1. Chapter 21
Alcohol

2. The Health Risks of Alcohol Use
Lesson 1
The Health Risks of Alcohol Use

3. Alcohol What do alcohol advertisements show? Alcohol is…..
Addictive, physically damaging, often an entry into other drug use
What is in alcohol?
Ethanol
The type of alcohol in alcoholic beverages
Can affect brain development in teen years if used
Fermentation
The chemical action of yeast on sugars
Water, flavoring, and minerals are mixed with ethanol to make beer, wine, and flavored malt-liquor drinks
Alcohol can also be processed to make liquors such as vodka or whiskey

4. Short-Term Effects of Alcohol
Alcohol is a Depressant
A drug that slows the central nervous system
Using alcohol slows reaction time, impairs vision, diminishes judgment
Intoxication
The state in which the body is poisoned by alcohol or another substance, and the person’s physical and mental control is significantly reduced
Alcohol stays in a person’s system until the liver can metabolize it, or break it down

5. Short-Term Effects of Alcohol cont.

6. Factors that Influence Alcohol’s Effects
Body size
A smaller person feels the effect of the same amount of alcohol faster than a larger person does
Gender
Alcohol generally moves into the bloodstream faster in females than males
Food
Food in the stomach slows down the passage of alcohol into the bloodstream
Rate of Intake
If a person drinks alcohol faster than the liver can break it down, the person becomes intoxicated
Amount
As the amount of alcohol consumed increases, the level of alcohol in the bloodstream rises
Medicine
Alcohol can interfere with the effects of medicines, and medicines can heighten the effects of alcohol

7. Alcohol and Drug Interactions
The body may absorb the drug or alcohol more slowly, increasing the length of time that alcohol or the drug is in the body
Alcohol use can decrease the effectiveness of some medications, and increase the effectiveness of others
Enzymes in the body can change some medications into chemicals that can damage the liver or other organs

8. Long-Term Effects of Alcohol
Physical, Mental/Emotional, and Social
Physically:
Damage to brain cells and a reduction in brain size
Increase in blood pressure, which may lead to a heart attack or stroke
Build up of fat cells in the liver, which can lead to cell death
Damage to the digestive lining of the stomach causing ulcers and cancer of the stomach
Destruction of the pancreas

9. More Long-Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse

10. Binge Drinking and Alcohol Poisoning
Drinking five or more alcohol drinks at one sitting
Impairs a drinker’s physical mental and physical abilities
Choosing to drink large amounts of alcohol in one session can be fatal
It can lead to:
Alcohol Poisoning
A severe and potentially fatal physical reaction to an alcohol overdose
Alcohol acts as a depressant on body organs
Involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex that prevents choking may be impaired
Alcohol is a stomach irritant

11. Effects of Alcohol Poisoning
When someone drinks too much they may pass out
Is it good to let someone “sleep it off”?
What happens when in the body when someone is unconscious from drinking too much?
Symptoms for alcohol poisoning
Mental confusion/stupor
Coma and an inability to be roused
Vomiting and seizures
Slow respiration
Irregular heart beat
Hypothermia or low body temperature
*****Call 911 immediately if someone is experiencing any of these symptoms