Alcohol

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Alcohol
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Alcohol Is This Right?

• Take out a sheet of paper and number 1-12. Write
  agree or disagree in regards to each statement.
• Alcohol is a stimulant
• Caffeine will sober you up.
• Food will keep you from becoming intoxicated
• Drinking beer is safer than drinking wine or hard
  liquor.
• Alcohol-related car crashes are all caused by
  drunk drivers.
• Alcoholism is a disease.

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Alcohol Is This Right?

• 7. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism affect only the
  abuser.
• 8. Alcohol abuse or alcoholism will never be my
  problem.
• 9. Nothing can be done about alcohol abuse or
  alcoholism
• 10. It is a good idea to drink alcohol to prevent
  heart disease.
• 11. Drinking a large amount of alcohol
  occasionally is less harmful than drinking a
  smaller amount everyday.
• 12. Drinking alcohol makes you feel more
  confident.

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Definitions

• Ethanol
• Type of alcohol in alcoholic beverages
• Produced synthetically and naturally through
  fermentation
• Fermentation
• Yeast, a fungus, converts sugar into alcohol and
  carbon dioxide
• Water, flavoring and minerals are mixed to
  produce drinks
• Liquor is created through distillation
• Depressant
• Drug that slows down the CNS

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Influencing Factors

• Peer Pressure
• Availability
• Legal Restrictions
• Family
• Media Messages

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Alcohol Abuse

• the continued use of alcohol despite the
  development of social, legal, or health problems.
  
• any alcohol use by underage youth is considered
  to be alcohol abuse.
• High risk for neglect, abuse, economic hardship
  and social isolation
• Studies show drinking as a teen is 4x more
  likely to develop alcohol dependence than an
  adult

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Characteristics of Alcohol Abuse

• failing to fulfill major work, school, or home
  responsibilities
• drinking in situations that are potentially
  dangerous, such as driving a car or operating
  heavy machinery
• experiencing repeated alcohol-related legal
  problems, such as being arrested for driving
  while intoxicated
• exhibiting continued drinking despite having
  relationship problems that are caused or made
  worse by drinking

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Alcoholic

• Addict who is dependent on alcohol
• Harmful behaviors
• Drunken driving, violent or aggressive behaviors
• Quiet and reserved

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Alcoholism

• is a chronic disease involving a strong need to
  drink, the inability to stop drinking, the
  occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance.
  
• Alcoholism is often progressive.
• Characterized by an impaired ability to study,
  work or socialize

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Characteristics of Alcoholism

• Craving
• Loss of control
• Physical dependence or the occurrence of
  withdrawal symptoms when alcohol use is
  discontinued
• Tolerance
• Health, family and legal problems
• use and abuse of alcohol despite adverse
  consequences
• failure to acknowledge the problem

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Effects of Alcoholism on Children

• Suffer child abuse
• Depression and anxiety
• Physical and mental health problems
• Difficulties in school
• Behavior problems

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Cost of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

• Approximately 13.8 million Americans have
  problems related to either alcohol abuse or
  alcoholism
• Cost an estimated 185 billion in lost
  productivity, illness, premature death and
  healthcare expenditures (1998)
• Non-abusers cost
• Economic cost of criminal justice system
• Higher insurance premiums

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How is alcohol transported?

• Alcohol is absorbed in the blood by diffusion
• Absorbed from the stomach and small intestine
  into the bloodstream
• Transported to the tissues and throughout the
  water-containing portions of the body as part of
  the distribution process
• Brain is especially sensitive to its effects
• About 20 of the alcohol is absorbed in the
  stomach and about 80 is absorbed through the
  upper portion of the small intestine

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Short-Term Effects

• Body Size
• Gender
• Moves faster through bloodstream in females
• Food
• Slows down passage of alcohol in bloodstream
• Amount and rate of intake
• Drinks alcohol faster than liver can break it
  down, intoxication results

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Short-Term Effects Continued

• Nervous System
• Brain, memory and judgment
• Cardiovascular System
• Heart and blood vessels
• Digestive System
• Stomach, liver and kidneys
• Respiratory System
• Lungs and breathing

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Long-Term Effects

• Brain
• Addiction
• Loss of brain function
• Brain damage
• Cardiovascular
• Heart
• Enlarged heart
• HBP
• Digestive System
• Inflammation of esophagus leading to esophageal
  cancer
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Increased risk of organ damage, frequencies of
  infections and other life long effects

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Long-Term Effects Continued

• Liver
• Fatty liver
• Excess fat blocks flow of blood to liver cells
• Alcoholic hepatitis
• Inflammation or infection of liver
• Cirrhosis
• Liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue
• Can lead to liver failure
• Pancreas
• Lining of pancreas
• Swells to block passage to small intestine
• Chemicals begin to destroy pancreas

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 1 Alcohol is a stimulant.
• Alcohol has been falsely thought of as a
  stimulant because its initial effects on some
  people include feelings of euphoria and lowered
  inhibitions.
• Alcohol is classified correctly as a depressant
  because it later causes sedation and drowsiness.
• In high concentrations, alcohol can induce
  unconsciousness, coma, and even death.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 2 Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are problems
  only for the individual drinker.
• Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are social problems
  that touch many more lives than that of the
  individual drinker.
• Alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to many
  other social problems including auto crashes,
  domestic violence, and child abuse or neglect.
• Alcoholism also has a severe economic impact on
  the country due to lost productivity, healthcare
  treatment, and costs attendant to administering
  the criminal justice system.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 3 People with alcoholism are morally weak
  individuals lacking will power.
• It is known to be a complex disease that involves
  a variety of factors including genetic,
  environmental, social, and behavioral components.
  
• A disease that must be diagnosed, and as separate
  from alcohol abuse.
• In alcoholic individuals, the brain is affected
  by alcohol and promotes its continued use through
  both positive and negative reinforcements. The
  severe physical withdrawal symptoms that result
  from stopping drinking serve as a strong
  biological force that can maintain drinking
  behavior.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 4 Children cannot be alcoholics.
• Alcohol is the most used and abused drug among
  young people. A recent national poll reports that
  one in four 8th graders drank alcohol in the past
  month, and 18 percent of 8th graders got drunk at
  least once in the past year.
• Research using animal models suggests that the
  developing brain of the adolescent responds
  differently to alcohol than does the adult brain.
• Children who abuse alcohol may develop
  alcoholism, though the criteria for making the
  diagnosis may be different from those used to
  diagnose adults

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 5 Small amounts of alcohol wont impair bodily
  or mental functions.
• Half of the states in the United States have set
  the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration
  (BAC) at 0.08 percent for motor vehicle
  operation.
• This does not mean, however, that an individual
  is unimpaired at lower BACs. A BAC of 0.020.04
  can impair memory and judgment.
• The effects of alcohol on an individual vary
  depending on the persons weight, nutritional
  state, gender, exposure to other drugs, and other
  factors. Any amount of alcohol taken during
  pregnancy is considered risky.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 6 Alcohols effects are only temporary.
• The adult body can process approximately one
  drink per hour.
• A drink is one 12-ounce bottle of wine cooler or
  beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of
  80-proof distilled liquor.
• A significant portion of the societal costs of
  alcohol use (for example, falls, automobile
  crashes, and violence) is due to acute effects.
• Although the acute effects of alcohol last only a
  short time, chronic long-term effects can develop
  and persist. Adolescents and adults who drink
  excessive amounts of alcohol may be causing
  chronic alterations to their brains. A recent
  study provides evidence that heavy drinking among
  teenagers can impair brain function. It is not
  yet known if these effects are reversible.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 7 Alcohol is good for your health.
• Recent reports have indicated that moderate
  drinking (defined as one drink per day for women
  and two drinks per day for men) may lessen the
  risk for cardiovascular disease.
• Although moderate drinking is associated with
  decreased risk for heart disease, it is also
  associated with increased risk of accidents.
• Drinking 5 drinks per day leads to increased
  risks for stroke and cancer. In addition,
  pregnant women, people using certain medications,
  and those diagnosed with alcoholism or other
  medical problems should refrain from drinking
  entirely.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 8 Alcoholism can be cured by behavioral
  programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
• Alcoholism, at present, has no known cure.
• Alcoholism can be controlled effectively using
  behavioral therapies, with or without
  pharmacological therapies. For such treatments to
  be effective, however, the patient must be
  willing to make significant and permanent
  lifestyle changes.
• People being treated for alcoholism often
  experience one or more episodes of relapse. An
  important aspect of behavioral therapy is to help
  patients deal with such relapses and motivate
  them to continue their efforts to remain sober.

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Misconceptions about Alcohol Use, Abuse and
Alcoholism

• 9 The public knows enough about the effects of
  alcohol use further research is not necessary.
• We do know many of the behavioral effects of
  alcohol consumption, such as memory and motor
  function impairment.
• We do not know how alcohol creates its addictive
  actions.
• Research continues to provide insight into how
  alcohol acts on all cells of the body and affects
  their functions. New scientific approaches help
  scientists understand more about the biological
  and behavioral effects of alcohol.
• The results of these studies, from cell to
  society, yield essential knowledge that is a
  prerequisite for more-effective ways to prevent
  and treat this disease.

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Immediate Effects

• Increased thirst
• Slurred speech
• Double vision
• Increased aggression altered behavior
• Lowered inhibitions
• Sleepiness
• Impaired judgment
• Slowed reflexes and body processes
• Loss of motor control and coordination

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Types of Alcohol

• What are different kinds of alcoholic beverages?
• Beer/Wine/Hard Liquor?
• Are they all the same in terms of amount of
  alcohol?
• Beer 12 oz
• Wine 5 oz
• Hard Liquor 1.5 oz

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Measurement of BAC

• Metabolism
• Process by which the body breaks down food to
  extract energy from it
• In regards to alcohol
• Metabolism refers to the transformation of
  ethanol to acetaldehyde and other products
• Liver
• Primary site of alcohol metabolism
• Less than 10 of alcohol consumed is not
  metabolized and excreted from the body in breath,
  sweat and urine

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Measurement of BAC continued

• Although expressed as a percentage, it is
  actually weight-per-volume
• Grams of ethanol per 100 mL, or deciliter, of
  blood
• Males average 58 of total body weight in water
• Females average 49 of total body weight in water
• Average metabolism for a moderate drinker is a
  decline of BAC of 0.017 per hour

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BAC

• How does the pattern of drinking relate to an
  individuals BAC?
• Persons BAC is affected mainly by how much the
  individual drinks and over what time period the
  drinking occurs
• Alcohol metabolism is at a constant rate
• If the rate of alcohol consumption is faster than
  the bodys metabolism rate, than the BAC will
  increase

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Absorption of Alcohol

• Food
• Faster when stomach is empty
• Type of food present
• Fatty foods allow absorption to take place over a
  longer time
• Effects are not prevented
• Body Weight and Build
• Greater weight is a greater volume to absorb
• Muscle tissue takes up more alcohol than fat
  tissue
• Gender
• Females have lower level of alcohol dehydrogenase
  in stomach

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Females vs Males

• Why, on average, are females more affected by
  drinking the same amount of alcohol as males?
• Females tend to be smaller than their male
  counterparts
• Females tend to have more body fat than males,
  which has the effect of reducing the amount of
  body water in which to distribute the alcohol

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Alcohol and Drugs

• Can lead to illness, injury and possibly death
• Multiplier effect
• Medication has a greater or different effect than
  if it were taken alone
• LABELS

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Binge Drinking

• 5 or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting
• Possible to consume a fatal dose

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Hazing

• Any action taken or situation created
  intentionally
• Causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule
• Risks emotional and/or physical harm
• Members of a group or team
• Can be done by a number of ways
• Alcohol
• Physical

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Blackouts

• the brief impairment of short- and long-term
  memory occurring during episodes of excessive
  alcohol consumption or of other substance abuse
• consciousness is retained
• Alcohol impairs the ability to form new memories
  while the person is intoxicated, but does not
  typically erase memories formed before
  intoxication

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Alcohol Poisoning

• A severe elevation of the BAC which may lead to
  coma and death, often resulting from consumption
  of large amounts of alcohol
• Also called alcohol overdose
• BAC reaches a level that the body cannot process
  quickly enough
• Alcohol consumed in large doses can shut down
  involuntary actions such as breathing, the
  heartbeat and gag reflex that prevents choking

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Effects of Alcohol Poisoning

• Mental confusion, coma, vomiting
• Can choke on vomit and die of asphyxiation
• Slow respiration 10 seconds between breaths or
  less than 8 breaths a minute
• Breathing slows, irregular heartbeat and finally
  stops
• Hypothermia low body temp leading to cardiac
  arrest
• Pale or bluish color
• Severe dehydration
• Call 911 immediately

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Ways to Stop

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Naltrexone
• Blocks receptors for endorphins, thus helping to
  reduce the craving for alcohol
• National Association for Children of Alcoholics
• National Drug and Treatment Referral Routing
  Service

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Heredity

• Children of alcoholics are 4x more likely than
  other children to become alcoholics
• Does not mean a person will become an alcoholic
• Other factors
• Family, friends, culture, peer pressure,
  availability of alcohol and stress

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Situations

• Alcohol and Law
• Illegal under 21
• Arrested, fined, sentenced
• Alcohol, Violence and Sexual Activity
• Impairs a persons judgment, lowers inhibitions
  and compromises moral standards
• Sexually active at a younger age