Alcohol is made from the fermentation or distillation of organic sources such as grapes, grains, and berries.
Depends on the brand and type of alcohol.
Alcohol has no current medicinal uses.
Before current medicinal advances, alcohol was used as a cheap and effective pain reliever and anesthetic.
Due to alcohol lowering an individual's inhibitions, use can lead to embarrassing and/or dangerous situations.
Alcohol poisoning can happen if an individual drinks a large quantity of alcohol over a short amount of time. Even individuals with a high tolerance to alcohol can succumb to the effects of alcohol poisoning. Some of the signs of potential alcohol poisoning include unconscious or semi-consciousness, and cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin.
Adolescent consequences- Adolescents who drink before the legal age are more likely to become dependent, more likely to become sexually active (meaning increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases), more likely to experience major depression, and have a greater chance of experiencing long-term physical consequences.
Alcohol and Pregnancy- Women who are pregnant and consume alcohol run the risk of having the fetus develop fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetuses with this disease have smaller heads and brains, some degree of mental retardation, poor coordination, hyperactivity and abnormal facial features.
Alcohol and Women- Beside the risks if a woman is pregnant, alcohol has a greater impact on women than on men. Women who drink regularly have a higher risk of developing liver diseases than men who drink the same or even less. Women also absorb alcohol into their bloodstreams faster than men, but their bodies metabolize the alcohol at a slower rate, meaning the effects of alcohol will happen sooner and continue for a longer time for a woman than it will for a man.
Long-term effects- Addiction, depression, suicide, increased risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, hemorrhagic stroke, certain forms of cancer, can damage the frontal lobes of the brain, and can reduce overall brain size.
Liquor bottles, beer cans, smell of alcohol, blood-shot eyes, restlessness, lack of coordination, impaired judgment, slurring of speech, lowered inhibitions, abnormal behavior including uncontrollable laughter and/or violence.
Alcohol can be detected via breath or saliva testing. Size, gender, physical condition, what an individual has consumed, how much sleep an individual had before drinking, what medications an individual is taking, and the actual alcohol content of the drink consumed all effect the detection period. The general rule of thumb is that one standard drink remains in the body for one hour. The standard is based upon 16 ounces of beer or wine cooler, or 4 ounces of wine, or 1 ounce of liquor.
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