What is alcohol?
What can alcohol do to you?
What is sensible drinking?
Dependency on alcohol and treatment
What happens in the body when you drink alcohol?
Legal position
Alcohol effects: men and women
Seeking help

Alcohol is often the first 'drug' that people take. Although alcohol is a 'legal' drug, if misused, it can lead people to act irrationally. Alcohol-related violence is a big social problem. Drink-driving still kills and claims thousands of lives each year.

Young people in the UK are known to be among the highest consumers of alcohol in Europe. There is also increasing evidence of many more young women developing problematic alcohol use.

What is alcohol?

The main psychoactive ingredient in alcoholic beverages is called ethanol (C₂H₅OH) and results from the fermentation of sugar by yeast. In addition to its use for human consumption, ethanol is also used as a fuel, as a solvent and in chemical manufacturing. Alcohol for consumption is readily available in a wide variety of forms.

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What can alcohol do to you?

Excessive drinking can cause a wide variety of physical damage to organs of the body as well as psychlogical harm, but principally can cause the following problems:

Psychological: depression, anxiety and in some cases, suicidal feelings. Alcohol can also increase feelings of anger. Alcohol is a mood altering substance which can lead to loss of control, possibly resulting in aggression and can significantly cause harm and distress to families
and others.

Physical: liver damage, stomach and pancreas disorders, sexual difficulties, high blood pressure, heart disease, nerve tissue damage, skin disorders and increased risk of some forms of cancer.

Alcohol is a painkiller. That is part of the problem for those who misuse it because it can suppress uncomfortable feelings and also produce feelings of well-being and confidence. Alcohol use is socially acceptable, and the
difficulty comes in knowing when to stop and recognising when you have a problem with it. Alcohol is an addictive drug that can take hold over time. It always presents a risk when used excessively.

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What is sensible drinking?

The Department of Health advises men should not drink more than three to four units of alcohol per day and women no more than two to three units a day.

• One unit of alcohol = 10 ml of pure alcohol
• A pint of ordinary beer or lager = two units
• A glass of red wine = two units
• A single pub measure of spirits such as gin or whisky = one unit

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Dependency on alcohol and treatment

Treatment for alcohol dependency may require the management of withdrawal symptoms through a detoxification programme and a range of
subsequent support.

Withdrawal symptoms can range from feeling nauseous, trembling, to heightened anxiety and a fever depending on the individual’s physical condition and drinking history. All these symptoms can be managed, and most people who enter treatment will find symptoms disappear after a period of two to four days.

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What happens in the body when you drink alcohol?

Absorption: about 20 percent of the alcohol in a drink is absorbed in the stomach and about 80 percent is absorbed in the small intestine.

• the greater the concentration of alcohol, the faster the absorption
• carbonated drinks tend to speed up the absorption of alcohol
• food slows down alcohol absorption.

The alcohol enters the bloodstream and dissolves in the water in the blood which carries it to the body tissues at which point it begins to take effect. Alcohol acts primarily on the nerve cells within the brain.

Blood alcohol levels: the observed effects depend directly on the blood alcohol level which is related to the amount of alcohol consumed. The level can rise significantly within 20 minutes after having a drink. The level increases when the body absorbs alcohol faster than it can eliminate it. So, because the body can only eliminate about one dose of alcohol per hour, drinking several drinks in an hour will increase your level much more than having one drink over a period of an hour or more.

Elimination: alcohol can leave the body via the kidneys (urinating) or via the lungs (through exhalation), which can be detected by a breathalyser. The remaining alcohol is broken down in the liver in a chemical process involving enzymes.

As a rule of thumb, it would take approximately one hour to eliminate the alcohol from a 12 oz (355 ml) can of beer.

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Legal position

Licensing laws: extension of licensing laws means pubs will be able to remain open for longer.

Drink driving: it is illegal to drive while over the legal limit of alcohol consumption. However, because the amount of measurable alcohol in your body can be influenced by many factors including body size, the drink drive limit cannot be converted accurately into a number of units. The best advice is not to drink and drive.

Young people: alcohol is the drug that most young people are likely to try. It is illegal to sell alcohol to a young person under the age of 18 years (although those aged 16 - 17 may be served alcohol with a meal in a restaurant).

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Alcohol effects: men and women

Men tend to have more muscle and less fat than women. Because muscle tissue has more water than fat tissue, a given dose or amount of alcohol will be more diluted in a man than in a woman. Therefore, the blood alcohol level resulting from that dose will be higher in a woman than in a man, and the woman will feel the effects of that dose of alcohol faster than a man.

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Seeking help

A short checklist of characteristics of someone who has a problem is shown below:

• needing a drink every day
• drinking alone
• needing a drink to stop trembling
• drinking first thing in the morning
• a strong compulsion to drink
• spending a lot of time on activities involving alcohol
• not being able to stop drinking once you have started.

Any one of these symptoms can be an indicator of problematic drinking.
Although alcohol misuse is a widespread problem for many people an individual may feel ashamed to admit they have a problem. But seeking help is the first stage on the road to addressing that problem. Treatment services are here to help not to judge. Seek advice from your GP as to which services in your area can help you, or call:

Drinkline on 0800 917 8282
24 hours a day, every day

There are many Addaction services that may also offer treatment and support.

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