Alcohol: Effects on the Body and Behavior

1. Alcohol: Effects on the Body andBehavior Sherri Garcia Full Circle Advertising: A Look at Teen Alcohol Use and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome CDC’s 2005 Science Ambassador Program

2. Overview • Definitions • Statistics on teen drinking • Short- and long-term effects of alcohol • Blood alcohol levels • Introduction to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

3. “Drinker” Definitions • Binge drinking: Four or more drinks for a female and five or more drinks for a male at one sitting

4. “Drinker” Definitions • Chronic drinking: Daily or almost daily alcohol consumption (60 drinks per month)

5. Statistics on Teen Drinking • Monitoring the Future (MTF) reported that in 2004, nearly one in five 8th graders, more than one in three 10th graders, and nearly one in two 12th graders had a drink in the past month.

6. Teen Statistics (cont.) From National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2003): • 10.9 million users ages 12-20 • 7.2 million “binge drinkers”

7. Short-term Effects • Slower reaction times/reflexes • Heavy sweating • Blurry vision • Nausea and vomiting • Lowered reasoning ability

8. Short-term Effects (cont.) • Poor motor coordination • Slower heart rate/breathing rate • Increased blood pressure • Anxiety/restlessness • Lower inhibition

9. Short-term Effects (cont.) • Mental confusion • Memory loss • Coma • Death from respiratory arrest

10. Long-term Effects • Nervous system • Muscles • Lungs • Liver

11. Long-term Effects (cont.) • Sexual organs • Brain • Heart • Esophagus/stomach

13. Studies on Teen Drinking

14. Studies on Teen Drinking

15. Blood Alcohol Level: What’s It All About? Blood alcohol level (BAL) depends on: • Weight • Amount of food and water in stomach • Carbonated alcoholic beverages • Gender

16. Blood Alcohol Level Calculations BAL = (150/body weight) x (%alcohol/50) x (ounces consumed) x (0.025)

17. Blood Alcohol Level Example • 175 pound man drinks four 12-ounce cans of beer with 4% alcohol content • BAL = (150/175) x (4/50) x (48) x (0.025) • =.86 x .08 x 48 x .025 • = .08%

18. Blood Alcohol Levels: So What? • BAL = 0.03 to 0.12 (Euphoria) • Self-confident/daring • Short attention span • Poor judgment • Fine motor skills impaired

19. Blood Alcohol Levels • BAL = 0.09 to 0.25 (Excitement) • Sleepy • Memory loss • Reaction time decreased • Uncoordinated/loss of balance • Blurry vision and impaired senses

20. Blood Alcohol Levels • BAL = 0.18 to 0.30 (Confusion) • Confused/dizzy • Highly emotional • Cannot see/slurred speech • Uncoordinated/sleepy • May not feel pain as easily

21. Blood Alcohol Levels • BAL = 0.25 to 0.40 (Stupor) • Can barely move at all • Cannot respond to stimuli • Cannot stand or walk • Vomiting • Lapse in and out of consciousness

22. Blood Alcohol Levels • BAL = 0.35 to 0.50 (Coma) • Unconscious • Reflexes depressed • Decreased body temperature • Decreased breathing rate • Decreased heart rate • Could die

23. Blood Alcohol Levels • BAL = Greater than 0.50 (Death) • Breathing stops • That says it all!

24. Driving Limits • Most states set the legal level of intoxication at 0.08 to 0.10

25. Drinking is a Personal Choice but Who Else is Affected? • Friends and family • Strangers • Unborn babies – Fetal alcohol syndrome

26. What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome? • When mother drinks, baby drinks • Alcohol disrupts brain development

27. Looking Back • Drinking has various definitions • Binge and Chronic • Drinking can have short- and long-term effects • Slower reaction times • Memory loss • Nervous system/liver problems

28. Looking Back (cont.) • Blood alcohol levels are affected by weight and gender • Drinking is a personal choice, but it can affect those around you

29. Works Cited • 1. Understanding Alcohol - Glossary [online]. 2003. [cited 2005 Jul 13]. Available from URL:http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/other/glossary.htm. • 2. Alcohol Use: Chronic Drinking [online]. 1992. [cited 2005 Jul 13]. Available from URL: http://www.indicators.ak.org/indicators/alcoholusechronic98F.htm • 3. Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE. Overall teen use continues gradual decline; but use of inhalants rises. Ann Arbor (MI): University of Michigan News and Information Services; December 21, 2004. Table 3. [cited 2005 Jul 7).Available from URL: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/04data.html#2004data-drugs. • 4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Overview of Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Rockville (MD): Office of Applied Studies; 2004. p. 14. [cited 7 July 2005].

30. Works Cited (cont.) • 5. Short-Term Effects of Alcohol . [cited 2005 July 22]. Available from URL: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/alcohol/short-term.htm. • 6. Understanding Alcohol - Information about Alcohol. Teacher’s guide. [online]. [cited 20 June 2005]. Available from URL: http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/guide/info-alcohol.htm. • 7. Neuroscience for Kids - Alcohol. Alcohol [online]. [cited 2005 Jun 20]. Available from URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alco.html. • 8. HowStuffWorks. How Alcohol Works [online]. [cited 2005 Jun 20]. Available from URL: http://www.science.howstuffworks.com/alcohol5.htm.