ALCOHOL What you should know

ALCOHOL CAN AFFECT YOUR BODY AND MIND. IS A DANGEROUS DRUG. IS A POISON WHEN TAKEN INTO THE HUMAN BODY. IS ILLEGAL TO USE IF YOU ARE LESS THAN 21 YEARS OF AGE. CAUSES HARM TO THE HUMAN BODY. IS A NAME FOR ETHYL ALCOHOL (ethanol).

THE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN THE BLOOD DEPENDS ON: HOW MUCH ALCOHOL A PERSON DRINKS. HOW FAST A PERSON DRINKS. HOW MUCH THE PERSON WEIGHS. HOW A PERSON FEELS. HOW MUCH FOOD IS IN STOMACH. WHETHER OTHER DRUGS ARE PRESENT.

ALCOHOL

BEER In a 12 ounce serving of beer, there is one ounce of pure alcohol.

WINE In a 5 ounce serving of wine, there is one ounce of pure alcohol.

LIQUOR (WHISKEY, BOURBON, GIN, VODKA, ETC.) In a 1 ½ ounce serving of whiskey, gin, vodka, etc., there is one ounce of pure alcohol.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT? BEER is made from cereal grains. BEER is about 3-6% alcohol by volume. In 12 oz. of BEER, there is approximately one ounce of pure alcohol.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT? WINE is made from fruit (usually grape) juice. WINE contains about 10-14% alcohol by volume. One 5 oz. glass of WINE contains one ounce of pure alcohol.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT? GIN, WHISKEY, BRANDY, AND RUM are made from fermented mixtures (yeast, sugar, water) and cereal grains or fruits. These forms of alcohol contain about 40-50% alcohol by volume. One shot glass serving of these alcohols, contains one ounce of pure alcohol.

WHAT IS BAC? B stands for BLOOD A stands for ALCOHOL C stands for concentration Blood Alcohol Concentration is a measure of the amount of alcohol in a person’ blood.

BAC AND WHAT IT MEANS 0.01-0.02% usually shows little or no impairment. 0.03-0.10% the person might be lightheaded, they lose their inhibitions. 0.10-0.15% vision, hearing, judgment, motor skills are impaired. 0.20% obvious impairment. Greater than 0.5%-----DEATH.

WHAT IS PROOF? Proof refers to the concentration of alcohol in a beverage. PROOF= 2 x the % of alcohol. Example: 90 proof whiskey=45% pure alcohol. The higher the proof, the more concentrated the alcohol, the more intoxicating the beverage is.

ALCOHOL Is a Depressant. It slows down cellular activity. It is the most abused depressant DRUG in the United States today. Is the most commonly used and abused and possibly the most dangerous mood-changing drug.

ALCOHOL Is responsible for more than 25,000 alcohol-related highway deaths. Causes cirrhosis of the liver in people who drink. Is responsible for more than 9 million alcoholics. Causes problems in families.

ALCOHOL SIGNS OF DANGER YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE IN FRIENDS OR FAMILY INCLUDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

PROBLEM DRINKING SIGN #1: Does the person drink alcohol when it is illegal to do so?

PROBLEM DRINKING SIGN #2: Does someone you know drink alcohol in order to feel more comfortable in a social situation?

PROBLEM DRINKING SIGN #3: Does someone you know get into arguments and fights when drinking?

PROBLEM DRINKING SIGN #4: Does someone you know do things when they are drinking that they later regret?

PROBLEM DRINKING SIGN #5: Does someone you know forget what happened when they were drinking?

WHAT CAN A KID DO TO HELP? AA – Alcoholics Anonymous AL-A-Teen – A group for teens who live with or care about someone who has alcohol problems Al-a-Non – A group for people who care about a person with a drinking problem ACOA - A group for Adults who were/are Children of Alcoholics

WHAT IS TOLERANCE? The term TOLERANCE refers to the need to consume larger and larger amounts of a drug (in this case alcohol) in order to experience the desired effects.

ALCOHOL METABOLISM Alcohol is a poison when taken into the human body. In order to get rid of the alcohol, the liver tries to break it down and eliminate if from the body. The liver is only able to break down one ounce of pure alcohol each hour.

CIRRHOSIS This is a disease in which the liver becomes progressively damaged and unable to adequately filter the blood. The end result of cirrhosis is that the person will die. Sometimes cirrhosis also leads to cancer of the liver.

ALCOHOL IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?