Focus on Alcohol Warm-Up 1. What is alcohol? 2. Why do teens drink alcohol? 3. What can you do to prevent your friends from drinking too much?

 Alcohol – is a drug found in certain beverages that depresses the central nervous system  Depressant – drug that slows the central nervous system  Fermentation – process by which yeast, sugar, and water are combined to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide  Distillation – process that uses a fermented mixture to obtain a beverage with high alcoholic content  Proof – is a measure of the amount of alcohol in a beverage

 Alcohol enters the bloodstream within minutes  Approximately 20% of the alcohol consumed is absorbed through the walls of the stomach  The rest (about 80%) is absorbed through the walls of the intestines  Small amounts of alcohol are excreted in urine, perspiration, and breath  The vast majority of alcohol is filtered by the liver and turned into waste

 Factors that Influence B.A.C.  Amount of alcohol consumed  Number of drinks  Speed at which alcohol is consumed  Time spent drinking  Body weight  Larger person has higher volume of blood  Percentage of body fat  Fat does not absorb as much alcohol as lean tissue  Larger people will have higher B.A.C. than leaner person  Gender  Females carry more body fat  Certain hormones make females more sensitive to alcohol than males  Males have more stomach enzymes to break down alcohol

 Feelings  Certain feelings such as anger, fear, and stress can speed the absorption process  Amount of food eaten  Is the stomach empty or full  Presence of other drugs in the bloodstream  Drugs (O.T.C, prescription, illegal) can increase the effects of alcohol (synergistic effect)  Drinking carbonated alcoholic beverages  Carbonation causes the absorption process to speed up  Age  Elderly are more sensitive to alcohol due to lower blood volume

.02 (about one drink in an hour)  Relaxed feeling  Increased social confidence  Talkative  Thinking and decision making is impaired .05 (about two drinks in an hour)  Reasoning and judgment impaired  Outwardly noticeable  Warm, relaxed, confident  Slurred speech  Say or do things out of the norm (may not realize they are doing this)  Decrease in muscular coordination and reaction time

.10 (about 5 drinks in an hour)  Reasoning, judgment, self-control, muscular coordination, and reaction time are all seriously impaired  Can no longer make responsible decisions  Slurred speech and staggered walk  Unpredictable emotions  Considered legally drunk in most states .12  Become confused and disoriented  Vision is blurred  Lose control, coordination, and balance  Become nauseous and may vomit

.20  Emotionally unpredictable (rapid changes)  May pass out .30  Little or no control over mind and body  Most can not stay awake at this point .40  Most likely to become unconscious  Breathing and heart rate slow  Possible death .50  May enter deep coma or die

 Nervous System  Destroys nerve cells  Can cause blackouts and seizures  Drinking heavy amounts can cause dementia (general decline in all areas of mental functioning)

 Digestive System  Increased risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach  Stimulates the release of stomach acid which could cause ulcers (open sore on the skin or a mucous membrane)  Increased risk of liver disease  Stage 1 – liver becomes enlarged with fatty tissue  Stage 2 – development of alcoholic hepatitis (yellowing skin, abdominal pain, fever); can cause serious illness or death  Stage 3 – cirrhosis (disease of the liver caused by chronic damage to liver cells); causes liver failure and death; liver transplant is the only effective treatment  Increased risk of pancreatitis (increases risk of diabetes) and pancreatic cancer  Malnutrition – heavy drinkers usually do not consume enough food or a well balanced diet; also interferes with absorption of nutrients

 Immune System  Depresses the function of the system; Increased risk of certain cancers, tuberculosis, and certain illnesses; Lowers the number of infection-fighting cells in the body over time  Cardiovascular System  Higher risk of CV disease, high blood pressure, and stroke; Increased risk of cardiomyopathy (disease where the heart muscles weaken and enlarge and blood does not pump effectively); causes blood vessels to widen (increased risk of hyopthermia)

 Skeletal System  Causes loss of calcium; increased risk of osteoporosis  Urinary System  Increases urine flow; can lead to kidney failure  Reproductive System  Females – delay first menstrual cycle and cause irregular periods; affect breast development; higher risk of developing breast cancer  Males – affect the size of the testes and development of muscle mass; affects age when voice deepens and how much facial/body hair one has  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 

 Is a disease in which there is a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol  Stage 1  Use alcohol as an escape from reality  Tolerance builds  Stage 2  Need to drink becomes greater (i.e. – start earlier in the day)  Drinking is more noticeable by others  Often try to stop but can not; person is more concerned/embarrassed by their problem  Physical symptoms increase – hangovers, blackouts, stomach issues

 Stage 3  the drinker often starts to experience more serious drinking problems as well as alcohol-related employment, relationship, financial, and legal problems  starts to neglect most things of importance, even necessities such as food, water, personal hygiene, shelter, and personal interaction  Stage 4  characterized by a chronic loss of control  Often unsuccessful in maintaining a job, family, friends  need to drink in order to function on a daily basis  benders are typical - alcoholic frequently gets helplessly drunk and may remain in this predicament for a number of days or weeks. The unattainable goal for the drinker while engaging in his or her bender is to experience the "high" that he or she once experienced 