ALCOHOL
WHAT MOST OF YOU DO NOT
KNOW!
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What is in Alcohol
 Ethanol
or Ethyl Alcohol
 Flavoring
 Minerals
 Water
Beer, wine, and hard liquor (distilled spirits) all contain alcohol. The
following common alcoholic drinks contain equal amounts of alcohol and
are often referred to as a drink or a standard drink:
Proof is the amount of alcohol in hard liquor or distilled spirits. The
percentage of pure alcohol in the hard liquor is usually one-half the
proof. For example, a 100-proof liquor is about 50% pure alcohol. Thus,
the higher the proof, the more pure alcohol the hard liquor contains.
*Different beers
have different
alcohol content.
Malt liquor has
higher alcohol
content than most
other brewed
beverages.
It is important to
remember that not
all drinks are
created equal.
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Alcohol and Teens
80% of teens have had at least one
alcoholic beverage.
Alcohol can have a negative impact
on school-work, athletics,
friendships, family, relationships,
and career goals.
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Why Teens Drink
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To escape pressure or problems
To feel better or get over being sad or lonely
To deal with stress and relax
To feel more self-confident in social situations
For excitement
Because their friends are doing it
To deal with boredom
To get away with something they are not
supposed to do
 To fit in
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Factors that Affect Teen
Alcohol Use
 Pressure
 Parents use it to solve problems/stress
 Advertisements
– Young, handsome, attractive, fit and healthy
looking.
– A party like atmosphere with upbeat music.
– Healthful environment, beauty of the
outdoors.
– Problem free drinking
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Advertisements – Who are
they trying to attract?
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Factors that influence
alcohol’s effect!
How alcohol affects you is
different based on different
absorption rate factors, these
include:
Body Size: The bigger you are, the more
blood you have to dilute the alcohol in your
system. Smaller people are usually affected
more quickly by alcohol than larger people.

Gender: Women are generally
smaller than men, have a higher
percentage of body fat, and tend to
reach higher BAC’s more quickly.
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Food: A full stomach slows the absorption of
alcohol into the bloodstream.
 Strength of Drink: Drinks can have
different effects based on their composition, i.e.
carbonated beverages tend to increase the
absorption rate in alcohol.
Rate of Consumption: Gulping or chugging
drinks will increase the amount of alcohol
taken into your system. Also, the faster you
drink, the less time your body has to dilute the
alcohol.
Mood: A person who is obviously upset,
exhausted, or under a lot of stress feels the
effects of alcohol more quickly.
Woowho
D’oh!
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Age: The body processes alcohol better
once the body is fully matured.
Day 1
Day 15
Day 365
Drug Use: Legal or illegal drugs can
speed up the effects of alcohol and
have an unpredictable outcome.
Body Composition: In general, the less
you weigh the more quickly alcohol will be
absorbed. However, for people of the same
weight, a person who has greater muscle
mass will absorb alcohol slower than
someone with a higher percentage of body
fat.
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What is the only thing that
really determines how
DRUNK YOU ARE?
 Alcohol is a lethal substance. Being knowledgeable about Blood Alcohol Content
will help you understand the effects of varying amounts of alcohol in your
system, and allow you to make informed decisions about drinking.
 The standard way of measuring how much alcohol is in the blood stream is
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or Blood Alcohol Level (BAL). It can be
measured using blood, saliva, urine or breath and is measured in milligrams of
alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, or milligrams percent.
 For Example: A BAC of .10 means one-tenth of 1% or (1/1000) of your total
blood content is alcohol.
MALE
The following is a rough outline of
expected BAC's for a 150 lb. male on
an empty stomach after one hour:
2 drinks
.05 BAC
4 drinks
.10 BAC
FEMALE
The following is a rough outline of
expected BAC's for a 120 lb. female
on an empty stomach after one
hour:
2 drinks
.08 BAC
4 drinks
.17 BAC
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How does BAC affect you!
.02-.03 % BAC: You are slightly light headed; inhibitions are loosened ( Missouri defines
.02% as legally drunk for those under 21 years of age).
.05%-.06 BAC: You’re warm and relaxed; you’re behavior may become exaggerated.
.08-.09% BAC: You are legally drunk; you may start to slur your speech, your sense of
balance is probably off, and your motor skills are becoming impaired.
.10%-.12% BAC: At this level, you feel euphoric, but you lack coordination and balance;
your motor skills are markedly impaired, as are your judgment and memory.
.14%-.17% BAC: Euphoric feelings may give way to unpleasant feelings; you have
difficulty talking, walking, or even standing; your judgment and perception are
severely impaired.
.20% BAC: You feel confused, dazed, or otherwise disoriented ; at this point you may
experience nausea and/or start vomiting; blackouts are likely.
.25% BAC: All mental, physical, and sensory functions are severely impaired; you're at
increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring
yourself by falling or other accidents.
.30% BAC: You have little comprehension of where you are; you may suddenly pass out -with an alarming BAC like .30%, your body will decide to pass out for you.
.35% BAC: This blood alcohol level is the level of surgical anesthesia; you may stop
breathing.
.40% BAC: You are probably in a coma. The nerve centers controlling your heartbeat
and respiration are slowing down.
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Facts About Drinking!
 According to the Core Institute, an organization that surveys college drinking
practices, 300,000 of today's college students will eventually die of alcoholrelated causes such as drunk driving accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, various
cancers and heart disease.
 159,000 of today's first-year college students will drop out of school next year
for alcohol- or other drug-related reasons.
 On a typical campus, the average amount a student spends annually on alcohol
is $466. College students as a whole spend $5.5 billion on alcohol (mostly beer).
This is more than they spend on books, soda, coffee, juice and milk combined.
 Almost one-third of college students admit to having missed at least one class
because of their alcohol or drug use, and nearly one-quarter of students report
“bombing” a test or project because of the aftereffects of drinking or doing
drugs.
 One night of heavy drinking can impair your ability to think abstractly for up
to 30 days, limiting your ability to relate textbook reading to what your
professor says, or to think through a football play.
 Students who binge drink are more likely to damage property, have trouble
with authorities, miss classes, have hangovers, and experience injuries than
those who do not.
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