Alcohol In this powerpoint we will find out why people have drunk alcoholic beverages for thousands of years, and how alcohol affects the brain and nervous system. As you study the powerpoint, look for answers to these questions: 1. Can alcohol improve coordination? 2. Is it wise to eat while drinking? 3. Should a person take a drink when he feels he needs one?

People have made and used alcohol since the beginning of civilization

Wines may have been the first. It was probably discovered by accident when somebody left fruit juice standing too long.

Eventually the rest of the village found out. Then a lot of people began making and drinking wine.

… and to distill beer and wine to make stronger drinks, such as whisky, gin and brandy.

The alcohol we drink is made from fruits or grains. In pure form, it is a colorless, volatile liquid.

Alcohol content in beverages

To understand some of the effects of alcohol, let’s find out more about it and see what it does to the brain and nervous system

… including the brain. There it acts as an anaesthetic, temporarily stopping the action of certain brain cells.

If he drinks as much as a pint of whiskey at one time, he may lapse into a coma.

Drinking much more than a pint of whiskey in a short enough period of time may affect the medulla which can affect the breathing and heartbeat. This may cause death.

One problem with drinking even moderate amounts is that the effect is deceptive. A person may feel he is better coordinated and more alert after a few drinks, when actually he is less coordinated and his judgment is impaired.

A wise drinker will never take a drink when he thinks he needs one. He does not want to become dependent on the effects of alcohol. Perhaps he has known persons who have become alcoholics…….

Some drinkers are wiser than others. They have taken the trouble to learn how much they can safely drink.

A wise drinker eats while he drinks. He knows the food in his stomach slows down the passage of alcohol into the blood stream.

He also knows it is best to stop drinking several hours before trying to drive.

The disease of alcoholism often begins when a drinker “needs a drink” – and takes one. Gradually he needs more and more ……..

He tends to drink instead of eat ………

… and eventually he becomes physically and psychologically addicted to the drug

… and such improper nutrition may cause diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and nerve degeneration.

Alcoholism is a medical and social problem. The alcoholic must want to be helped. He must seek help from medical and social service agencies.

He must learn never again to touch alcoholic beverages. For him, one drink invariably leads to a bout of excessive drinking.

Throughout the world alcoholism causes millions of broken homes. Industry suffers a loss of many millions of dollars a year in absenteeism and lowered efficiency because of excessive use of alcoholic beverages

Today, many different kinds of alcoholic beverages are available. Americans spend over a hundred million dollars on them.

Fortunately, most drinkers do not misuse alcohol. They are aware that it is a drug, and that like all drugs it must be used carefully, and moderately, to avoid disastrous consequences.