1. Presented by: Rincon Family Services

2.  Any chemical you take
that affects the way your
body works.
 Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin
and nicotine are all drugs.
 The chemicals go to your brain.
◦ Changing messages being sent throughout body
 Interferes with chemical signals:
◦ Neurotransmitters that transfer signals across
synapses.
 Drugs use is related to high-risk behaviors.

3.  Most widely used and
abused drug in the U.S.
 It has both short-term
and long-term effects
that can harm you and
others.
 If you choose to drink
alcohol, be sure to
know your facts and be
responsible.

4.  On average, a
standard-
sized
alcoholic
beverage will
raise the BAC
of a 140
to180 pound
person by
approximately
.02 percent
A lighter
person’s will
go even higher
 .15 an hour

5.  Which drug do you think is the most
dangerous?
- Explain
 Why do you think most people use alcohol
and/ or other drugs?

6.  No 2 people will
respond the same.
 Varies each use
 The outcome can
be very
unpredictable.
 The same amount
of alcohol will
cause a higher
BAC in the person
with less body
mass because it is
mixing with a
smaller quantity
of blood.
Influencing Factors:
Weight
Gender
Age
Mixing drugs
Emotions
Food
Tolerance
Expectations
Physical health
Individual
chemical
makeup
Experience
with the drug

7.  Blood Alcohol Concentration
Measures a person’s level of
intoxication by calculating the
percentage of blood that is alcohol
 In Illinois the legal BAC limit is
0.08
Can you be arrested for a DUI/DWI in
Illinois if your BAC is lower than 0.08?
 How is a persons BAC tested?
When a person drinks alcohol, it is
absorbed almost immediately into the
bloodstream and can be measured by
a persons:
 Breath
 Blood
 Urine

8.  Judgment is the first to go.
Brain becomes increasingly sedated or
drugged.
Reason and caution are the first functions to
be affected
Skills are overestimated resulting in poor
driving decisions
 Loss of vision follows shortly thereafter.
30% of a driver’s side vision is lost by the
time their BAC reaches .05.
Almost 90% of the information we use to
drive comes through our eyes.
Alcohol impairs vision, which also affects
judgment and slows reaction time.
.02
BAC
.05
BAC

9. BAC # of Drinks Emotional & Mental Effects Driving Impairments
.02 About 1 drink Intense moods
Slight body warmth
Impaired judgment
Moody and inpatient
Decline in visual functions
and ability to multitask
.05 1 – 2 drinks Exaggerated behavior
May have loss of small-muscle
control (e.g., focusing your eyes)
Impaired judgment
Usually good feeling
Lowered alertness
Release of inhibition
Reduced coordination
Reduced ability to track
moving objects
Difficulty steering
Reduced response to
emergency driving situations
.08 2 – 4 drinks Muscle coordination becomes poor
(e.g., balance, speech, vision,
reaction time, and hearing)
Harder to detect danger
Judgment, self-control, reasoning,
and memory are impaired
Concentration
Short-term memory loss
Speed control
Reduced information
processing capability (e.g.,
signal detection, visual search)
Impaired perception
.20 7 – 10 drinks Feeling of confusion or haziness
Loss of equilibrium and technical
skills
Nausea
Possible loss of consciousness
Impaired vehicle control
Loss of ability to pay
attention to driving tasks
Double vision and legal
blindness

10. Time Activity BAC
2am Goes to bed .20
3 am Sleeps .185
4am Sleeps .17
5am Sleeps .155
6am Sleeps .14
7am Gets up for work .125
8am Mind feels foggy .11
9am At work .095
10am Still legally intoxicated .080
11am Drives to lunch .065
Noon Feeling irritable .050
1pm Still feeling tired .030
2pm Head clearing .020
3pm Starting to feel better .005
4pm Sober at last! .00

11.  Use: social drinkers who drink in low-risk
patterns.
 Avoid drinking to state of impairment.
◦ No more than 7 drinks per week & no more than 3
drinks per sitting (women) & no more than 14 drinks
per week & no more than 4 drinks per day (men).
 Abuse: using results in ongoing negative
consequences, but
continue to drink
anyway.
 Significant mental, physical,
legal, professional, or social
problems.

12.  Abuse of drugs and/or
alcohol leads to
addiction & possible
brain damage

13.  20% of the alcohol immediately passes through
your stomach walls into your bloodstream.
 The remaining 80% goes to the small intestine
and goes to your blood.
 Within minutes it reaches all
organs
◦ Because of its small and simple
molecular structure
◦ Attaches to water molecules and
passes easily through cell
membranes.

14.  Depressant
◦ Slows down the central nervous system, including
the brain’s functions.
 Impairs motor and coordination skills
 Excessive drinking can slow down the brain’s
vital functions.
 Dopamine/reward system
 Hippocampus – brain cell production
decreases; self-control which is necessary to
stop drinking
 Cerebral cortex –thought processing and
consciousness; depresses processing of
information from the eyes, ears, mouth and
other senses; and it inhibits the thought
processes, making it difficult to think clearly.
 Cerebellum – motor skills (balance,
coordination, eye movements, posture);
stumble, etc.

16.  When BAC levels rise, the
brain becomes increasingly
sedated or drugged.
◦ Mental functions are the first to
be affected
◦ Judgment and may lead to risky
behavior
 Often people will do things
under the influence they
would not normally do when
sober.
◦ For some, this may simply mean
being more talkative or
outgoing, but it also can have
deadly consequences

17.  Without good judgment,
people put themselves in
dangerous situations.
 For example, people
under the influence of
alcohol are more likely to
be involved in accidents
or unprotected or
unwanted sexual
encounters.
 Impaired people may also
drink more than they
planned.
 Describe a situation
where alcohol led you to
do something you would
not do sober.

18.  As alcohol concentration in the blood rises,
the body loses more & more of the functions
required to drive safely.
 The increased likelihood of a crash begins
long before driver’s fell “drunk” or severely
impaired.
 You do not need to be “drunk” to drive
dangerously

19.  The graph below represents your risk of a fatal
crash and how it increases as you drink.
 DRIVING IMPAIRED, even at low levels, IS A
GAMBLE!
BAC
.05-
.09%
11X
BAC
.10-.14%
48X
BAC
.15%+
380X
Fatal
Crash

20.  Over the years, many myths about
alcohol have been passed around.
 Accurate information about alcohol
and other drugs is an important
starting point to make responsible
decisions about substance abuse.
1. Alcohol is a stimulant drug.
2. If you only drink beer, you won’t
become dependent.
3. Tolerance can signal dependence
and hide physical harm.
4. Alcohol can make you perform
better sexually.
5. Marijuana does not affect driving
ability.
7. Alcohol affects adults and
teenagers about the same.
8. Only time will rid the body of
alcohol and its effects.
9. Some people’s bodies are able to
get rid of alcohol faster than
others.
10. Some people actually drive better
after a drink or two.
11. Coffee or a cold shower can help
sober you up.
12. Only certain types of people become
dependent on alcohol.
13. Being able to “hold your liquor “ means
it’s not much of a problem for you.
14. People react differently to similar
amounts of alcohol.
15. The more you drink, the healthier your
heart gets.
16. It’s easy to tell when you’ve had too
much to drink to drive safely.