What Alcohol Does To One's Health

Alcohol is a fun part of many people's campus life, so our little University town is chock full of bars and places to buy beer. Students and residents have a nearly constant opportunity to drink, which can have health consequences, some life changing (or ending), and others less obvious.

Alcohol should NOT be in the Food And Drink section, but in a Poisons or Drugs section or both. And please do not mention the so-called "French Paradox". I am French and I can tell you this is just a lie of the alcohol industry:
It's like saying "Black top is good for your health because it contains amino acids". It's not because some thing contains some good nutrients that it is good. It can have negative effects on your health because of other elements as it is the case for alcohol. The bad effect far outweigh any "good" effect of alcohol. — Michael777

In 2000, David Thornton, a UC Davis senior from Fresno died in a tragic event on his 21st birthday at what is now Froggy's. See the tragic events and Froggy's entries for more details.

Alcohol is a drug, a medicine, an antiseptic, a poison, and a solvent. It is flammable, boils at 172.4 degrees (F), and dissolves in fat and water. It’s a huge part of our culture: the alcohol industry spends over $5 billion on advertising and promotion every year!

Is alcohol good or bad for you?
It is true that there are known health benefits of consuming small or moderate quantities, but if you already have had problems then think about the likelihood of developing a heavy drinking habit. Heavy drinking is always unhealthy! Alcohol damages all of your organs. It is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the US, is a factor in over a third of traffic deaths and half of boating deaths and drownings.

Do you have a problem?
You may have already experienced some negative effects of alcohol, directly or indirectly.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
—How often do you drink alcohol? Do you drink enough to get drunk every day?
—How much alcohol do you drink when you are drinking? Do you drink more than 3 drinks at one time on a regular basis?
—Are you sometimes unable to stop drinking once you start?
—Have you failed to do something that people expect of you -work, relationship, friends, family -because you were drinking?
—Have you had times that you couldn’t remember what you did the night before after you’d been drinking?
—Has your drinking ever harmed you or someone else?
—Has anyone mentioned that they are concerned about your drinking?
—Have you been convicted of a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) charge(s)?

If your honest answers to any of these questions worry you, it’s time to think about changing your behavior.

Just the facts:
—Beer is 4 - 6% alcohol, wine coolers are 5 - 6%, wine is 10 - 14%, fortified wines (sherry, port) are 16 - 24%, distilled spirits are 40%, and a few distilled products are up to 75% alcohol. A drink contains 100 - 150 calories, so heavy drinking can replace a lot of your daily food intake, leading to poor nutrition, or add to weight problems.
—It takes about 1 drink per 40 lbs. of body weight per hour to make your blood alcohol 0.08%, which is legally drunk in California. This is based on a standard drink of 1 beer, 4 - 5 oz. of wine, or 1.25 - 1.5 oz. of hard liquor (heavy drinkers typically increase the content of "1 drink" of hard liquor by 50 - 100%). You can get just as drunk on beer, wine, or spirits.
—It is easier to ingest alcohol if it is sweetened (the alcohol industry knows this, marketing wine coolers and similar flavored stuff to young people).
—It gets into your bloodstream faster on an empty stomach or if the beverage is carbonated, and more slowly if you eat dairy products or fatty foods beforehand. That doesn't reduce the alcohol in the bloodstream, it just slows down how fast it gets there.
—Men have more of an enzyme that breaks down alcohol before it gets to the stomach, so it is true that women are somewhat more affected by alcohol than men of equal weight.
—Your body metabolizes about 1 drink per hour, no matter how big you are. Once the alcohol is in you there is nothing you can do to get it out of your body faster. Caffeine may wake you up, but you're still drunk.

How much alcohol harms you?
First of all, the presence of ANY alcohol in your system is illegal if you are under 21. And a police officer can arrest you for being legally drunk even below the legal limit if you are, in the officer’s opinion, impaired.

At 150 lbs., if you have three drinks in two hours you may be legally drunk and would probably get a DUI.
At 100 lbs., two drinks in two hours.
At 200 lbs., four drinks in two hours.
No matter what you weigh, if you then drink one drink per hour you will stay legally drunk. People aren’t very safe drivers when alcohol is leaving their bodies, even if they are “legal’, so your driving may be impaired even when your blood alcohol level is below 0.08%.

Drinking hard liquor is especially risky, because the amount in a “drink’ is often more than the standard measure. Adding fruit juice makes it easier to swallow and drink faster, so wine coolers, mixed drinks, and punch are especially risky.
As you drink, your ability to rationally refuse more drinks diminishes. You are less and less able to make reasonable decisions about your behavior, including drinking, drug use, sex, and whether or not you can drive safely.

Blood alcohol of 0.5% is usually fatal. Almost impossible to do with beer or wine, it is usually caused by rapidly drinking hard liquor. But it can be done over the course of an evening of taking shots, even alternated with “soft’ alcohol.
Half a liter of hard liquor (about 16 oz.) can kill a 100 -125# person. A liter can kill a 200 - 250# person. Your body has a strong tendency towards self-preservation, so you will likely vomit as you approach toxic levels of alcohol. But smoking pot reduces the “gag’ factor. That was a factor in the death of a college boy in Davis, California. He was celebrating his 21st birthday, and did a “21-for-21” after smoking pot. He consumed about 3/4 liter over a few hours and died in the presence of the friends who had been encouraging his drinking. So we can guess he weighed between 150 -200 #.

Death can also be caused by choking on vomit while unconscious. If you haven't vomited while still conscious, you are likely to pass out at about 0.3% blood alcohol, and if you end up on your back your life can be in danger. Pushing someone who has passed out over onto his or her side or face can prevent choking, but be careful—if they awaken while you are doing this they may become very agitated or violent because of their drunken disorientation.

The long-term effects of alcohol abuse are serious. It damages virtually every organ in the body, especially the liver and pancreas. It is linked to cancers, heart disease, sexual problems, and suppresses the immune system. It makes it harder to quit smoking, and people who are drunk often engage in other risky behaviors. And the average cost of a first offense DWI, including fines, fees, attorney costs, alcohol classes, increased insurance, and more, comes to thousands of dollars!

Further Reading:

Here is a link that lists some of the many negative consequences of heavy drinking: http://www.ncadd.org/facts/problems.html

Here’s a complete tutorial about the chemistry of alcohol: http://www.chemcases.com/alcohol/alc-01.htm

Here’s an online test you can take to assess your problem: http://drinkerscheckup.com/

More information about drunk driving costs: http://www.maddorangecounty.org/cost.htm

Here is a chart and some information about drinking and driving: http://www.california-drunkdriving.org/levels/
Note that you can get a DUI for blood-alcohol levels below 0.08% if your driving is impaired in the opinion of the officer.

Here is an online blood alcohol calculator: http://www.intox.com/wheel/drinkwheel.asp

Here’s an article about the college student in Davis who died of alcohol poisoning after a “21 for 21”:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...05/MN28956.DTL

• State of Texas
  

• Woman's Christian Temperance Union
  

• Washington State: Neurology for Kids!
  

• Stanton Peele Addition Website

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