ALCOHOL

• On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes.

• In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in alcohol-impaired traffic crashes.

• Three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lives.

• A first time drunk driving offender on average has driven drunk 87 times prior to being arrested.

• MULTIPLIER EFFECT IS MIXING ALCOHOL WITH OTHER DRUGS.

VERY DANGEROUS! ALCOHOL IS A DEPRESSANT!

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the US and are responsible for more than one in three deaths of American teenagers. Of the teen drivers killed on the road in 2006, 31% had been drinking, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

What is Alcohol• Alcohol is a depressant. MULTIPLIER EFFECT IS MIXING ALCOHOL WITH OTHER

DRUGS.VERY DANGEROUS! ALCOHOL IS A DEPRESSANT!A depressant slows down the central nervous system.

What does it look like?• Alcohol is used in liquid form.

How is it used?• Alcohol is drunk. Types include beer, wine, and liquor.

• Although classified as a depressant, the amount of alcohol consumed determines the type of effect. Most people drink for the stimulant effect, such as a beer or glass of wine taken to “loosen up.” But if a person consumes more than the body can handle, they then experience alcohol’s depressant effect. They start to feel “stupid” or lose coordination and control.

Immediate effects of alcohol

• Brain depresses the activity of central nervous system• Liver oxidation (the breaking down of alcohol into

water, carbon dioxide and energy)• Blood vessels dilate (widens, feels warmer)• Heart rate increases• Blood pressure increases• Kidneys produce urine (feel dehydrated next day)• Stomach increase gastric juices, irritates stomach lining• Dizziness• Talkativeness• Significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required

to drive a car safely.

• The disinhibiting effect of alcohol is one of the main reasons it is used in so many social situations.

• The immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred speech, disturbed sleep, nausea, and vomiting

• Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse. Hangovers are another possible effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed; a hangover consists of headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness, and fatigue.

How fast can alcohol effect the body?

• When a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, enters the bloodstream, and goes to all the tissues. The effects of alcohol are dependent on a variety of factors:

• person’s size • weight • type of drink (carbonated) • age• Sex male/female• amount of food in stomach• amount of alcohol consumed.

What are its long-term effects?

• Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism). Sudden cessation (to stop drinking )of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions.

• Tolerance need more of the drug to get the same effect first time

• Dependence body needs the drug• Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially when combined

with poor nutrition, can lead to permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver. Cirrhosis: scarring of the liver.

• Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities

• Research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics.

If you consume alcoholic beverages, it’s important to know whether your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

• Leading cause of mental handicaps in children.• Impaired speech• Shorter in height• Lighter in weight• Slow body growth• Heart defects• Poor coordination• Cleft palates

• Alcohol overdose causes even more severe depressant effects (inability to feel pain, toxicity where the body vomits the poison, and finally unconsciousness or, worse, coma or death from severe toxic overdose). These reactions depend on how much is consumed and how quickly.

• There are different kinds of alcohol.

Ethyl alcohol (ethanol), the only alcohol used in beverages, is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits. Fermenting is a chemical process whereby yeast acts upon certain ingredients in the food, creating alcohol.

• A MODERATE DRINKER does not drink excessively. Health is not harmed, no inappropriate behavior due to alcohol.

• • A SOCIAL DRINKER drinks only on social occasions.

Depending on how alcohol affects the persons life the person could be a moderate or a problem drinker.

• • A BINGE DRINKER drinks 4 or more drinks in a short

period.• • A PROBLEM DRINKER (alcohol abuser) suffers social,

emotional, family, job related, or other problems. On the way to alcoholism.

Understanding how alcohol affects the body

• Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream via small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Within minutes of drinking alcohol, it travels from the stomach to the brain, where it quickly produces its effects, slowing the action of nerve cells.

Alcohol is also carried by the bloodstream to the liver, which eliminates the alcohol from the blood through a process called “metabolizing,” where it is converted to a nontoxic substance. The liver can only metabolize a certain amount at a time, leaving the excess circulating throughout the body. Thus the intensity of the effect on the body is directly related to the amount consumed.When the amount of alcohol in the blood exceeds a certain level, the respiratory (breathing) system slows down markedly, and can cause a coma or death, because oxygen no longer reaches the brain.

Alcohol dependence (alcoholism) consists of four symptoms:

• Craving: a strong need, or compulsion, to drink. • Loss of control: the inability to limit one’s drinking on

any given occasion. • Physical dependence: withdrawal symptoms, such as

nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.

• Serious dependence can lead to life-threatening withdrawal symptoms including convulsions, starting eight to twelve hours after the last drink. The delirium tremens (D.T.’s) begins three to four days later where the person becomes extremely agitated, shakes, hallucinates and loses touch with reality.

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AN ALCOHOL ADDICT (alcoholic) has the full blown disease of alcoholism. This person’s problems, caused by alcohol abuse are out of control.

• •

SIGNS OF AN ALCOHOLIC:• Drinks alone• Family/work affected• Hides alcohol• Drinks in the morning• Blacks out• Promises it is the last drink• Loss of control• •

What is binge drinking?

• Binge drinking is the practice of consuming large quantities of alcohol in a single session, usually defined as five or more drinks at one time for a man, or four or more drinks at one time for a woman.

• About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.

Impaired Driving

Driving while impaired can mean under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, or both. Consider these sobering statistics

from MADD

Alcohol and the Teen Brain

• The human brain continues to grow into a person's early 20s. Drinking alcohol during that time can damage short and long-term brain growth and that damage can be permanent.

• Teens are more likely to suffer blackouts, memory loss, and alcohol poisoning from drinking, as well as to cause damage to their ability to remember things in the future.

• All parts of the growing brain are impacted negatively by alcohol, but the memory function is especially hard hit.

What impact does that have on me?

• Well, adolescent drinkers perform worse in school, are more likely to fall behind and have an increased risk of social problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and violence.

• Because the brain (specifically, the regulation of the brain through serotonin, which provides balance and impulse control) becomes used to the use of alcohol, people who begin drinking in their teens are not only at greater risk for developing alcoholism sometime in their lives, they are also at greater risk for developing alcoholism more quickly and at younger ages, especially chronic, relapsing alcoholism.

WOW!• About 10.8 million young people aged 12 to 20

(28.3%) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Approximately 7.2 million (19%) were binge drinkers and 2.4 million (6.2%) were heavy drinkers.

• Alcohol is the number #1 youth drug problem in America and more young people die from alcohol-related accidents than from all other illicit drugs combined.

Why is the legal drinking age 21?

• “When the drinking age was raised, crashes went down almost 30 percent.

• NHTSA estimates nearly 25,000 teen traffic deaths have been prevented by age-21 laws. The percentage of teen drivers killed in traffic crashes with a BAC above the legal limit has dropped from 56 percent in 1982 to 23 percent in 2005.

According to MADD

• Since that time, the 21 minimum drinking age law has saved about 900 lives per year as estimated by the National Traffic Highway Administration (NHTSA). In short, there are more than 25,000 people alive today because of the 21 minimum drinking age law in every state.

• Additionally, underage drinking rates also fell and continue to fall. From 1991 to the present, use of alcohol among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders has dropped 45%, 30%, and 18%, respectively

HISTORY OF THE 21 MINIMUM DRINKING AGE

• For almost 40 years, most states voluntarily set their minimum drinking age law at 21. In the late 60s and early 70s, 29 states lowered their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age.

The results were immediate -- drunk driving crashes and alcohol-related fatalities increased significantly in those states.1And not just in those states -- "blood borders", where young people would drive to a state with a lower drinking age, drink, and crash on their return, cropped up across the country. As a result, 16 states had increased their drinking ages back to age 21 by 1983

Confronted by the failure of the 18 minimum drinking age, the President Commission on Drunk Driving recommended establishing a national 21 minimum drinking age. President Reagan agreed and on July 17, 1984, he signed into law the Uniform Drinking Age Act mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal drinking age within five years. By 1988, all states had set 21 as the minimum drinking age.

How to Spot a Drunk Driver• Quick acceleration or deceleration

• Tailgating • Weaving or zig-zagging across the road • Driving anywhere other than on a road designated for vehicles • Almost striking an object, curb, or vehicle • Stopping without cause or erratic braking • Drifting in and out of traffic lanes • Signaling that is inconsistent with driving actions • Slow response to traffic signals (e.g. sudden stop or delayed start) • Straddling the center lane marker • Driving with headlights off at night • Swerving • Driving slower than 10 mph below the speed limit • Turning abruptly or illegally • Driving into opposing traffic on the wrong side of the road

What to do if you see a drunk driver

1. Stay as far away from the other vehicle as possible.

2. Do not try to pass the vehicle or signal the driver to pull over. Doing so could result in a collision.

3. Take notice of the license plate number of the driver along with details of the vehicle including make, model and color.

4. Pull over and call 911. Give the exact location of the vehicle, including the name of the road or cross streets and the direction the vehicle is traveling. Give a complete description of the vehicle and the manner in which the vehicle is being driven.

What is blood alcohol concentration?

• BAC stands for blood/breath alcohol content.• BAC is the amount of alcohol in the body. It

can be measured by testing blood, breath and urine.BAC is most commonly measured using the intoxilyzer test.

• An average drink for a 140-180 lb. person may raise the BAC .02 grams. For lighter people it would be higher.

Understanding .08

• Alcohol decreases a person’s ability to drive a motor vehicle safely. The more you drink, the greater the effect. The amount of alco¬hol required to become impaired differs according to how fast you drink, your weight, your gender, and how much food you have in your stomach. Because of these variables, the safest choice is always not to drink and drive.

.02• Some loss of judgment• Relaxation• Slight body warmth• Altered mood• Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target)• Decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention)

.05 can get a DUI• Exaggerated behavior• May have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes)• Impaired judgment• Usually good feeling• Lowered alertness• Release of inhibition• Reduced coordination• Reduced ability to track moving objects• Difficulty steering• Reduced response to emergency driving situations

.08 legally intoxicated DUI• Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing)• Harder to detect danger• Judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired• Concentration• Short-term memory loss• Speed control• Reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search)• Impaired perception

.10• Clear deterioration of reaction time and control• Slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking• Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately

.15 • Far less muscle control than normal• Vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol)• Major loss of balance• Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and visual and auditory information processing

Don’t think this can’t happen to you!

or the belief

“……that could never happen to me.”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 100 lb .038 .075 .113 .150 .188 .225 .263 .300 .338 .375 .413 .450 110 lb. .034 .066 .103 .137 .172 .207 .241 .275 .309 .344 .379 .412 120 lb. .031 .063 .094 .125 .156 .188 .219 .250 .281 .313 .344 .375 130 lb. .029 .058 .087 .116 .145 .174 .203 .232 .261 .290 .320 .348 140 lb. .027 .054 .080 .107 .134 .161 .188 .214 .241 .268 .295 .321 150 lb. .025 .050 .075 .100 .125 .151 .176 .201 .226 .251 .276 .301 160 lb. .023 .047 .070 .094 .117 .141 .164 .188 .211 .234 .258 .281 170 lb. .022 .045 .066 .088 .110 .132 .155 .178 .200 .221 .244 .265 180 lb. .021 .042 .063 .083 .104 .125 .146 .167 .188 .208 .229 .250 190 lb. .020 .040 .059 .079 .099 .119 .138 .158 .179 .198 .217 .237 200 lb. .019 .038 .056 .075 .094 .113 .131 .150 .169 .188 .206 .225 210 lb. .018 .036 .053 .071 .090 .107 .125 .143 .161 .179 .197 .215 220 lb. .017 .034 .051 .068 .085 .102 .119 .136 .153 .170 .188 .205 230 lb. .016 .032 .049 .065 .081 .098 .115 .130 .147 .163 .180 .196 240 lb. .016 .031 .047 .063 .078 .094 .109 .125 .141 .156 .172 .188

How To Calculate Your EstimatedBlood Alcohol Content / BAC

• Use the chart on the next page to determine BAC.

• Count your drinks (1 drink equals 1 ounce of 100-proof liquor, one five ounce glass of table wine or one 12-ounce bottle of regular beer).

• Subtract from this number the percent of alcohol "burned up" during the time elapsed since your first drink. This figure is .015% per hour. (Example: 180 lb. man - 8 drinks in 4 hours / .167% minus (.015x4) = .107 %

Ethyl alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. 12 ounces of beer = 5 ounces of wine (1 glass) = a 12

ounce wine cooler =1 ounce of 90 proof liquor.

ALL HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL

½ proof = % of alcohol 80 proof means 40 % alcohol

Traffic crashes are the #1 killer in the15-24 year old age group.

ALCOHOL FACTS

MORE ALCOHOL FACTS

Once a person stops drinking the body eliminates alcohol at the rate of about .015 grams BAC per hour.How does the body get rid of the alcohol? 10% thru urine, breath and sweat90% oxidized by the liver. It takes 1 hour per drinkCirrhosis- scarring of liver, no blood flow

Time is the only way to sober up!

OMG More Facts!

On sight tests: rapid eye movementtouch nosecount/abc’swalk line and balance

Blood, Breathalyzer and urinePassing out: the body loses consciousnessBlacking out: can’t remember what happened

the night before.

• Physiological dependence: body develops a chemical need for the drug . Body builds up tolerance and goes thru withdrawal with out the drug.

• Psychological dependence: a person believes the drug is needed.

• Addiction: physiological and psychological dependence on a drug

Driving while under the influence of sleep?

The effects of driving drowsy mimic the effects of driving drunk.

• Reaction time is slowed • Decreased awareness • Impaired judgment

• It turns out to be a fact that your body CANNOT predict sleep onset. Now, we have all experienced that buzz behind the eyes that makes us say...."I just need to close my eyes for ONE SECOND"....but did you know that even though you may have every conscious intention of re-opening your eyes, the body may feel different and onset sleep at that split second? If you have ever fallen asleep at the wheel and lived to tell the tale, don't EVER say you are an unlucky person!

• In the United States, 250,000 drivers fall asleep at the wheel everyday, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and in a national poll by the National Sleep Foundation, 54% of adult drivers said they had driven while drowsy during the past year with 28% saying they had actually fallen asleep while driving.

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving is a factor in more than 100,000 crashes, resulting in 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries annually

Memorial Day 2011my dad my nephew

my sister my nephew’s girlfriend

Tallahassee Trauma Hospital Alabama Hospital

Video clip of my sister the day her halo was screwed into her head.

Front View

Day after halo was in place.

Distracted Driving

• Driver inattention is a leading factor in many crashes, and cell phone use and texting are some of the most common driver distractions. While more and more states and localities are banning specific distractions, GHSA's message to all drivers is: don't use cell phones or other electronic devices while driving, regardless of the current law.

DON'T EAT AND DRIVE