Why do people drink?
Brown
students were asked this question as part of a national college
alcohol study in 2001. Among the students who drink, here are the
most common responses:
To
have a good time with friends -- 91%
To
celebrate -- 90%
To
relax or relieve tension -- 74%
Because
they like the taste -- 69%
Not surprisingly,
no one wants to drink because they like throwing up, getting arrested
or winding up in the emergency room. What people enjoy about drinking
is what happens within the first few drinks. So if you choose to
drink, know what you're getting into and know what risks are involved.
Think about how many times things happen that you DON'T like and
then ask yourself what you can do to make safer choices. Click here
for ways to cut down.
What
are the short-term risks of drinking?
When you're drinking, one of the first things to
go is your judgment. So, celebrating or having fun with friends
can quickly turn into embarrassing yourself, getting hurt, throwing
up or nursing a hangover. These statistics show the very real risks
of drinking in college:
70%
of college students admit to engaging in unplanned sexual activity
primarily as a result of drinking or to having sex they wouldn't
have had if they had been sober.
Alcohol
is involved in over 90% of all campus rapes.
Alcohol
makes some drinkers violent and 50% of non-academic discipline
cases at Brown involve alcohol.
At
least 1 out of 5 college students abandons safer sex practices
when they're drunk, even if they do protect themselves when they're
sober.
Heavy
drinkers consistently have lower grades.
One
night of heavy drinking can impair your ability to think abstractly
and grasp difficult concepts for a month.
Is
it dangerous to mix alcohol and other drugs?
Alcohol can be dangerous when mixed with other recreational
drugs or medications. Below are some of the reactions that might
take place after mixing alcohol with different types of drugs:
Sedatives
Using alcohol with GHB, Rohypnol, Ketamine, barbiturates, tranquilizers
or sleeping pills will multiply the sedative effects of both drugs,
which can slow down your central nervous system enough to cause
loss of consciousness, a coma or death. Sedatives like GHB and Rohypnol
have been used as date
rape drugs because of this dangerous combination.
Marijuana
Using alcohol with marijuana can decrease motor control and mental
concentration and greatly impair your ability to drive. Because
marijuana suppresses the gag reflex, you may not be able to throw
up alcohol when your body needs to.
Opiates
Using alcohol with narcotics such as heroin, codeine or Darvon slows
down the central nervous system and can cause your breathing to
stop, a coma and even death.
Prescription
drugs
More than 150 medications interact harmfully with alcohol. Alcohol's
effects are heightened by medicines that depress the central nervous
system, such as sleeping pills, antihistamines, antidepressants,
anti-anxiety drugs, and some painkillers. In addition, medicines
for certain disorders, including diabetes, high blood pressure and
heart disease, can have harmful interactions with alcohol. Using
alcohol with a prescribed drug or an over-the-counter drug may effect
your liver's ability to metabolize the medication and can decrease
the medication's effectiveness. The combination of drugs can also
multiply the effects of the alcohol and the medication and may cause
liver damage. Call your pharmacist to ask about using alcohol with
any prescribed drug or over-the-counter drugs.
What
is alcohol poisoning?
Alcohol poisoning occurs when someone drinks to the
point that their blood alcohol content (BAC) reaches dangerous levels
and causes the central nervous system to slow down. Breathing and
heart rate become slower and slower, and the person can lose consciousness,
slip into a coma and die. If someone is unconscious and begins vomiting,
they could choke to death on their own vomit. The severe dehydration
of alcohol poisoning can cause seizures or permanent brain damage.
Alcohol
poisoning is most likely to happen when someone drinks a large amount
of alcohol very quickly. Because the liver can only process roughly
1 drink per hour, a person's BAC can continue to rise for several
hours.
Warning
signs of alcohol poisoning
Person
cannot be roused (unconscious).
Vomiting.
Seizures.
Slow
breathing (fewer than 8 breaths per minute).
Irregular
breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths).
Hypothermia
(low body temperature), bluish skin color, or paleness.
What
is tolerance?
Tolerance refers to a reduction in the effects of alcohol (or other
drugs) over the course of repeated use. So, someone developing tolerance
to alcohol must drink more to feel the same effect that had been
achieved with fewer drinks.
Tolerance
can be a warning sign for alcoholism. If a person can drink large
amounts of alcohol and not feel the effects, you are at risk for
becoming dependent on alcohol. Most people will look at the BAC
chart and find that they feel the effects that are described
at that blood alcohol concentration. If you don't feel those effects
until much higher amounts of alcohol, you are developing tolerance.
The body's
organs do not develop tolerance. They are damaged by the alcohol
no matter how well a person can function. Tolerance does not protect
you from lethal amounts of alcohol. Although someone feels that
he can "hold his liquor," he is still at risk for alcohol
poisoning.
Tolerance
is a complex physiological process, and the research literature
defines several different types of tolerance, including acute tolerance,
environment-dependent tolerance and learned tolerance. For an in-depth
discussion, go to the National
Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism and search the site
for research on tolerance.
How
much do you spend on alcohol?
A few dollars here, another few there -- have you ever kept track
of how much you spend on a night out drinking? Use this Alcohol
Cost Calculator to calculate the amount you've committed
to quenching your thirst. It will give you a monthly total and a
yearly total. Think about what you could buy with all the money
you spent on drinks.
How
many calories are in a drink?
Alcohol supplies calories but few or no nutrients. When you drink
alcohol, your body actually metabolizes alcohol as if it were a
fat. So, your body will treat those alcohol calories in a can of
beer or a shot of vodka like a couple of teaspoons of butter. Click
on this link for the Alcohol
Calorie Calculator to find the serving size and average
calorie amount of your favorite drinks. You can then compute your
calorie intake.
When
is someone considered too drunk to drive?
According to the National
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence the leading
cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds in the U.S. is driving while
intoxicated. After drinking many people think they are fine to drive,
but it is important to remember that alcohol impairs your judgment.
This means that after a few drinks you can't judge whether you are
sober enough to drive!
In Rhode
Island, if you are over 21 the legal BAC
limit for driving is .08. Even though driving with a BAC of .05
is technically legal, your risk of having an accident increases
by 100%. If you are under 21 the BAC limit is .02 -- that's less
than 1 drink for women under 250 lbs. or for men under 225 lbs.
DWI penalties
in Rhode Island include fines, license suspension, community service,
alcohol education classes and/or treatment.
Are
there long-term risks to drinking?
There is some evidence that moderate drinking (1 to 2 drinks a day)
may be good for the cardio-vascular system. However, any positive
effects disappear at higher levels of drinking. Chronic or heavy
drinkers are more likely to experience:
Appetite
loss, vitamin deficiencies, inflammation of the stomach, vulnerability
to infection and skin problems.
Damage
to the liver, pancreas, central nervous system, heart and blood
vessels.
Permanent
and irreversible memory loss.
Development
of cirrhosis of the liver and cancers of the lung, throat and
mouth.
Death
from heart and liver diseases, pneumonia, acute alcohol poisoning,
accidents and suicide.
It is
estimated that 300,000 of today's college students will eventually
die of alcohol-related causes, such as cirrhosis of the liver, various
cancers, heart disease and drunk driving accidents.
How do you know if someone is an alcoholic?
An alcoholic lacks control over their drinking and will continue
to drink even though they know that it's causing problems in their
lives. Alcoholics generally develop psychological dependence first
and crave alcohol but don't experience unpleasant physical symptoms.
Physical dependence develops with continued heavy use and is characterized
by the alcoholic feeling profound anxiety, tremors, sleep disturbances,
hallucinations and seizures within hours after they stop drinking.
Many
people are not alcoholics but experience problems related to drinking.
That is, their drinking patterns frequently cause negative consequences,
like fights, blackouts, car accidents or unprotected sex. For either
situation, there is help
at Brown and in Providence. Recognizing
a problem provides a more comprehensive look at this
topic.
Great graphics and pictures make this site an easy way to get your
questions answered. Topics include Alcohol and Your Body, Alcohol
and Sex, Dealing with a Friend's Drinking, Children of Alcoholics
and Drugs.
Learn how gender, body weight, food and how fast you drink can affect
your blood alcohol concentration. This is an interactive tool that
shows you how much alcohol is in different drinks and how your BAC
would compare to male and female friends.
e-CHUG is a free, anonymous assessment tool that provides individualized feedback on the role alcohol is playing in your life. You can also see how your use compares with other college students. If you would like to talk to someone about your use, you can call Health Education at 401.863-2794 for an appointment.
Click on the section for students to find out about myths and facts,
take an interactive tour of the flow of alcohol through the body
or learn about alcohol poisoning. You can use the Calorie Counter
to learn about the number of calories in different drinks and you
can send an eCard to someone whose drinking worries you.
NIAAA publishes research on many aspects of alcohol, answers frequently
asked questions and provides pamphlets and brochures. The research
papers and reports can be downloaded.
This confidential and anonymous survey gives you feedback about the likely risks of your alcohol and drug use.
Disclaimer: Health Education is part of Health Services at Brown University. Health Education maintains this site as a resource for Brown students. This site is not intended to replace consultation with your medical providers. No site can replace real conversation. Health Education offers no endorsement of and assumes no liability for the currency, accuracy, or availability of the information on the sites we link to or the care provided by the resources listed. Health Services staff are available to treat and give medical advice to Brown University students only. If you are not a Brown student, but are in need of medical assistance please call your own health care provider or in case of an emergency, dial 911. Please contact usif you have comments, questions or suggestions.
