Alcohol Awareness

We all know that alcohol impairs our ability to drive, but have you ever wondered how alcohol literally affects your body?  Discover the harmful effects of alcohol on your body's major organs through our interactive model .  Take the alcohol quiz to test your knowledge about alcohol and the way it interacts with your body.

Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest

• Alcohol is involved in 40% of traffic deaths in the United States.
• Studies show that young people who began drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependencies during their lifetime than those who began drinking at age 21 or later.
• Young people who began drinking before age 15 are seven times more likely to be in an automobile accident because of drinking both during adolescence and adulthood.

A Family History of Alcoholism

Many people with a family history of alcoholism wonder if it will affect them.  A family history of alcoholism does not guarantee a person will become an alcoholic.  Scientific studies have shown that children of alcoholics are about four times more likely than the general population to develop alcohol problems.  It's important to remember that genes are not the only things that children inherit from their parents.  Researchers have found a person's risk increases if the person is in a family with the following difficulties:

• An alcoholic parent is depressed or has other psychological problems
• Both parents abuse alcohol and other drugs
• The parents' alcohol abuse is severe
• Conflict leads to aggression and violence in the family

Talk to Your Child About Alcohol

Too much alcohol becomes a deadly poison.  A teenager's brain is still developing and in result is very sensitive to alcohol's effects on judgement and decision making.  Research shows parents do make a difference.  Talking with your child now can prevent problems from occurring later. Download a printable brochure to learn about a few important talking points with your high school graduate or your young adult away at college . 

A Women's Health Issue

Keeping up with all the health issues facing women is challenging enough, adding alcohol to the mix complicates things even more.  Alcohol affects women much differently than men.  There are times and ways to drink that are safer than others.  With this in mind it is important to know how alcohol affects a woman's health and safety.

• Women are at greater risk than men for developing alcohol-related problems.
• Women have less water in their bodies than men; therefore, a woman's brain and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and more of the toxic byproducts that result when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol.
• While heavy drinking can damage the heart, drinking moderately may lower the risk for coronary heart disease, mainly among women over age 55.
• Research suggests that as little as one drink per day can slightly raise the risk of breast cancer in some women, especially those who have a family history of breast cancer.
• Drinking by a pregnant woman can harm her unborn baby, and may result in a variety of birth defects.
• An estimated 5.3 million women in the United States drink in a way that threatens their health, safety, and general well-being.  Learn more about alcohol and women's health from the NIAAA.

Tips to Cut Down on Drinking

• Keep Track: Keep track of how much you drink.  If you make note of each drink before you drink it, this will help you to slow down when necessary. 
• Count and Measure: Know the standard drink size so you can count your drinks accurately. 
• Set Goals: Decide how many days a week you want to drink and how many drinks you'll have on those days. 
• Pace and Space: Have no more than one drink per hour and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda, or juice. 
• Include Food: Don't drink on an empty stomach. 
• Avoid Triggers: What triggers your urge to drink?  Avoid the triggers and plan to do things other than drinking. 
• Plan to Handle Urges: Get involved with a healthy, distracting activity. 
• Know your "no": Have a polite and convincing "no, thanks" ready for when someone offers you a drink and you don't want one.
• Download this brochure from the US Department of Health and Human Services. 

*Information and statistics provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.