Alcohol: Effects on the Body

and Behavior
Sherri Garcia
Full Circle Advertising: A Look at Teen Alcohol Use and
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
CDC’s 2005 Science Ambassador Program
 Overview:
• Definitions
• Statistics on teen drinking
• Short- and long-term effects of
alcohol
• Blood alcohol levels
• Introduction to fetal alcohol syndrome
(FAS)
 “Drinker” Definitions(1)
• Binge drinking: Four or more drinks for
a female and five or more drinks for a
male at one sitting

Click to see data on

binge drinking in your state
 “Drinker” Definitions(2)
• Chronic drinking: Daily or almost
daily alcohol consumption
(60 drinks per month)

Click here to see data

on chronic drinking in your state
 Statistics on Teen Drinking(3)
• Monitoring the Future (MTF) reported
that in 2004, nearly one in five 8th
graders, more than one in three 10th
graders, and nearly one in two 12th
graders had a drink in the
past month.
 Teen Statistics (cont.)(4)
From National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (2003):

• 10.9 million users ages 12-20

• 7.2 million “binge drinkers”

 Short-term Effects(5,6)

• Slower reaction times/reflexes

• Heavy sweating
• Blurry vision
• Nausea and vomiting
• Lowered reasoning ability
 Short-term Effects (cont.)(5,6)
• Poor motor coordination
• Slower heart rate/breathing rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Anxiety/restlessness
• Lower inhibition
 Short-term Effects (cont.)(5,6)
• Mental confusion
• Memory loss
• Coma
• Death from respiratory arrest
 Long-term Effects(5,6)
• Nervous system
• Muscles
• Lungs
• Liver
 Long-term Effects (cont.)(5,6)
• Sexual organs
• Brain
• Heart
• Esophagus/stomach
Studies on Teen Drinking
Studies on Teen Drinking
 Blood Alcohol Level: What’s It All
About?(6)
Blood alcohol level (BAL) depends on:
• Weight
• Amount of food and water in
stomach
• Carbonated alcoholic beverages
• Gender
 Blood Alcohol Level Calculations(7)
BAL = (150/body weight) x (%alcohol/50)
x (ounces consumed) x (0.025)
 Blood Alcohol Level Example
• 175 pound man drinks four 12-ounce
cans of beer with 4% alcohol content
• BAL = (150/175) x (4/50) x (48) x (0.025)
o =.86 x .08 x 48 x .025
o = .08%
 Blood Alcohol Levels: So What?(8)
• BAL = 0.03 to 0.12 (Euphoria)
 Self-confident/daring
 Short attention span
 Poor judgment
 Fine motor skills impaired
 Blood Alcohol Levels(8)
• BAL = 0.09 to 0.25 (Excitement)
 Sleepy
 Memory loss
 Reaction time decreased
 Uncoordinated/loss of balance
 Blurry vision and impaired senses
 Blood Alcohol Levels(8)
• BAL = 0.18 to 0.30 (Confusion)
 Confused/dizzy
 Highly emotional
 Cannot see/slurred speech
 Uncoordinated/sleepy
 May not feel pain as easily
 Blood Alcohol Levels(8)
• BAL = 0.25 to 0.40 (Stupor)
 Can barely move at all
 Cannot respond to stimuli
 Cannot stand or walk
 Vomiting
 Lapse in and out of consciousness
 Blood Alcohol Levels(8)
• BAL = 0.35 to 0.50 (Coma)
 Unconscious
 Reflexes depressed
 Decreased body temperature
 Decreased breathing rate
 Decreased heart rate
 Could die
 Blood Alcohol Levels(8)

• BAL = Greater than 0.50 (Death)

 Breathing stops
 That says it all!
 Driving Limits(6)
• Most states set the legal level of
intoxication at 0.08 to 0.10
Drinking is a Personal Choice but
Who Else is Affected?
• Friends and family
• Strangers
• Unborn babies –
Fetal alcohol syndrome
 What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
• When mother drinks, baby drinks

• Alcohol disrupts brain development

• Your turn to research!

 Looking Back
• Drinking has various definitions
o Binge and Chronic

• Drinking can have short- and long-term

effects
• Slower reaction times
• Memory loss
• Nervous system/liver problems
 Looking Back (cont.)
• Blood alcohol levels are affected by
weight and gender

• Drinking is a personal choice, but it

can affect those around you
 Works Cited
• 1. Understanding Alcohol - Glossary [online]. 2003. [cited 2005 Jul 13].
Available from URL:
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/other/glossary.htm.

• 2. Alcohol Use: Chronic Drinking [online]. 1992. [cited 2005 Jul 13]. Available
from URL: http://www.indicators.ak.org/indicators/alcoholusechronic98F.htm

• 3. Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE. Overall teen use
continues gradual decline; but use of inhalants rises. Ann Arbor (MI): University
of Michigan News and Information Services; December 21, 2004. Table 3. [cited
2005 Jul 7). Available from URL:
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/04data.html#2004data-drugs.

• 4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Overview of

Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Rockville
(MD): Office of Applied Studies; 2004. p. 14. [cited 7 July 2005].
 Works Cited (cont.)
• 5. Short-Term Effects of Alcohol . [cited 2005 July 22]. Available from
URL: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/alcohol/short-term.htm.

• 6. Understanding Alcohol - Information about Alcohol. Teacher’s guide.

[online]. [cited 20 June 2005]. Available from URL:
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/guide/info-
alcohol.htm.

• 7. Neuroscience for Kids - Alcohol. Alcohol [online]. [cited 2005 Jun 20].
Available from URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alco.html.

• 8. HowStuffWorks. How Alcohol Works [online]. [cited 2005 Jun 20].

Available from URL:
http://www.science.howstuffworks.com/alcohol5.htm.