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What is it?
Alcohol
Different chemical forms of alcohol are used for different purposes.
All forms of alcohol can be deadly but ethyl alcohol, often called ethanol, is the only type that you can drink.
Rubbing alcohol is usually made from isopropyl alcohol, which can be deadly to someone who drinks even a little bit. Methyl alcohol is in paint remover, antifreeze, and canned fuels. It can cause difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, blindness, and death.
Ethyl Alcohol
Ethyl alcohol is made from the fermentation of fruits, grains, or vegetables.
As you may have learned in Biology, fermentation converts the sugars in food into alcohol.
While ethyl alcohol is present in beverages, drinking too much can cause both short-term and long-term problems. It is important to learn about the effects of alcohol so you can make wise decisions.
How Much?
Responsible Drinking
Responsible drinkers obey the law regarding alcohol and limit their frequency and quantity of alcoholic drinks.
But responsible drinking means more than just limiting yourself to a certain number of drinks. It also means not getting drunk and not letting alcohol control your life or your relationships (Source: MedlinePlus).
How Much is Safe?
The amount of alcohol a person can safely consume depends on many factors. These include:
- Body type: larger individuals can safely consume more alcohol than smaller individuals.
- Gender: generally males can safely consume more than females.
- Number of drinks consumed: the fewer drinks consumed, the safer you are.
- Speed of drinking: a person who is drinking faster consumes more alcohol over time than one drinking slower.
- Food in system: the more food a person has eaten, the longer it takes alcohol to get in the bloodstream and cause intoxication.
Alcohol Content
When determining responsible amounts of alcohol to drink, the important factor is the alcohol content of the drink.
Beer, wine, and liquor contain different amounts of alcohol. Beer contains about 3-10 percent ethanol, wine contains 8 -14 percent ethanol and hard liquor contains 40 percent and higher ethanol.
The more concentrated a form of alcohol is, the less you can drink safely. If a person drinks 8 ounces of liquor, they are ingesting four to ten times the amount of ethanol as someone drinking 8 ounces of beer.
Blood Alcohol Content
The amount of alcohol that is in a person’s body at any time is known as their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or Blood Alcohol Level (BAL). The more alcohol in your body, the more dangerous effects it has on the body.
Depending on the amount consumed, beer, wine, and hard liquor can all provide a dangerous level of alcohol that can lead to intoxication or alcohol poisoning. But it takes a much lower volume of liquor than beer to cause intoxication and alcohol poisoning. This is why alcohol consumption is measured by BAC and by the number of drinks consumed.
Many people show the effects of alcohol after one drink, while others can drink 3-4 drinks before beginning to show the effects of the alcohol. This is known as tolerance and has no effect on a person’s BAC.
An individual’s BAC can be calculated using their gender, weight, and the number of drinks consumed in an hour. Use this BAL table from Notre Dame University to see how different numbers of drinks could affect you.
Comparison
Look at this side-by-side comparison of the amount of alcohol in different types of drinks. Note that there are fewer ounces of liquid in one drink of liquor than there are in one drink of beer.
Dangerous Levels
The greatest danger is the amount of ethanol ingested.
Beer, wine, and hard liquor can all provide a dangerous level of alcohol that can lead to intoxication or alcohol poisoning. But it takes a much lower amount of liquor than beer to cause intoxication and alcohol poisoning.
Read the label on a container of alcohol to find out the percentage of alcohol in the product.
It is also important to understand the danger of alcohol to young children. What can seem like a small amount of alcohol can be very dangerous to a young child. If a child drinks alcohol, the poison control center can help determine the necessary steps to avoid danger to the child.
Alcohol Effects
Behavior Effects
Alcohol has numerous short-term effects, many related to how a person behaves. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and decreases the ability to think clearly, so people often do things they would not do if they were not drunk.
Alcohol makes you more likely to participate in risky sexual activity. This puts you at greater risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy.
Alcohol can also cause people to be violent. Many children and adults become victims of abuse when someone drinks and becomes violent. Victims and families can be helped if the violence is reported to a trusted adult such as a police officer, counselor, health care provider, or teacher.
People consuming too much alcohol increase their risk of injury. This happens because they begin to behave in ways they would not normally. They are not capable of thinking clearly. Their likelihood of becoming a victim of physical or sexual violence increases.
Physical Effects
There are also short-term physical effects of consuming alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and drinking too much leads to intoxication.
Intoxication is an abnormal state caused by putting poisons, such as alcohol and other drugs, in your body. Intoxication slows central nervous system functions. This makes people lose physical and mental control.
Alcohol and drugs cause difficulty walking, talking, and thinking. These difficulties make it hard to make good choices.
People can pass out when they consume too much alcohol. Someone who is passed out cannot remove themselves from a dangerous situation or defend themselves from an attacker.
Alcohol increases the risk of injury, drowning, wrecks, homicide, and suicide.
Drinking too much often causes a hangover. Symptoms of a hangover include nausea, vomiting, a dry mouth, and severe headaches. A loss of fluids and electrolytes after drinking contributes to hangover symptoms.
Alcohol blocks hormones, causing the body to lose fluid through urination. The more you drink, the more you urinate, and the more dehydrated you become. Dehydration means you are low on water in your body. When you urinate, you lose water and electrolytes along with the water.
Alcohol also irritates the stomach and intestines, which can lead to nausea and vomiting.
Alcohol Poisoning
Drinking large amounts of alcohol, commonly called binge drinking, over a short period of time can cause alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning can cause vomiting, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, seizures, low blood sugar, and death.
Binge drinking is generally considered drinking five or more drinks in a row for males and four or more drinks in a row for females.
Inexperienced, curious young people who do not understand the dangers of binge drinking are at increased risk of alcohol poisoning. Because it takes time to absorb alcohol, blood alcohol can continue to rise even after a person passes out. As blood alcohol continues to increase, involuntary responses like breathing decrease. People can die because their blood alcohol levels are so high they stop breathing. People sometimes vomit and choke on their vomit. The vomit can block the airway and cause a person to die because they cannot get oxygen.
Long-Term Effects
If you choose to use alcohol, you are more likely to have illnesses such as alcoholism, liver disease, brain damage, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.
Babies born to women who drink during pregnancy are often born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a permanent condition that causes brain damage and problems with learning and growth.
Alcoholism, or addiction to alcohol, often destroys families and careers and traumatizes those in relationships with the alcoholic.
Underage Drinking
Legal Age
It is against the law for anyone under 21 to drink alcohol.
Alabama law prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from consuming, possessing, purchasing or transporting any type of alcohol. The fine is not less than $25.00 nor more than $100.00 and/or imprisoned in a Youth Detention Facility for more than 30 days although a first offense is usually granted probation and sentenced to do community service.
It is also illegal to use or attempt to use a fake driver’s license to obtain or attempt to obtain any kind of alcohol. Violators will be issued a fine ranging from $50 to $500 and face up to 3 months in jail. In addition, the Department of Public Safety will suspend the person’s driver’s license for 3 to 6 months and charge a reinstatement fee of $275.
Under the Alabama Open House Party Law, adults will be punished for allowing minors to consume alcohol on their property. The law penalizes adults who:
- allow a party to continue while knowing that minors were consuming alcohol on their property,
- allow a person under the age of 21 to possess alcohol on their property,
- or fail to take reasonable action to prevent illegal possession or consumption of alcohol on their property.
Drinking and Driving: First Offense
Alabama prohibits anyone from driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or more, or .04% or more if the licensee is driving a commercial vehicle, and it’s unlawful for drivers who are under 21 years old to operate a vehicle with a BAC of .02% or more. This means that if you are intoxicated and sitting in a vehicle with your keys in your pocket you can still get a DUI.
A first-time violation of Alabama DUI laws can mean jail time of up to a year, but there is no mandatory minimum sentence. Most do not get jail time for a first offense, although you are taken to jail until you are sober. You will be fined of up to $2,000 as well as a 90-day license suspension. It will cost you up to $275 to get your license back. DUI traffic school will also be mandated should you be convicted of the violation (you have to pay for this). If you are involved in an accident you will have to place an interlock device on your vehicle for 1-2 years. This is a device that you must blow into for your car to start. If it detects ANY alcohol on your breath, the car will not start. The device has a rental fee and has to be read monthly, which also comes with a fee.
Drinking and Driving: Repeat Offenses
A second Alabama DUI may incur jail time of up to one year, as well, in addition to a mandatory minimum of five days in jail, or a minimum of thirty days of community service. Fines for a second-time Alabama DUI range from that of $1,100 to $5,100 as well as license suspension for an entire calendar year.
A third Alabama DUI offense is comprised of jail-time from 60 days to a year, with 60 days being the mandatory minimum amount time you will serve in jail. Fines range from $2,100 to $10,000 as well as incur a license suspension of three years.
A fourth DUI is a Class C felony. In such a case, you go to prison in the state penitentiary from 1 year to 10 years, with a year and a day being the mandatory minimum amount you will go to prison. The fines for such an offense range from $4,100 to as much as $10,100. In addition, offenders must complete a state-certified chemical dependency program, as well as have their license suspended for five years.
Emotional and Social Risks of Underage Drinking
If you participate in underage drinking, your physical, emotional, social, and financial health is at risk.
Alcohol makes you more likely to participate in risky sexual activity. This puts you at greater risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy.
STIs and pregnancies can have devastating physical and emotional consequences.
Alcohol increases the risk of injury, drowning, wrecks, homicide, and suicide.
Alcohol can cause problems with relationships at home and at school. Drinking often causes people to withdraw from family, friends, school, and work, resulting in academic and financial difficulties. People who begin drinking early are more likely to become alcoholics.
Legal and Financial Risks of Underage Drinking
Alcohol can cause legal and financial problems. Alcohol costs a lot of money.
Legal issues can result in fines, bail costs, and court fees. Driving under the influence can result in injury or death to the driver, passengers, or others on the road. Legal fees and damage to property or people while under the influence can be very expensive.
Addiction
As an adolescent, it is important to think about addiction from two perspectives: preventing yourself from becoming addicted and responding to addiction in people around you.
Every alcoholic’s journey begins with the first drink. No one begins drinking with the goal of becoming addicted, but many people find themselves battling alcohol addiction.
Addiction can happen to anyone from any background. Making wise choices every day regarding alcohol can help you avoid addiction. Saying “no” is the safest way to avoid addiction.
Families of Addicts
When a person becomes addicted, their families can suffer serious consequences.
The families of addicts tend to have high levels of stress. Family members are often embarrassed and deny or cover up the problem.
It is important to acknowledge the problem and seek help.
While help is available, it can be difficult for someone who is addicted to see a need for change and seek help.
Help Organizations
Someone seeking help with addiction can begin by talking with their doctor.
Some of the most well-known organizations that help with addiction include:
Alcoholics Anonymous: Alcoholics Anonymous provides lifelong support for those recovering from alcohol addiction. It was started by two men who discovered that meeting to share their struggle helped them stay sober. Their story is told in the award winning movie “My Name is Bill W.”
Al-Anon: Al-Anon provides support to families of alcoholics, helping them cope with the effects of addiction.
Alateen: Alateen helps teens growing up in families affected by alcohol addiction.
Withdrawals
In addition to groups that offer support to stay sober, medical supervision is important. Alcohol is a drug and like with many other drugs, when you stop using the drug, your body can go through physical symptoms known as withdrawal.
Withdrawal can cause unpleasant and dangerous symptoms, such as hallucinations and seizures, and should be managed carefully. This is why many people check into an alcohol and drug rehab center. These centers not only help the patient to get off alcohol physically, but also help the person understand the underlying reasons that they have problem with alcohol.
Coordination of physical and emotional care and family relationships through recovery is essential.
Wise Decisions
What Factors?
What are the factors that influence your decision about alcohol? How do your personal values and beliefs impact your decisions about using alcohol?
It is natural to be curious about the world and how it works. If you made a chart of reasons to drink and reasons not to drink, what would it look like?
For most teens, peer pressure, curiosity, and feeling older would be high on the list of reasons to drink. Some teens drink to avoid thinking about things or to relax in social situations.
Legal Age
The first guideline for healthy alcohol use is obeying the law. Making the decision to delay drinking until it is legal can take a lot of pressure off a teen. It can also help avoid many dangerous situations.
Frequency and Amount
Another guideline is to limit the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed. Drinking little to no alcohol is a decision that decreases the risk of injury, addiction, and victimization.
Behavior
If you do make the choice to drink alcohol, then you should also make these choices:
- Never drive if you have been drinking
- Never ride with a driver who has been drinking or is impaired by drugs.
- Stay with a group of friends you trust. Do not get separated from trustworthy friends.
- Do not drink from an open punch bowl or from a beverage you left unsupervised.
- Do not drink from a bottle or can unless you open it or see a bartender open it. Unfortunately, drugs that make people unable to remember or defend themselves can be put into drinks, resulting in victimization.
Pregnancy and Alcohol
According to the CDC, the way to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is for a pregnant woman to refrain from drinking any alcohol. There is no known safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed at any time during pregnancy.
More Information
More information about alcohol abuse is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Alcohol and Public Health.
Resources are also available from the United States Department of Health and Human Services: SAMSHA National Helpline and FAQ.
More information about coping with a parent who has a problem with drugs or alcohol is available from TeensHealth: Coping When a Parent Has an Alcohol or Drug Problem.