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Alcohol and Human Body
Alcohol is absorbed from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract largely by simple diffusion into the blood, however the small intestine is by far the most efficient region of the gastrointestinal tract for alcohol absorption because of its very large surface area.In a fasting individual, it is generally agreed that 20% to 25% of a dose of alcohol is absorbed from the stomach and 75% to 80% is absorbed from the small intestine. Because of this peak blood alcohol concentrations are achieved in fasting people within 0.5 to 2.0 hours, (average 0.75 - 1.35 hours depending upon dose and time of last meal) while non-fasting people exhibit peak alcohol concentrations within 1.0, and in extreme cases up to as much as 6.0 hours (average 1.06 - 2.12 hours).
Alcohol has a high affinity for water and is therefore found in body tissues and fluids inasmuch as they contain water. Absorbed alcohol is rapidly carried throughout the body in the blood and once absorption of alcohol is complete an equilibrium occurs such that blood at all points in the system contains approximately the same concentration of alcohol.
Alcohol And The Brain
Alcohol affects various centers in the brain, both higher and lower order. The centers are not equally affected by the same BAC -- the higher-order centers are more sensitive than the lower-order centers. As the BAC increases, more and more centers of the brain are affected.
- Cerebral Cortex: The cerebral cortex is the highest portion of the brain. The cortex processes information from your senses, does your "thought" processing and consciousness (in combination with a structure called the basal ganglia), initiates most voluntary muscle movements and influences lower-order brain centers. In the cortex, alcohol does the following:
- Depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers - The person becomes more talkative, more self-confident and less socially inhibited.
- Slows down the processing of information from the senses - The person has trouble seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting; also, the threshold for pain is raised.
- Inhibits thought processes - The person does not use good judgement or think clearly.
- These effects get more pronounced as the BAC increases.
- Limbic System: The limbic system consists of areas of the brain called the hippocampus and septal area. The limbic system controls emotions and memory. As alcohol affects this system, the person is subject to exaggerated states of emotion (anger, aggressiveness, withdrawal) and memory loss.
- Cerebellum: The cerebellum coordinates the movement of muscles. The brain impulses that begin muscle movement originate in the motor centers of the cerebral cortex and travel through the medulla and spinal cord to the muscles. As the nerve signals pass through the medulla, they are influenced by nerve impulses from the cerebellum. The cerebellum controls fine movements. For example, you can normally touch your finger to your nose in one smooth motion with your eyes closed; if your cerebellum were not functioning, the motion would be extremely shaky or jerky. As alcohol affects the cerebellum, muscle movements become uncoordinated. In addition to coordinating voluntary muscle movements, the cerebellum also coordinates the fine muscle movements involved in maintaining your balance. So, as alcohol affects the cerebellum, a person loses his or her balance frequently. At this stage, this person might be described as "falling down drunk."
- Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland: The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that controls and influences many automatic functions of the brain through actions on the medulla, and coordinates many chemical or endocrine functions (secretions of sex, thyroid and growth hormones) through chemical and nerve impulse actions on the pituitary gland. Alcohol has two noticeable effects on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which influence: and
- Sexual Behavior: Alcohol depresses the nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance. As BAC increases, sexual behavior increases, but sexual performance declines.
- Urine Excretion: Alcohol inhibits the pituitary secretion of anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), which acts on the kidney to reabsorb water. Alcohol acts on the hypothalamus/pituitary to reduce the circulating levels of ADH. When ADH levels drop, the kidneys do not reabsorb as much water; consequently, the kidneys produce more urine.
- Medulla: The medulla, or brain stem, controls or influences all of the bodily functions that you do not have to think about, like breathing, heart rate, temperature and consciousness. As alcohol starts to influence upper centers in the medulla, such as the reticular formation, a person will start to feel sleepy and may eventually become unconscious as BAC increases. If the BAC gets high enough to influence the breathing, heart rate and temperature centers, a person will breathe slowly or stop breathing altogether, and both blood pressure and body temperature will fall. These conditions can be fatal.
In addition to the brain, alcohol can affect other body tissues. It has the following effects on other systems in the body:
- Irritates the linings of the stomach and intestine - This can lead to vomiting.
- Increases blood flow to the stomach and intestines - This increases secretions by these organs, most notably stomach acid secretion.
- Increases blood flow to the skin - This causes a person to sweat and look flushed. The sweating causes body heat to be lost, and the person's body temperature may actually fall below normal.
- Reduces blood flow to muscles - This can lead to muscle aches, most notably when a person recovers from the alcohol (the "hangover").
All of alcohol's effects continue until the ingested alcohol is eliminated by the body.
95% of ingested alcohol is metabolised by the liver through the oxidation of alcohol to acetaldehyde then to acetic acid and finally to carbon dioxide and water The remainder is eliminated through the excretion of alcohol in breath, urine, sweat, feces, breast milk and saliva.
Healthy people eliminate alcohol at a fairly consistent rate. As a rule of thumb, a person will eliminate between 7ml and 12ml of alcohol from their body per hour, with an average of about 9.5ml/hr.
The ability of the body to eliminate alcohol is affected by several factors, with most relating to the water content and fat content of the individual's body:
- Weight: In general, the less you weigh the more you will be affected by a given amount of alcohol. Alcohol has a high affinity for water and one's blood alcohol concentration is a function of the total amount of alcohol in one's system divided by total body water. In two individuals with similar body compositions and different weights, the larger individual will achieve lower alcohol concentrations than the smaller one if ingesting the same amount of alcohol.
- Level Of Fitness: For people of the same weight, a well muscled individual will be less affected by the same volume of alcohol than someone with a higher percentage of fat. Fatty tissue does not contain very much water and will not absorb very much alcohol, hence more alcohol makes its way into the bloodstream.
- Gender: Generally women tend to have a higher percentage of body fat, and thus a lower percentage of body water, and if a man and a woman of the same weight ingest the same amount of alcohol the woman will tend to achieve a higher alcohol concentration. This, of course, would not be true if the woman was very fit and the man was somewhat obese, but on average, this is the case. The differences in alcohol concentration due to average body composition differences based on gender would be between 16% and 10% depending on age
- Age: Total body water also tends to decrease with age, so an older person will be more affected by the same amount of alcohol. Blood alcohol concentrations may be up to 10% higher in a 60 year old individual compared to a 30 year old individual where their body compositions are similar.
- Exercise: Strenuous exercise increases the body's metabolic rate on the one hand, while associated increases in breathing rates and air volumes increase the flow of alcohol across the lung membranes, caused the alcohol to be expelled through breathing at a greater rate. In one study the blood alcohol content of subjects before and after running up a flight of stairs decreased 11-14% after one trip, and 22-25% after two such trips. In another study, a 15% decrease in blood alcohol was reported in subjects following vigorous exercise or hyperventilation.
- Tolerance: Tolerance is the diminution of the effectiveness of a drug after a period of prolonged or heavy use of that drug or a related drug (cross-tolerance). There are two types of tolerance at work with alcohol. The first is metabolic tolerance in which the alcohol is metabolized at a higher rate (up to 72% more quickly) in chronic users. Because of the higher metabolic rate for alcohol lower peak blood alcohol concentrations are achieved by chronic alcohol users than the average drinker when the same amount of alcohol is ingested. The second is functional tolerance in which there is an actual change in the organ or system's sensitivity to the drug. Studies have shown that chronic alcohol users can have twice the tolerance for alcohol as an average person. It is important to note however that even in light of these tolerance factors, it has been shown conclusively that even in heavy alcohol users functional impairment is clearly measurable at the blood alcohol concentration levels that are currently used for traffic law enforcement and safety sensitive job performance.
Other factors that effect elimination rates are:
- Alcohol Concentration: It's not how many drinks that you have, but how much alcohol that consume. The concentration of the drinks that one ingest can have a slight effect on the peak alcohol concentration due to the differences in absorption rate of different concentrations of alcohol. Alcohol is most rapidly absorbed when the concentration of the drink is between 10% and 30%. Below 10% the concentration gradient in the gastrointestinal tract is low and slows absorption and the added volumes of liquid involved slow gastric emptying. On the other hand concentrations higher than 30% tend to irritate the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract and the pyloric sphincter, causing increased secretion of mucous and delayed gastric emptying.
- Food: Food taken along with alcohol results in a lower, delayed blood alcohol concentration peak (the point of greatest intoxication). There are two major factors involved in this phenomenon. First, because alcohol is absorbed most efficiently in the small intestine, the ingestion of food can slow down the absorption of alcohol into one's system. The pyloric valve at the bottom of the stomach will close in order to hold food in the stomach for digestion and thus keep the alcohol from reaching the small intestine. While alcohol will be absorbed from the stomach it is a slower and less efficient transition. Second and equally important is the fact that alcohol elimination rates are inversely proportional to alcohol concentration in the blood. Therefore the suppressed levels of alcohol due to food ingestion cause the body to eliminate the alcohol that is absorbed at a faster rate. The type of food ingested (carbohydrate, fat, protein) has not been shown to have a measurable influence on this affect but the larger the meal and closer in time between eating and drinking, the greater the diminution of peak alcohol concentration. Studies have shown reductions in peak alcohol concentration (as opposed to those of a fasting individual under otherwise similar circumstances) of 9% to 23%.
The Effects of Alcohol on the Body
Alcohol acts primarily on the nerve cells within the brain by interfering with communication between nerve cells and all other cells, suppressing the activities of excitatory nerve pathways and increasing the activities of inhibitory nerve pathways.
Alcohol enhances the effects of inhibitory neurotransmitters like GABA, and weakens the effects of excitatory neurotransmitters like Glutamine. Enhancing an inhibitor, or weakening an excitor, will have the external effect of making the person sluggish, which matches the behavior you see in a drunk person, and slowing down the overall functioning and reflex responses of the body.
The body responds to alcohol in stages, which correspond to an increase in BAC:
| BAC (%) | Stage |
Clinical Symptoms |
| 0.01 - 0.05 |
Subclinical |
Behavior basically normal by ordinary observation. |
| 0.03 - 0.12 | Euphoria | Mild euphoria, sociability, talkativeness, increased self-confidence; decreased inhibitions. Diminution of attention, judgment and control. Beginning of sensory-motor impairment. Loss of efficiency in finer performance tests. |
| 0.09 - 0.25 | Excitement | Emotional instability; loss of critical judgment. Impairment of perception, memory and comprehension. Decreased sensitory response; increased reaction time. Reduced visual acuity; peripheral vision and glare recovery. Sensory-motor incoordination; impaired balance. Drowsiness. |
| 0.18 - 0.30 |
Confusion | Disorientation, mental confusion; dizziness. Exaggerated emotional states. Disturbances of vision and of perception of color, form, motion and dimensions. Increased pain threshold. Increased muscular incoordination; staggering gait; slurred speech. Apathy, lethargy. |
| 0.25 - 0.40 | Stupor | General inertia; approaching loss of motor functions. Markedly decreased response to stimuli. Marked muscular incoordination; inability to stand or walk. Vomiting; incontinence. Impaired consciousness; sleep or stupor. |
| 0.35 - 0.50 | Coma | Complete unconsciousness. Depressed or abolished reflexes. Subnormal body temperature. Incontinence. Impairment of circulation and respiration. Possible death. |
| 0.45 | Death |
Death from respiratory arrest. |
Source : rupissed.com
The effects of alcohol on driving
- Slows brain functions so that you can’t respond to situations, make decisions or react quickly.
- Reduces your ability to judge how fast you are moving or your distance from other cars, people or objects.
- Gives you false confidence - you may take greater risks because you think your driving is better than it really is.
- Makes it harder to do more than one thing – while you concentrate on steering, you could miss seeing traffic lights, cars entering from side streets or pedestrians.
- Affects your sense of balance - very important if you ride a motorcycle.
- Makes you sleepy.
- Measuring your BAC is impossible without an Australian Standards Approved Breath Testing Device.
- Estimating your BAC is possible, but difficult and often inaccurate because:
-
- The alcohol concentration of the drink may vary from 2.5% (e.g. light beer), 5% (e.g. full-strength beer) to over 40% (e.g. vodka, whisky).
- Beer may be served in schooners, middies and schmiddies. Wine glasses may vary in size from 100 to 280 ml.
- In many situations drinks are ‘topped up’, so it's impossible to know how many standard drinks you’ve had.
- Many drinks come in non-standard sizes.
| People are different | |
| Size and weight | A smaller person will have an even higher BAC from the same amount of alcohol. |
| Liver function | An unhealthy liver will process alcohol slower than a healthy liver. |
| Gender | A woman the same height and weight as a man, drinking the same amount, will have a higher BAC. |
| Recent consumption of food |
Lack of food in your stomach means you will absorb alcohol in to your blood even faster. |
| Fitness, fatique and general health condition | Your BAC can be higher if you are not felling well, you are tired, stressed or unfit. |
- Plan ahead and arrange alternative transport.
- Share a taxi with friends.
- Catch public transport.
- Stay overnight at a friend’s place.
- Ride with a driver who hasn’t been drinking or taking drugs.
- Arrange for a friend or relative to give you a lift.
What is a Standard Drink?
In Australia a 'Standard Drink' is one that contains 10 grams of alcohol. Other countries have different measures which can range from 13.5 grams in Canada to 8 grams in the UK.
Regardless of variations between countries, the way the numbers roll out means that a 10g standard drink should be used for calculations in countries where a legal BAC limit of 0.05% applies.
Most beverages are labeled with their percent alcohol by volume (ie; 5%), so to calculate how many standard drinks a particular beverage serving represents you find out how much alcohol is in the drink, multiply by 0.79 (the density of alcohol and needed to convert a volumetric percentage to grams), and then calculate how many standard drinks that represents.
Examples Of 'Standard Drink' Calculations
A 285ml glass of 4.9% (heavy) alcohol beer = 285 x 0.049 x 0.79 = 11.03g alcohol
11.03g / 10g = 1.10 standard drinks.
A 345ml bottle of 2.7% (mid strength) alcohol beer = 345 x 0.027 x 0.79 = 7.36g alcohol
7.36g / 10g = 0.74 standard drinks.
A 180ml glass of 12% alcohol wine = 180 x 0.12 x 0.79 = 17.06g alcohol
17.06g / 10g = 1.71 standard drinks.
A full nip (30ml) of 37% alcohol bourbon = 30 x 0.37 x 0.79 = 8.77g alcohol
8.77g / 10g = 0.88 standard drinks.
Alcohol Consumption In Terms Of 'Standard Drinks'
The general rule of thumb is that 2 "Standard Drinks" in the first hour will raise your BAC to 0.05%, and one "Standard Drink" per hour thereafter will maintain that level.
To do a quick calculation of whether you are over 0.05% BAC simply take the number of hours since your first drink and add 1 to it. This is the number of "Standard Drinks" that you could safely have in that period. Then calculate the number of "Standard Drinks" that you actually had, and compare the 2 results.
Examples:
1. You have been drinking for 3 hours and have had 7 stubbies of light beer in that time.
3 (hours) + 1 = 4 standard drinks "allowed" during that time
7 (stubbies) x 0.74 (standard drink equivalents) = 5.18 standard drinks
Whoops. Too many!.
2. You have been drinking for 2 hours and have had 3 bourbons in that time.
2 (hours) + 1 = 3 standard drinks "allowed" during that time
3 (bourbons) x 0.88 (standard drink equivalents) = 2.64 standard drinks
Close! If you drink your next one slowly you should still be OK, but probably best to stop now.
BAC will vary according to gender, weight, level of fitness and age, but this quick and ready calculation can help you avoid the mistake of having "one more for the road" when you shouldn't. It's also handy next morning.
3. It's 8am, you really tied one on last night, but if you don't go down to the shop and get some more Coke now, you will die. You started drinking with the boys at 8pm and you must have had 15 vodkas before they poured you into the taxi at 1am. So let's do the numbers.
12 (hours) + 1 = 13 standard drinks "allowed" during that time
15 (vodkas) x 0.88 (standard drink equivalents) = 13.2 standard drinks
Guess what? You'd better ride your bike to the shop - you're probably still around 0.05.
Source : rupissed.com
Effects of Alcohol On Your Employees
Health effects of alcohol
How alcohol affects the human body and behaviour of Your Employees
Alcohol is a depressant drug—not a stimulant as many people believe.
Depressants slow down activity in the central nervous system, including the brain. They affect concentration and coordination, and slow the response time to unexpected situations.
After drinking small quantities of alcohol, people may feel more relaxed and confident and, because they may have lowered inhibitions, they may act in a more extroverted and less cautious manner.
If consumed in large quantities, depressants, including alcohol, can cause unconsciousness or death due to the slowing effects on the central nervous system.
How alcohol is absorbed in the body
Alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the stomach and the small intestine. That's why the effects of an alcoholic drink may be felt very quickly. Food in the stomach slows down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed, but it does not prevent intoxication or drunkenness.
All alcohol consumed will reach the bloodstream and cause a rise in the blood alcohol concentration (BAC), no matter how much food is in the stomach.
How alcohol leaves the body
Reducing the BAC (sobering up) takes time. Alcohol is processed by the liver at a fixed rate, getting rid of about one standard drink per hour. The liver breaks down about 91 per cent of alcohol, and a small amount leaves the body in urine, sweat and breath.
Cold showers, exercise, black coffee, fresh air or vomiting will not speed up the "sobering up" process.
Someone who drinks a lot of alcohol at night may still have a high concentration of alcohol in their bloodstream the following day.
Common after effects of an episode of heavy drinking are hangovers, headaches, nausea, tiredness, shakiness and vomiting. These can last well into the following day.
Immediate effects of alcohol
After one or two alcoholic drinks, most people will feel more relaxed. They may not notice it, but they will have slower reflexes and reduced coordination and concentration.
After a few more drinks, most people will show fewer inhibitions, more confidence, reduced coordination, slurred speech, intense moods—for example, sad, happy, angry.
After still more drinks people could experience confusion, blurred vision, poor muscle control.
More still ... Nausea, vomiting, sleep
Even more … Possibly coma or death
The effects of any drug (including alcohol) vary from person to person, depending on many factors, such as how much and how quickly the alcohol is consumed and whether it is consumed with other drugs.
The effects also depend on whether the person is used to drinking, their mood and many other factors such as age, weight, sex and general health status.
Short-term harm from alcohol
The risk of accidental death or injury is higher when people drink at levels that are considered risky or high risk for short-term harm. This is because when people drink at these levels they are more likely to take risks and put themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
The 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: First Results found that about one-third of persons aged 14 years and over had put themselves at risk of alcohol-related harm in the short-term on at least one occasion in the previous 12 months.
"Binge" drinking
A "binge" occurs when people drink alcohol with the intention of becoming intoxicated.
Binge drinking is harmful because it results in immediate and severe intoxication. As well as health risks, this can lead people to take risks and put themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
Common after effects of binge-drinking episodes are headaches, tiredness, nausea, shakiness and vomiting. Binge drinking may be the cause of absences from work and decreased performance at work due to these effects.
Long-term harm from alcohol
Heavy consumption of alcohol over a long period of time can cause damage to many parts of the body. Impairment of brain and liver functions can be permanent. If the person's diet is also poor, this can further affect their health. Emotional difficulties, such as depression and relationship problems, are also likely.
The 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: First Results, found that 10 per cent of the population consumed alcohol in a way that is considered risky or high risk to health in the long term.
Persons in the 20 to 29-year age group were more likely to have consumed alcohol in a way that put them at risk for long-term (chronic) alcohol-related harm, and this group was the least likely to abstain from alcohol.
Alcohol tolerance
People who drink heavily usually develop a tolerance to alcohol. This means that they need to drink more to experience the same effect. As a result, some people can drink large amounts of alcohol without appearing to be intoxicated. However, the amount of alcohol consumed can still damage their health.
Alcohol dependence
People who regularly drink heavily may become dependent on alcohol. There are degrees of dependence, from mild dependency to compulsive drinking (often referred to as "alcoholism"). Dependence can be psychological or physical, or both.
People who are psychologically dependent on alcohol find that drinking becomes far more important than other activities in their life. People who are physically dependent upon alcohol find that their body is used to functioning with alcohol present.
Alcohol withdrawal
If a person who is physically dependent on alcohol suddenly stops drinking they will experience withdrawal symptoms because their body has to readjust to functioning without alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, confusion, tremors and sweating. In severe cases, alcohol withdrawal may cause convulsions, cramps, vomiting, delusions, hallucinations and even death.
A dependent person considering withdrawing from alcohol should first consult a doctor, who can advise on appropriate treatment options.
Health effects for women
Research has shown that alcohol affects women differently from men. For example, if a man and a woman drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will almost always have a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
A woman's body contains more fatty tissue and less water than a man's body and women are often smaller than men. As a result, the alcohol will be more concentrated in a woman's body, producing a higher BAC.
General health problems
Women may develop liver damage and other health problems at lower levels of alcohol consumption than men.
Women who drink alcohol are more likely to develop breast cancer and gynaecological problems than women who don't drink.
Hormonal differences
Some research suggests that a woman's reaction to alcohol may vary at different stages of her menstrual cycle, due to differences in hormone levels. Women who take the contraceptive pill may take longer to get rid of alcohol in their bodies than women not on the pill.
Pregnancy
Alcohol consumed during pregnancy crosses the placenta to the foetus. It can cause problems in pregnancy, such as bleeding, miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
It is not known whether there is any safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Nor is there any certainty about whether any particular stage of pregnancy is more vulnerable to the effects of drinking than others.
The World Health Organization suggests that there is no safe level of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and that the safest approach for pregnant women is not to consume any alcohol at all.
Women wanting to become pregnant should limit their alcohol consumption to infrequent, small amounts.
Babies born of women who are heavily dependent on alcohol can suffer alcohol withdrawal symptoms after birth. These symptoms can include tremors, irritability, fits and bloated abdomen.
For a copy of the Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) booklet, "Alcohol, other drugs and pregnancy", telephone the ADF on 1300 85 85 84 or email DrugInfo.
Breast feeding
While the effects of consuming alcohol by breast feeding mothers are unclear, it is known that alcohol is excreted into breast milk. Alcohol use can also reduce the milk supply.
It may be that having only one drink occasionally is safe, but in general it is better to avoid consumption of alcohol as much as possible.
During the first 12 months of the baby's life, the developing brain may be damaged by alcohol.
See a doctor or other health professional if you are taking or planning to take any substances such as alcohol, prescribed and over-the-counter medications while pregnant or breastfeeding.
For all these reasons, health authorities recommend that women should drink less alcohol than men.
Health effects for men
Generally speaking, Australian men tend to drink alcohol more often and more heavily than Australian women. Of course there are individual men who drink lightly or not at all and women who drink at harmful levels.
Based on recent surveys, it has been conservatively estimated that:
12 per cent of Australian males drink alcohol every day, compared to 5.8 per cent of females
31 per cent of males drink at least once a month at levels placing them at risk of short-term harm (such as injury) from drinking
10 per cent of males are at risk of long-term health problems due to their alcohol consumption
males aged 20 to 25 years are the most likely group to have consumed alcohol at risky or high risk levels for short term harm in the last week.
It has been calculated that 4 per cent of male deaths are alcohol-related, with the main causes of such deaths being alcoholic liver cirrhosis, road injury, stroke, suicide and alcohol dependence.
Health effects for young people
Many young adults do not drink alcohol at risky levels. However, if you are a young adult (aged 18 to 25 years), you are in the age group that is most likely to experience alcohol-related harm.
Young adults have the highest alcohol consumption in Australia and are the age group at highest risk of alcohol-related injury including road trauma, violence, unwanted sexual activity, falls, overdose related to a low tolerance to alcohol, accidental death (including drowning), and suicide.
Young people tend to experience many of the immediate effects of alcohol more strongly than adults and there is evidence that the earlier that a young person starts to drink alcohol, the greater the risk of alcohol-related problems in later life.
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines (Guideline 9) recommends that young people, aged about 18-25 years:
are especially urged not to drink beyond the low-risk levels
should not drink at all for at least several hours before undertaking potentially hazardous activities (for example, driving, swimming, boating)
should not mix alcohol with other mood altering drugs.
Risk taking behaviours
It is generally accepted that because young people are more likely to drink a large amount of alcohol in a short space of time they are more likely to experience the dangers associated with alcohol abuse. These include driving under the influence of alcohol, accidental injuries, violent behaviour and risky sexual behaviour.
While comprising 9.4 per cent of the driving population in Victoria, 28 per cent of drink drivers killed in crashes are typically in the 21 to 25-year age group.
Effects on brain function
However, there is another danger associated with young people drinking that has not received very much attention and relates to the developmental problems caused by alcohol. As a result of the changes in brain function that occur during adolescence, alcohol affects adolescents differently from the way it affects adults. Heavy exposure to alcohol during early adolescence may have a negative effect on healthy brain development. This can have long-term health and social consequences. (Drug Info)
Alcohol and other drugs
Combining alcohol with any other drug (including over-the-counter or prescribed medications) can be unpleasant and dangerous. The effects of one drug may be greatly increased by the other.
Like alcohol, benzodiazepines (minor tranquilisers), heroin and cannabis are also depressant drugs. Because of the effects on the central nervous system, it is particularly dangerous to combine alcohol with other depressant drugs, as this can cause the central nervous system to switch off brain and heart activity.
Seek medical advice about the effects of combining alcohol with any prescribed and over-the-counter medications.
Possible health benefits of alcohol
Research shows that moderate amounts of alcohol can reduce the risk of developing some types of cardiovascular disease. Death rates from coronary heart disease have been shown to be lower among middle-aged males who consume small to moderate amounts of alcohol than among non-drinkers.
The effect of alcohol in protecting against heart disease has shown to be relevant only for people over about 40 years. There is no evidence to suggest that it is relevant for younger age groups.
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health has found that Australian women who drink in moderation have a higher level of education, exercise more often and have more acceptable weight than teetotalers.
It is important to remember that the risk of liver cirrhosis, some cancers and other diseases increases with increased alcohol consumption.
