- Alcohol is created through fermentation and is a depressant that affects the central nervous system. It can impair coordination and concentration. - Teens sometimes drink out of curiosity, to relax, fit in, or seem older. However, underage drinking is illegal and can negatively impact health, safety, and development. - Drinking too much can cause intoxication, poisoning, and long-term health issues like cirrhosis or fetal alcohol syndrome. Factors like how fast one drinks and genetics affect individual reactions. Dependence and addiction are also risks, as is withdrawal without treatment.

1. ALCOHOL

2. What comes to mind when you hear the word ALCOHOL?

3. ALCOHOL : PRE QUIZ
Your central nervous system includes your:
a. Arms and legs
b. Stomach and urinary tract
c. Brain and spinal cord
d. Digestive and reproductive systems
Which is NOT an effect of drinking alcohol?
a. clear thinking
b. Loss of coordination
c. Poor concentration
d. Blurred vision

4. The human brain is usually mature by
a. Birth
b. Early childhood
c. Puberty
d. Adulthood
How much alcohol can a teen drink and still legally drive?
a. One beer
b. Two beers
c. One glass of wine
d. none

5. The degree of alcohol intoxication is accurately measured by
a. The amount of alcohol in the beverages you’ve drunk
b. The percentage of alcohol in your blood
c. The number of hours you’ve been drinking
d. The number of drinks you’ve had in one sitting
Which of the following statements about alcoholism is NOT true?
a. It is curable
b. It is treatable
c. It is a disease
d. It is lifelong
Decisions for Health level blue pg. 369

6. Alcohol: what IS
IT?Alcohol is created when grains, fruits, or vegetables are fermented.
Fermentation is a process that uses yeast or bacteria to change the sugars in
the food into alcohol. Alcohol has different forms and can be used as a cleaner,
an antiseptic, or a sedative.
When people drink alcohol, it's absorbed into their bloodstream. Alcohol is a
depressant. It affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord),
which controls virtually all body functions. Because experts now know that the
human brain is still developing during our teens, scientists are researching the
effects drinking alcohol can have on the teen brain.

7. WHY DO TEENS DRINK?
Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common.
Some reasons that teens use alcohol and other drugs are:
•curiosity
•to feel good, reduce stress, and relax
•to fit in
•to feel older
•to “escape” from the real world
From a very young age, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful
people enjoying life — and alcohol. And because many parents and other
adults use alcohol socially — having beer or wine with dinner, for example
— alcohol seems harmless to many teens.

8. It is ILLEGAL to drink alcohol as a teenager. Age restrictions differ from
country to country, in the United States age it is 21; for most other
countries the legal drinking age is 18.
The punishment for drinking is severe. Teens who drink put themselves
at risk for obvious problems with the law (you can get arrested). Teens
who drink are also more likely to get into fights and commit crimes than
those who don't.
Why should teens not drink?
You can become addicted to it.
You can look really stupid. The impression is that drinking is cool, but
the nervous system changes that come from drinking alcohol can make
people do stupid or embarrassing things, like throwing up or peeing on
themselves. Drinking also gives people bad breath, and no one enjoys a
hangover.

9. Alcohol puts your health at risk. Teens who drink are more likely to be
sexually active and to have unsafe, unprotected sex. Resulting pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases can change — or even end — lives.
The risk of injuring yourself, maybe even fatally, is higher when you're under
the influence, too.
One half of all drowning deaths among teen guys are related to alcohol use.
Use of alcohol greatly increases the chance that a teen will be involved in a car
crash, homicide, or suicide.
Teen drinkers are more likely to get fat or have health problems, too. One
study by the University of Washington found that people who regularly had
five or more drinks in a row starting at age 13 were much more likely to be
overweight or have high blood pressure by age 24 than their nondrinking
peers.
People who continue drinking heavily well into adulthood risk damaging
their organs, such as the liver, heart, and brain.

10. How does it affect the
body?
Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function of the central nervous
system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain.
This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. In
very small amounts, alcohol can help a person feel more relaxed or less anxious.
More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain, resulting in intoxication.
People who have overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and
slur their speech. They will probably be confused and disoriented. Depending
on the person, intoxication can make someone very friendly and talkative or very
aggressive and angry. Reaction times are slowed dramatically — which is
why people are told not to drink and drive. People who are intoxicated may think
they're moving properly when they're not. They may act totally out of character.

11. When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time,
alcohol poisoning can result. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds
like — the body has become poisoned by large amounts of alcohol.
•Violent vomiting is usually the first symptom of alcohol poisoning.
•Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness
•Difficulty breathing
•Dangerously low blood sugar,
•Seizures, and even death may result.
Binge drinking (alcohol poisoning) is the most life-threatening consequence
of binge drinking. When someone drinks too much and gets alcohol
poisoning, it affects the body's involuntary reflexes — including breathing and
the gag reflex. If the gag reflex isn't working properly, a person can
choke to death on his or her vomit .

13. Cirrhosis is a deadly disease that
replaces healthy liver tissue with
useless scar tissue due to long
term exposure to alcohol.
Liver has difficulties removing
poisons, such as the alcohol and
drugs, from the blood.
Toxins build up in the blood and
may affect the brain function.
cirrhosis

14. Fetal alcohol syndrome (fas)
A mother who drinks during her
pregnancy may harm the nervous
system and organs of the developing
fetus. This group of birth defects that
affect an unborn baby that has been
exposed to alcohol is called fetal
alcohol syndrome (FAS)
FAS can include:
•mental retardation
•Organ abnormalities
•Learning and behavioral problems

15. Factors affecting individual reactions to alcohol
•How much and how fast a person drinks
•Body weight
•Food in the stomach
•Genetic vulnerability
•Alcohol tolerance (drinking history)
•Gender
BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION (BAC) or LEVEL (BAL)
The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. It’s measure in percentages.
How fast does the liver process the alcohol (get rid of).
It is tested by breath test, a blood test or a urine test

16. alcoholism
Using alcohol regularly is usually just a step away from addiction — where
you depend on alcohol to feel good or get through your day.
It is a disease in which a person is physically or
psychologically addicted to alcohol.
WARNING SIGNS THAT SOMEONE MAY HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM:
•relying alcohol to have fun, forget problems, or relax
•having blackouts
•drinking alone
•withdrawing or keeping secrets from friends or family
•losing interest in activities that used to be important
•performing differently in school (grades dropping and frequent absences)
•building an increased tolerance to alcohol or drugs — gradually needing
more and more of the substance to get the same feeling
•lying, stealing, or selling stuff to get money for drugs or alcohol

17. It's usually hard for people to recognize they have a problem, which
is why friends or family often step in. People who are addicted to drugs
or alcohol may promise over and over that they'll stop.
Quitting is hard to do, and many people find they can't do it without
help. The best thing you can do is to talk to someone you trust —
preferably an adult who can support you — so you don't have to deal
with your problem alone.
They will have to go for counseling or even have to go to a treatment
center that deals with addiction.
Helping someone with a problem