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Alcohol kills 97,500 people in the U.S. each year (accidents and alcohol induced illnesses)

Children of alcoholics have four times greater risk of developing alcoholism than children of non-alcoholics.

A 12 ounce beer contains just as much alcohol as a 1 1/2 ounce shot of liquor and a 4 ounce glass of wine.

Approximately 30% of boys and 22% of girls classify themselves as drinkers by the age of 13.

In the U.S. 4.6 million teenagers experience serious problems with alcohol.

Health facts

• Alcohol is oxidized in preference to fat, saving fat for storage.
• Alcohol impairs calcium absorption and reduces muscle mass.
• Carbonated beverages can get you drunk faster than non-carbonated beverages (carbon dioxide speeds up alcohol absorption into the bloodstream).
• Women are affected more by alcohol than are men due to their smaller body size and higher percent body fat.
• Oral contraceptives increase alcohol absorption.
• Heavy alcohol use by women may cause menstrual irregularities, infertility, an increased risk of breast cancer and loss of sex drive.
• Heavy alcohol use by men reduces the level of testosterone, which may cause enlargement of the breasts, shrinking of the testicles and impotence.
• Heavy alcohol use by both men and women may cause high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, and increases susceptibility to infectious diseases and cancer.

Sobriety tips for party hosts

• Plan to have plenty of soft drinks, coffee, and nonalcoholic fruit punch available.
• Serve all the drinks in the same kind of glass. This helps alleviate peer pressure to drink alcohol.
• Serve plenty of high protein foods such as cheese, meat, hard boiled or deviled eggs, broiled chicken, seafood, and fresh vegetables. They stay in the stomach longer and slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
• Salted crackers and potato chips are easy to serve, but they speed up the alcohol entry into the bloodstream.
• Never allow a friend to drive while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Care for the intoxicated

Excessive consumption of alcohol may result in nausea and vomiting, stupor, hangover, unconsciousness and even death. What constitutes an average versus a large amount will vary with each individual and each situation.

• Do not reinforce drinking behavior.
• Do not induce vomiting
• Do not try to sober them up with stimulants (drugs or caffeine).
• Do not give the person a cold shower, it may shock them and cause them to pass out.
• Do not try to walk, run or exercise a drunk person (someone may get hurt).
• Do not try and keep a drunk person awake.
• Do not attempt to restrain a drunk person.

The best thing is to let the person sleep it off, have them sleep in their side.

Too much drinking can lead to malnutrition , lowered resistance to infections and the increased risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and liver. Other dangers to the body include the possibility of irreversible damage to the brain and the central nervous system and severe damage to the heart, lungs, pancreas and liver.

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