Facts About Alcohol

1. Facts About Alcohol Created by: Vanessa Kintzler

2. Facts • The younger you are when you start drinking, the more likely you are to have a problem with alcohol. • College students spend more on alcohol than on textbooks. • Alcohol consumption by college students is linked to at least 1,400 student deaths and 500,000 unintentional injuries each year. • Women absorb alcohol into the bloodstream faster and metabolize it slower than men. • Alcohol is the number one drug problem in America • There are more than 12 million alcoholics in the U.S. • American’s spend $197 million each day on alcohol • Alcohol is a nervous system depressant.

3. What is Alcohol? • Alcohol is a drug. It is classed as a depressant meaning that it slows down vital functions—resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and an inability to react quickly. • As for how it affects the mind, it is best understood as a drug that reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his or her judgment. • Although classified as a depressant, the amount of alcohol consumed determines the type of effect. Most people drink for the stimulant effect, such as a beer or glass of wine taken to “loosen up.” But if a person consumes more than the body can handle, they then experience alcohol’s depressant effect. They start to feel “stupid” or lose coordination and control.

4. Consumption and Social Impact in Wisconsin • Being at sport games and tailgating • Green Bay Packers • Milwaukee Brewers • Wisconsin Badgers • Having wine tastingand tours all over Wisconsin • Door County • Having brewery’s that you can go and tour and drink • State Street • Holiday Parties

5. Standard Measures of Alcohol • One Standard Drink of Beer  • One 12 oz. bottle of beer • One 12oz. can of beer • One 8oz glass of malt liquor • One Standard Drink of Wine  • One 4oz. glass of wine • One 3-3.5 of fortified wine • One Standard Drink of Hard Alcohol  • One 1.25 oz. shot of hard liquor • One mixed drink containing one 1.25 oz. shot of hard liquor

6. Physiological Effects • Depression • Fatigue • Feeling of sadness • Worthlessness • Anxiety • Depressing the nervous system leading to fatigue and irritation • Increase heart rate and blood pressure • Brain Function • Lowers cognitive functions • Wernicke-Korsakoff • Brain disorder in which the brain has a thiamine deficiency

7. Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence • Craving for alcohol • Inability to reduce or stop alcohol consumption • Experience withdrawal symptoms when stopping alcohol consumption • Increased tolerance of alcohol

8. Withdrawal Effects • Shaky hands • Sweating • Mild Anxiety • Nausea and or vomiting • Headache • Insomnia • Alcoholic hallucinosis

9. Short-Term Health Risks • Slurred speech • Drowsiness • Vomiting  • Diarrhea • Upset stomach • Headaches • Breathing difficulties  • Distorted vision and hearing  • Impaired judgment  • Decreased perception and coordination  • Unconsciousness  • Anemia (loss of red blood cells)  • Coma • Blackouts (memory lapses, where the drinker cannot remember events that occurred while under the influence)

10. Long-Term Health Risks • Unintentional injuries such as car crash, falls, burns, drowning  • Intentional injuries such as firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence • Increased on-the-job injuries and loss of productivity  • Increased family problems, broken relationships  • Alcohol poisoning  • High blood pressure, stroke, and other heart-related diseases  • Liver disease  • Nerve damage  • Sexual problems  • Permanent damage to the brain  • Vitamin B1 deficiency, which can lead to a disorder characterized by amnesia, apathy and disorientation  • Ulcers  • Gastritis (inflammation of stomach walls)  • Malnutrition  • Cancer of the mouth and throat

11. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome • Fetal alcohol exposure occurs when a woman drinks while pregnant.  No amount of alcohol is safe for pregnant women to drink. Nevertheless, data from prenatal clinics and postnatal studies suggest that 20 to 30 percent of women do drink at some time during pregnancy.1 • Alcohol can disrupt fetal development at any stage during a pregnancy – including at the earliest stages and before a woman knows she is pregnant.

12. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Effects • Low birth weight • Small head circumference • Failure to thrive • Developmental delay • Organ dysfunction • facial abnormalities, including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove between the nose and the upper lip) • epilepsy • poor coordination/fine motor skills • poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups • lack of imagination or curiosity • learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills • behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety

13. References • http://www.brad21.org/facts.html • http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol.html • http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/statistics-on-alcoholics.html • http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/fas.html • http://www.healthauthority.com/AlcoholDependence.htm • http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments • http://www.ehow.com/about_5557931_psychological-effects-alcohol.html • http://map.ais.ucla.edu/go/1003908