Alcohol
 Alcohol comes from the fermenting of sugars found
in fruits, vegetables, and grains
 The ethanol (alcohol) itself is what causes all of the
symptoms on the next slide, especially decreased
brain activity
Alcohol
 A DRUG that is produced by a chemical reaction (fermentation) in
fruits, vegetables, and grains.
 Depressant-slows down the functions of the brain and central
nervous system
 Altered speech
 slurred speech




Hazy thinking
Slowed reaction time
Dulled hearing
Impaired vision
 Blurry vision
 Weakened Muscles
 Foggy memory
 black outs
 Decreases activity in the brain
http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/alcohol/ebook
/pages/central-nervous-system.htm
What would you do?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuFIyYKsmos
Indiana Lifeline Law
 http://www.indianalifeline.org/index.html (video)
 Indiana’s Lifeline Law grants immunity to intoxicated
minors who seek medical attention for a friend but the law
doesn’t protect everyone involved.
 The law only provides minors immunity for crimes such as:
public intoxication, possession, consumption, and
transportation of alcohol.
 Any other offense greater than those such as: providing
alcohol to a minor, operating while intoxicated, or
possessing a controlled substance (illegal drugs or
prescription medicines) is not covered by the Lifeline Law.
Indiana Lifeline Law
 Minors get immunity after they’ve shown that
they’re acting in good faith by cooperating with
police and by staying at the scene until help arrives.
 The law does not cover the person receiving
treatment or who needs medical attention. It only
covers the person helping to seek medical attention.
 This is because Indiana does not support binge drinking
and its consequences; they also do not want to
encourage binge drinking
 “Make the call. Get help. Save a life.”
What is a “drink?”
 .5-/.6 oz of pure alcohol=1 drink
 Typically that is equivalent to:
 12 ounces of beer
 5 ounces of wine
 3 ounces of fortified wine
1.5 ounces of hard liquor,
generally a shot (not pictured)
Or drink on the rocks
5 ounces of cider
What is a “drink?”
 So what if a person had a margarita that had 3 ounces of
tequila in it?
=
 Remember that 1.5 ounces of hard liquor is technically 1 drink
 Even though they ordered and had 1 beverage, they actually
had 2 servings (2 “drinks”) of alcohol
How Alcohol Enters the Body
 20% is absorbed in the
stomach
 80% is absorbed in the
small intestine
 The alcohol then enters
the bloodstream
 The alcohol reaches the
brain within 30 seconds
of consumption
20%
80%
Blood Alcohol Concentration
 BAC-the amount of alcohol in a person’s
bloodstream
 BAC is expressed as the percentage of the total
amount of blood in the body that is alcohol
 At a BAC of .02 percent, most people will begin to
feel lightheaded
 At a BAC of .08 the person is considered legally
intoxicated (DWI)
 A BAC of .3 is considered deadly
Alcohol Effects Depend On…
 Body Size/Age-smaller people are affected more quickly
than larger people
 Gender-females are affected more quickly than males
 Medicine-alcohol mixed with medicine or other drugs can
be deadly! Alcohol can make the effects of other drugs
stronger
 Food-Food in the stomach slows down alcohol absorption
 General Health-Someone who is tired and sick will be
affected more quickly
 Amount drank/Time frame-drinking a lot and doing so
quickly will overwork the liver and cause intoxication
How Alcohol Exits the Body
 The liver breaks down about 95% of the alcohol consumed
at a rate of about .5 ounces per hour
 1 drink (pure alcohol) per hour
 The rest is eliminated through your breath, urine, and
sweat
 If you intake multiple drinks (pure alcohol) per hour your
body will struggle to get rid of the alcohol; this is when you
become intoxicated.
 If you have taken in too much alcohol your body will find
other means to get rid of the alcohol such as vomiting
Immediate Effects
 As alcohol enters the bloodstream a person begins
to feel the affects of the alcohol
 As soon as the alcohol reaches the brain, the
person’s reaction time slows down
 The drinker then has lowered inhibitions
 Inhibitions-a restraint of a person’s own behaviors or
actions.
 Their inhibitions keep a person from making
embarrassing and poor choices
Immediate Effects
 As the person continues to drink, they will become
intoxicated (drunk)
 Intoxicated-physically and mentally impaired by the use of
alcohol
Short Term Effects
 Intoxication
 Nausea
 Slurred speech
 Vomiting
 Blurred vision
 Sweating
 Slowed reaction time
 Hang over
 Impaired judgment
 Diarrhea
 Lowered inhibitions
 Death due to alcohol
poisoning or poor life
choices
 poor judgment & decisions
Long Term Effects
 Long-term use of alcohol in excessive quantities is capable
of damaging nearly every organ and system in the body.
 The developing adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable
to the toxic effects of alcohol
Long Term Effects:
Mouth and Throat
 People who drink large amounts of alcohol are more
likely to develop mouth or throat cancer
 The lining of your throat can be destroyed, leading
to bleeding of the throat
Long Term Effects:
Stomach and Pancreas
 Alcohol irritates the lining of the stomach, after all it
does have to work to absorb it, and increases the
amount of acid in the stomach
 This constant increase in acid makes the lining of the
stomach red and swollen and can lead to ulcers
 Drinking can cause the valve between the stomach
and the esophagus to weaken, which can lead to
heartburn
 Excessive drinking can cause inflammation of the
pancreas, known as pancreatitis and increase the
risk for pancreatic cancer
Stomach Ulcers
Long Term Effects: Liver
 Because the liver breaks down most of the alcohol in the
body, it is one of the most seriously affected organs due
to alcohol use
 Fatty Liver Disease-this is when fat builds up in the liver and
prevents it from functioning normally
 Cirrhosis-scarring of the liver tissue. The damaged liver
cannot do one of its main functions—remove poisons from
the body, which can eventually damage the brain
 Both of these conditions can be fatal, as your liver filters
toxins from your blood
Liver
Long Term Effects: Heart
 High BP due to damage of the heart muscle which
makes the heart weak and enlarged
 This increases the risk of congestive heart failure
(your heart fails to keep working) and stroke
Long Term Effects: Brain
 Memory loss, dementia, confusion
 Learning difficulty
 Damage to the nerves, which can
result in a numbness and tingling in
the hands and feet
 Sleep problems
 Depression
 All of these affects can be
exaggerated in the developing
adolescent brain
Long Term Effects:
Drinking While Pregnant
 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can
occur if alcohol is consumed
during pregnancy. FAS or
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
affects the child.
 There is no specific amount
of alcohol that a woman has
to drink to affect her baby.
 The alcohol travels through
the mothers bloodstream
and directly into the babies
bloodstream through the
umbilical cord.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
 FAS-a group of alcohol-related birth defects; both
physical and mental
 Affects
 Poor growth while the baby is in the womb and after
 Decreased muscle tone and poor coordination
 Delayed development and significant functional problems
in 3 or more major areas: thinking, speech, movement, or
social skills (as expected for the babies age)
 Heart defects and kidney problems (95%)
 Because alcohol limits oxygen supply to the babies brain,
learning disabilities and mental retardation can occur
 Behavioral problems
How much is too much?
Binge Drinking
 Binge Drinking-the consumption of several
alcoholic drinks in a very short period of
time
 Men: 5 per hour, Women: 4 per hour
 Very common amongst teen drinkers
 Dangers include:
 Death due to falls, downing, drunk driving
 Loss of virginity, pregnancy, or
contraction of an STD
 Being a victim of a violent behavior
 Being an offender of a violent behavior
 Impaired judgment
 No means No, silence means no, must be an
enthusiastic “YES!”
 Death from alcohol poisoning

http://teenshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/bing
e_drink.html#a_Physical_Health
Alcohol Poisoning
 Alcohol Poisoning-when a person drinks an excessive
amount of alcohol it can kill the drinker
 Binge drinking is VERY dangerous because the person can
die of alcohol poisoning. Remember that alcohol is a
drug.
 A person with alcohol poisoning is often NOT helped
because…
 Their friends are intoxicated and don’t make good decisions
or don’t even notice
 Their “friends” don’t want to get in trouble for drinking
(remember the Lifeline Law!!)
 Those with the drinker they they have just passed out and
they will sleep it off and wake up in the morning…
Signs & Symptoms
 Alcohol poisoning signs and
symptoms include:




Confusion
Vomiting
Seizures
Slow breathing (less than eight
breaths a minute)
 Irregular breathing (a gap of more
than 10 seconds between breaths)
 Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
 Low body temperature (hypothermia)
 Clammy
 Passing out (unconsciousness) and
can't be awakened
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcoholpoisoning/DS00861/DSECTION=symptoms
What to do if someone has
Alcohol Poisoning
 Alcohol poisoning is an emergency! If you're with someone who has been
drinking a lot of alcohol and you see any of the signs or symptoms, here's what
to do:
 Call 911 immediately!

Never assume that a person will sleep off alcohol poisoning
 Be prepared to provide information.

the kind and amount of alcohol the person drank, and when.
 Don't leave an unconscious person alone. Because alcohol poisoning affects
the way your gag reflex works, someone with alcohol poisoning may choke on
his or her own vomit and not be able to breathe. While waiting for help, don't
try to make the person vomit because he or she could choke.
 Help a person who is vomiting. Try to keep him or her sitting up. If the person
must lie down, make sure to turn his or her head to the side — this helps
prevent choking. Try to keep the person awake to prevent loss of
consciousness.
One Destructive Decision
 Carson’s Story
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUKLHa4f7h4
 Drinking and Driving Commercial
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc7SMQ5U9KM
 I killed a man
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmpK_EshSL4
Real Life Examples
 http://www.ddreform.org/Articles/Tow
ery100.html
 Valedictorian, class president, 3 sport
athlete
 Freshman studying at IU to be a doctor
and help save lives
 One “fun” night, a few impaired
decisions, and 3 lives lost
 Dane, a 21 year from my home town,
was sentenced to 12 years in 2006 after
3 people were killed when Dane
decided to drive while intoxicated.
Real Life Examples
 Alcohol: True Stories
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVQMX4cGyow
Alcoholism
 Addiction-the physical or psychological need for a drug
 Physical Dependence-when the body feels a direct need for
the drug (physical addiction)
 Nausea, sweating, shaking
 Psychological Dependence-when the mind feels a need for
the drug.
 Unable to limit drinks, drink alone or hide drinking, rituals of
drinking at a certain time, irritable when your experiencing
withdrawal
Alcoholism
 Alcoholism-a progressive, chronic disease involving a
mental and physical need for alcohol
 Alcohol Abuse-pattern of drinking that results in one
or more well-defined behaviors within a 12-month
period
 The person is not yet physically dependent on alcohol
More Than Physical
 Loss of…




Job
Money
Friends
Family
 Depression
 Suicidal
 Abusive towards family
 Alcohol doesn’t just affect the drinker…
5 Major Symptoms of
Alcoholism
 Denial
 Craving
 Loss of Control
 Physical Dependence
 Tolerance-a process in which the body needs more
and ore of a drug to get the same effect
 A person’s BAC doesn’t change, but someone with a
high alcohol tolerance doesn’t show as many outward
signs of being intoxicated.
Stages of Alcoholism
 Stage 1:
 The person starts using alcohol to relieve stress or to
relax
 Looking for opportunities to drink
 Gradual increase in tolerance
 Stage 2:
 Person has times of memory-loss or blackouts from
drinking
 Doing or saying hurtful things
 Beginning to sneak drinks and makes excuses for
drinking
Stages of Alcoholism
 Stage 3:
 The alcoholic loses control. They may intend to have one
drink, but they end up having many and can’t stop.
 May become aggressive or unreliable. May lie and become
deceitful.
 Start to avoid family and friends and have problems with
work and money
 May notice tremors and the start of sever physical problems
 Stage 4:



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The person lives to drink; they drink all day
Long periods of being intoxicated
Strange thinking or hallucinations
Malnutrition