Alcohol: The Basics

Thanks to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for the following facts.

Drinking alcohol is itself not necessarily a problem, but drinking too much can cause a range of consequences, and increase the risk that bad things will happen to you.

What are the Consequences?

Alcohol enters your bloodstream as soon as you take your first sip. Alcohol’s immediate effects can appear within about 10 minutes. As you drink, you increase your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level, which is the amount of alcohol present in your bloodstream.  The higher your BAC, the more impaired you become by alcohol’s effects.  These effects can include:

• Reduced inhibitions
• Slurred speech
• Motor impairment
• Confusion
• Memory problems
• Concentration problems
• Coma
• Breathing problems
• Death

Other risks of drinking can include:
• Car crashes and other accidents
• Risky behavior
• Violent behavior
• Suicide and homicide

People who drink too much over a long period of time may experience alcohol’s longer-term effects, which can include:

• Alcohol dependence
• Health problems
• Increased risk for certain forms of cancer

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What Is A Standard Drink?

Our thanks to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for the following information.

Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink.  The amount of liquid in your glass, can, or bottle does not necessarily match up to how much alcohol is actually in your drink.  Different types of beer, wine, or malt liquor can have very different amounts of alcohol content. For example, many light beers have almost as much alcohol as regular beer – about 85% as much.   Here’s another way to put it:

• Regular beer: 5% alcohol content
• Some light beers: 4.2% alcohol content

That’s why it’s important to know how much alcohol your drink contains.  In the United States, one "standard" drink contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in:

• 12 ounces of regular beer, which is usually about 5% alcohol
• 5 ounces of wine, which is typically about 12% alcohol
• 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, which is about 40% alcohol

How do you know how much alcohol is in your drink?

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