugar
 Seizures
 Death
BAC

Blood Alcohol
Concentration
Amount of alcohol
in a person’s blood
Factors That Affect BAC
 Amount of alcohol  Feelings
consumed  Amount of food
 Speed at which eaten
alcohol is  Presence of other
consumed drugs in the
 Body weight bloodstream
 Percentage of body  Age
fat  Drinking carbonated
 Gender alcoholic beverages
What Happens as BAC Increases
.02 1 drink/hour Relaxed, increased social confidence, talkative,
thinking/decision making impaired

.05 2 drinks/hour Reasoning/judgment impaired, warm, relaxed,

confident, speech slurred, say things, decreased
muscular coordination and reaction time

.10 5 drinks/hour Reasoning, judgment, self-control, muscular

coordination, and reaction time seriously impaired,
slurred speech, stagger, claim not to be affected

.12 Confused, disorientated, vision blurred, no

coordination/balance, nauseous, vomit

.20 Emotions unpredictable and change rapidly, pass out

.30 Little/no control over mind/body, not awake

.40 Unconscious, breathing/heartbeat slow down, death

.50 Coma or death

DRINKING GAMES
 Binge drinking—
consuming large
amounts of alcohol
in a short amount
of time
 BAC rises to
dangerous levels
rapidly
 Death possible
Why do teens drink?
 Curiosity
 Feel good, reduce stress, relax
 Fit in
 Feel older
Why you shouldn’t drink
 Punishment severe
 Law and school
 Look Stupid
 Changes to the CNS causes people to do
strange things
 Puts your health at risk
 More sexually active
 Drowning, car accidents, suicide
Nervous System
 Depressant—slows the function
 Impairs brain
 Destroys nerve cells
 Blackouts and seizures
 Dementia—general decline
in all areas of
mental functioning
Digestive System
 Increased risk of cancers of the
mouth, esophagus, stomach
 Stimulates secretion of stomach
acids which leads to an ulcer
 Increases risk of developing liver disease
 Liver becomes enlarged with fatty tissue
 Alcoholic hepatitis—liver swells, yellow skin and
eyes, pain, fever
 Cirrhosis—chronic damage, failure and death,
liver transplant
Digestive continued
 Increases risk of developing
pancreatitis
 At risk for developing diabetes mellitus
 Pancreatic cancer
 Malnutrition
 Eat less food
 Eat poorly balanced diet
 Interferes with digestion and absorption of
nutrients
 Can cause anemia
Immune System
 Depresses the function of the immune
system
 Increases risk of respiratory infections
 TB
 Cancers
 Lowers number of infection-fighting
cells
Cardiovascular System
 Increased risk for cardiovascular disease,
high blood pressure, and stroke
 Increase risk of cardiomyopathy—a disease
in which the heart muscles weaken and
enlarge and blood cannot be pumped
effectively
 Blood vessels widen giving false sense of
warmth
Skeletal & Urinary Systems
 Body loses calcium  Increases urine flow
 Osteoporosis  Cause kidney failure
Reproductive System
 Delay first menstrual cycle
 Cause irregular periods
 Affect breast development
 Breast cancer later
 Affect size of testes
 Affect development of muscle mass
 Affect age when voice deepens and
body and facial hair develop
DURING PREGANCY
 Alcohol reaches developing baby through
the bloodstream
 Can cause miscarriage and stillbirth
 Increases risk of bleeding
 Increase risk of premature separation of
the placenta
 Babies shorter and smaller
 Risk of respiratory problems
 Feeding problems infections
 Long-term development problems
 Withdrawal symptoms when born
FAS
 Severe birth
defects
 Eye slits
 Small head
 Retarded physical
and mental grown
 FAS is a leading
cause of mental
retardation
THANK YOU