Alcohol-Get the Facts
● An estimated 88,000 people die from
alcohol-related causes each year. Alcohol use
is the third leading preventable cause of death
in the U.S. (First is tobacco-caused deaths
and second is poor diet and physical inactivity.)
● Adolescents use alcohol more than any other drug, including tobacco and marijuana. (Department of Health and Human Services-HHS- Publication, Monitoring the Future National Survey)
● Although the legal age of buying alcohol is 21 years of age, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the U.S. (CDC)
● Youths who drink alcohol are more likely to have school problems, social problems, legal problems, disruption of normal growth and sexual development, higher risk for suicide, memory problems, permanent changes in brain development, and death from alcohol poisoning.
● The risk for developing major physical, mental, and social problems is greater for those who binge drink than for those who do not binge drink.
● Alcohol poisoning occurs when the control centers of the brain (controlling breathing, heart rate, and temperature) shut down because of too much alcohol in the bloodstream.
Important: If you think someone has alcohol poisoning, call 911 immediately and get medical help. The person cannot “sleep it off” or get better by drinking coffee, walking, or taking a cold shower. This is a medical emergency.
● Underage drinking is dangerous. Alcohol is a factor in the deaths of 4,358 young people under the age of 21, including deaths from motor vehicle crashes, homicides, alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, drownings, and suicides.
● Research has shown that long-term, excessive alcohol use damages almost all of the body’s major organs and can lead to cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast.
● A brain damaged by alcohol abuse will remain damaged long after the person achieves sobriety. Some of the long-term effects from a history of heavy drinking may be permanent.
● The more alcohol a person drinks, the more the brain is impaired or damages. Blackouts, a period of time that the drinker cannot remember later, can occur.
● Long-term health risks of alcohol abuse include dementia, stroke, heart problems, depression, suicide, increasing risk of various types of cancers, liver diseases and social problems.
● The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines heavy alcohol use as “binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month”.
● The NIAAA (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) defines binge drinking as “a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dl (grams per deciliter). This usually occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2 hours.
● Teens drink for a variety of reasons. They
may just want to try it, they may be pressured
to drink by peers or they may be trying to cope
with stress or other problems. Drinking will only
make the problems worse.
● Drinking during teen years may interfere with normal brain development.
● In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-related driving crashes; this is 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S.
● Underage drinking is a risk that attracts many adolescents and teens. Many do not recognize the dangers of the effects on their health. Others try alcohol due to peer pressure, desire of independence, and to relieve stress.
● Drinking too much alcohol in a short time period can cause death.
● People under the influence of alcohol have difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slow reaction time, and impaired memory and judgement.
● A brain damaged by alcohol abuse will remain damaged long after the person stops drinking. Some of the long-term effects from heavy drinking may be permanent and severe.
● According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), binge
drinking results in about 23,000 deaths of
women and girls each year.
● Binge drinking increases the chances of
breast cancer, heart disease, sexually
transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy. Drinking during pregnancy can lead to sudden infant death syndrome.
● According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), young people under the age 21 years are more likely to carry out or be the victim of a physical or sexual assault after drinking than others their age who do not drink.
● Alcohol continues to affect the brain and body long after you have taken your last drink. Alcohol in the stomach and intestines continues to enter the bloodstream for hours after you stop drinking.
● As the amount of alcohol consumed increases, so does the degree of impairment of the brain. Blackouts, a period of time that the drinker cannot remember later, can occur.
● Alcohol and tobacco use are significant risk factors for developing heart disease and cancers.
● A person with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder,
caused by the mother drinking alcohol during
pregnancy, may have abnormal facial features,
small head size, poor coordination, learning
disabilities, low IQ, vision problems, and problems
with the heart, kidneys, and bones.
Image: Baby with fetal alcohol syndrome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_
● In 2016, 20.7 million people aged 16 years or older drove under the influence of alcohol and 11.8 million drove under the influence of illegal drugs. (2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
● Physical and mental effects of drug abuse depend on the type of drug used, but all drugs have side effects that may be unexpected.
● The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines heavy alcohol use as “binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month”.
●When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby. Alcohol passes through the placenta to the baby through the umbilical cord. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the child.
● According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the immediate effects of alcohol, including an increase in blood alcohol concentration (BAC), can begin 10 minutes after your first sip.
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