ALCOHOL ALCOHOL COMA, LIVER DAMAGE, BRAIN DAMAGE

By the end of the lesson I: Objectives By the end of the lesson I: Know that alcohol is a legal for anyone over 18 in UK Know that alcohol can cause serious health problems for some users Know that alcohol is a recreational drug Know that alcohol causes many more problems in our society than illegal drugs such as heroine and cocaine because it is so widely used

What does this mean to you? Starter What does this mean to you?

What is alcohol? Alcohol is a family of related substances, but most commonly refers to ethanol – the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks. Alcohol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, where it starts to have an effect on the CNS. The effects of alcohol vary from person to person and with factors such as: rate of consumption level of food/water intake age and gender body weight/body fat.

Does the amount you drink matter? About 40% of admissions to hospital A&E wards are related to alcohol consumption, rising to 70% between midnight and 5am at weekends. Why does alcohol increase the risk of accident or injury? Alcohol slows down reaction times, gives a false sense of confidence and affects a person’s decision-making ability. Photo credit: © 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation At high levels, alcohol causes vomiting, unconsciousness and can even cause breathing to stop and lead to death.

Why would this be a problem? I know alcohol is a legal, recreational drug causing serious health issues Task One Alcohol is a recreational drug that slows down the nervous system and therefore slows your reaction time. Why would this be a problem? Too much alcohol leads to a loss of self control, lose consciousness or fall into a coma. The use of alcohol over a long period of time will lead to liver damage (called cirrhosis of the liver) and brain damage.

Alcohol also makes blood vessels dilate, leading to heat loss. Short-term effects Small amounts of alcohol cause a person to feel relaxed and less inhibited. It can therefore appear to stimulate people. However, further consumption has a depressant effect, making reactions uncoordinated and impairing speech. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes more urine to be produced than normal. This can lead to dehydration, which contributes to a hangover! Photo credit: Melodi T Alcohol also makes blood vessels dilate, leading to heat loss.

Is there much difference? I know alcohol is a legal, recreational drug causing serious health issues Task One Your liver removes all the poisons you put in your body. It takes them out of your blood, breaks them down and sends the off to be excreted. If you drink too much alcohol, your liver cannot cope with the amount of poisons. Is there much difference?

Teacher notes This ordering activity could be used as a plenary or revision exercise on the short-term effects of alcohol on the body. Mini-whiteboards could be used to make this a whole-class exercise.

You may want to use question 2 and 3 to help construct your answer I Know alcohol causes many problems in society because it is so widely used. TASK TWO Use the relevant pages in your textbook to write an explanation paragraph on ‘What is the problem with drug abuse?’ Include issues with legal/illegal drugs, smoking, alcohol and harder drugs. You may want to use question 2 and 3 to help construct your answer

plenary

By the end of the lesson I: Objectives By the end of the lesson I: Know that alcohol is a legal for anyone over 18 in UK Know that alcohol can cause serious health problems for some users Know that alcohol is a recreational Know that alcohol causes many more problems in our society than illegal drugs such as heroine and cocaine because it is so widely used