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Facts on Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant that is consumed orally in a liquid form, such as liquor, beer and wine. Although an individual must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol in America, it remains a legal product. Alcohol is often consumed in social settings, such as bars, nightclubs and parties in general. It has a high propensity for addiction.

  1. Short-term Effects

    • Upon consumption, alcohol travels into the bloodstream and to the body's tissues. An individual's age, weight, gender, size and how much food and alcohol she consumes determines the effects alcohol will have on her. The effects of moderate alcohol intake include excessive talking and dizziness. Larger alcohol intake causes immediate reactions such as sleep disruption, slurred speech, vomiting and nausea. When alcohol is digested in low doses, it is still capable of producing adverse effects, such as impairing the judgment and distorting the individual's coordination. In addition, low to moderate alcohol consumption can result in domestic violence, child abuse and hangovers resulting in headache, nausea and tiredness.

    Long-term Effects

    • Using alcohol heavily on a continuous basis often results in alcohol addiction. If an individual who is addicted to alcohol abruptly stops using it, withdrawal symptoms occur. These symptoms range from extreme anxiety, shaking, convulsions and hallucinations. If she does not eat well and uses alcohol heavily for an extended period of time, she can suffer irreparable brain and liver damage. If an expectant mother drinks alcohol while pregnant, the child can suffer mental retardation.

    Kids and Alcohol

    • The American Medical Association states that there are 11 million American youths under 21 years old who drink alcohol. Almost half of these youths drink 5 or more doses continuously, once or more in a two week time frame. High school seniors use alcohol more than any other drug. Many boys confess to experimenting with alcohol at only 11-years-old while girls tend to start at 13-years-old. Nearly half of all the car crashes involving teenagers are the result of underage drinking. Youths indulging in unprotected sex are often alcohol users, magnifying their risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

    Statistics

    • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) predicts that by 2020 fatalities and injuries stemming from alcohol-related automobile crashes could rise by 50 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that in 2006, 61 percent of Americans drank alcohol in the prior year. In addition, beside homicides and accidents, the number of alcohol related accidents was 22,073. The number of deaths deriving from liver disease was 13,050.

    Misconceptions

    • Some individuals believe that drinking coffee will help them recover quickly from their drunkenness. However, only time can rid alcohol from the body. Another myth is that eating breath mints can camouflage the alcohol, tricking law enforcement's breathalyzer test. The instrument used to measure the blood alcohol level measures the alcohol content in your lungs, which breath-mints cannot mask.

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