Referat Alcohol - How alcohol affects the human body, What is beeing drunk ?

Alcohol

What is alcohol ?

Alcohol is a chemical; obtained by the fermentation of cereals or by distillation. Alcohol is a colourless liquid with a slightly sweet smel and a burned taste.

The alcoholic content of various drinks:

Fortified wine (port, sherry vermouth,) 15 - 22 %vol.

Ordinary wine 10 - 12 %vol.

Beer and cider 4 - 7 %vol.

Spirits and liqueurs (whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, vodka,) 40 - 50 %vol.

Why do people drink alcohol ?

All over the world people drink alcohol in a variety or different forms.

To celebrate

To relax

To be sociable

To feel adult and manly

Many people have their first alcoholic drink at about the age of 12.

Well some people would say: "I drink when I'm bored" or "I enjoy the feeling I get from drink" or "I like the taste" or "If I didn't drink I' d be missing out, wouldn' t I ?".

How alcohol affects the human body

The nervous system:
The main effect of alcohol is on the nervous system. It acts as a depressant and slows down the way the brain works. Large doses make a person sleepy.

The heart:

Alcohol increases a person's blood preasure and puls rate. Large amounts over a long period can damage the heart, making it "fatty" and weak.

The liver:

Most alcohol passes the liver on it's way into the bloodstream.

The stomach:

Very heavy drinkers can damage the lining of the stomach, so that food is not digested properly.

The skin:

Alcohol increases the flow in the blood vessels near the skin.

The rate at which a person gets drunk dependson how quickly the alcohol enters the bloodstream. The presence of food in the stomach slows down the rate at which alcohol passes into the rest of the body. A certain number of drinks during a meal may not make a person drunk. The same drinks, taken on their own, might quickly make the person drunk.

Alcohol is a habit forming. Having a few drinks is not dangerous, so long as a person keeps the amount under control. But someone who is a regular heavily drinker may reach the stage when he cannot do without alcohol.

A person who is physically or psychologically dependent on alcohol is called an alcoholic. Alcoholism is an illnes which can affect a person's whole life.

What is beeing drunk ?

Well there are four periods of drunkness:

Dizzy and Delightful: If you only drink a little, you'll only get middle drunk. This usually feels rather pleasant. You feel happy and lose some of your most common inhibitions, e.g. shyness. This can be fun because you dare to say and do some of the things you really want to. Being slightly drunk can stimulate conversations and companionships.

Drunk and Disorderly: If you go on drinking you get really drunk. You lose your selfcontrol, you find difficulty in talking, your vision becomes blurred and you may lose so many of your inhibitions that you say or do things that you'll regret later.

Dead drunk: If you still go on drinking you can become heavily drunk. This         means in fact that you've got alcohol poisoning. You wobble around, you lose all control over your speech and movements and you will probably be violently sick. You won't know what you you're doing. You may lose your memory and be unable to remember afterwards what happened.

Dead: Alcohol is a poison. If the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream goes         beyond a certain level, it can produce stupor, coma or death. Mixing drug-taking with drinking alcohol is dangerous even in small amounts and can be fatal.

The alcohol industry is a big business

In 1983, drinkers in the UK spent  £7,140 million on beer. In 1984, over £146 million was spent on advertising alcoholic drinks. In 1983 - 1984 the goverment received £5,963 million in Customs and Excise revenue on alcoholic drinks. More money is spent each year on alcoholic drinks than on chlothing.

Consumption of alcohol is increasing

In this picture you can see that the amount of spirits and wine are exploded in the last decade.

Drinking and driving

The presence of alcohol in the bloodstream affects a person's driving skill. Since 1967 it has been an offence to drive with a blood-alcohol level of more than 80 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. A person suspected of driving while under the unfluence of drink is given a breath test.

<picture cars>

The picture shows the old method of testing for high alcohol levels. It is now meassured by an alcometer.

Anyone convicted of driving while under the influence of drink is automatically disqualified from driving for a year and may also be fined or imprisoned.