Substance abuse: Alcohol Consumption and alcohol dependence among the youth

Drinking has different effects on different people, and the same amount of alcohol can affect the same person differently on different occasions.

Four factors influence how alcohol affects people:

Amount of Alcohol. The more alcohol, the stronger the effects. A person may drink beer, wine, or whiskey; what matters is the amount of alcohol that is consumed.

Body Weight. People who weigh more are less affected by the same amount of alcohol than people who weigh less. Alcohol is water soluble heavier people have more blood and water in their bodies, so the same amount of alcohol will be more diluted. Gender also affects the influence of alcohol.

Women have a higher proportion of fat and a lower proportion of water in their bodies than men; therefore, a woman will have a higher blood alcohol content than a man who is of the same weight and who drinks the same amount.

Food. Alcohol "goes to the head" more slowly if one has just eaten or if one eats while drinking. Food slows down the passage of alcohol from the stomach to the small intestine.

Attitudes. What a person expects to happen after drinking has a lot to do with what does happen. A drinker who expects to get drunk is more likely to feel or act drunk.

In one study, an experienced group of drinkers was given a glass of something non-alcoholic but was told it contained alcohol. Most of the group still got drunk.

Immediate effects of alcohol.

When consumed, alcohol goes right to the stomach and passes through to the small intestine, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream. It takes about 30 seconds for the first amounts of alcohol to reach the brain after ingestion. Once there, alcohol acts primarily on nerve cells deep in the brain.

One drink for the average person (a 12-ounce beer, five ounces of wine, or one and one-half ounces of 80-proof whiskey) will create a feeling of relaxation. Two and a half drinks in an hour can affect the drinker's judgement and lower inhibitions. Five drinks in two hours will raise the blood alcohol content (BAC) to. 1 0, the point of legal intoxication in most countries.

After this amount of alcohol, the average drinker will experience blurred vision, slurred speech, poor muscle coordination, and a lack of rational judgement. Ten drinks will yield a BAC of 0.20. It will take 1 0 hours for the alcohol to be completely metabolised. After more than 12 drinks, the BAC will rise to 0.30 and the drinker will be in a stupor. A

BAC of O.40 to 0.50 will induce coma. A drinker in this condition may be near death because he could vomit and choke while unconscious. Breathing is likely to stop with a BAC of 0.60. The BAC can be measured by using a breath, urine or blood test. This amount is measured as a percentage -- how many parts of Alcohol to how many parts of blood.

Eliminating alcohol from the body is a long process. About 90 percent must be metabolised through the liver. The remaining 10 percent is eliminated through the lungs and urine. It takes about one hour to eliminate one-half ounce of alcohol.

Heavy drinking in a short period of time will often cause a hangover the next day. A hangover is a sign of alcohol poisoning; it is the body's reaction to alcohol withdrawal. Symptoms of a hangover include nausea, disorientation, headache, irritability and tremors.

The concept of alcohol dependence (alcoholism).

What is alcoholism?

The conception of inveterate drunkenness as a disease appears to be rooted in antiquity. The Roman philosopher Seneca classified it as a form of insanity. The term alcoholism, however, appears first in the classical essay "Alcoholismus Chronicus" (1849) by the Swedish physician Magnus Huss.

The phrase chronic alcoholism rapidly became a medical term for the condition of habitual inebriety conceived as a disease; and the bearer of the disease was called an alcoholic or alcoholist (e.g., Italian alcoolisto, French alcoolique, German Alkoholiker, Spanish alcohуlico,

Swedish alkoholist).Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, is psychological and/or physical reliance on alcohol. It is one of the most common medical illnesses seen by physicians. If you are dependent on alcohol, you feel or show a need for it when it is stopped. If you crave alcohol, or feel distressed without it, you are said to be psychologically dependent. If you have bodily changes when alcohol is stopped, such as hot and cold flashes and/or tremors, you are said to be physically dependent.

Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterised by continuous or periodic impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.