Long Term Effects

Long Term Long term effects can include: vitamin deficiencies, stomach and skin problems, loss of appetite, permanent damage to the liver and brain

Brain Damage Long term drinking leads to major brain damage Leads to a decrease in brain size Moderate drinking destroys brain cells Losses of intellectual capabilities such as memory and problem solving skills

Chronic Liver Problems Alcohol interferes with the liver’s ability to breakdown fats Fatty Liver – excessive buildup of fat on the liver which keeps the liver from functioning properly, as well as, keeping new liver cells from growing Found in both moderate and heavy drinkers One must stop drinking to get rid of fatty liver

Cirrhosis Caused by prolonged heavy use of alcohol Scar tissue replaces old, worn out, liver tissue leading to certain death A liver transplant is needed to correct this problem Hepatitis can also be caused by the toxic effects of alcohol

Tolerance and Withdrawal Tolerance – necessity for one to drink more and more to get the ideal effect A person may start by drinking 1 or 2 drinks per day, as time goes on, the result may be 12 per day to get the same effect as before Withdrawal – not being able to function because the body does not have alcohol Jumpiness, sleeplessness, sweating, sever tremors, convulsions and hallucinations

Alcohol and Pregnancy FAS – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – Condition where a fetus has been adversely affected mentally and physically by its mother’s heavy alcohol use during pregnancy FAS babies may have the following problems: low birth weight, impaired speech, cleft palate, slow body growth, poor attention span, and hyperactivity to name a few

FAS Facts FAS is 100% preventable Each year, some 5,000 FAS babies are born in this country