Alcohol Facts
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Alcohol facts are listed in this section. Sometimes people
want to know just the facts about alcohol so we've listed
some interesting alcohol facts for your consumption. This
is a "Just the facts, Ma'am" look at alcohol and
its effect of the human body. Keep checking back since we
keep adding interesting alcohol facts as we find them.
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Alcohol Facts - Women
1. Women become more intoxicated than men on the same amount of
alcohol, even when they weigh the same because when generally have
more body fat than men.
2. Women lack a stomach enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, which usually
acts as a protective barrier and acts to break down the alcohol
before it is absorbed and without this enzyme alcohol is absorbed
in a higher concentration.
3. Birth control pills can slow the metabolism of alcohol.
4. Alcoholism develops at an accelerated pace in women. The phenomenon
is called "telescoped development."
5. The death rate for alcoholic women is 2.7 to 7 times greater
than that of women in the general population.
Alcohol Facts - General
1. Driving skills can be impaired by blood alcohol concentrations
(BACs) as low as 0.02 percent.
2. There are more than 150 medications that should not be
mixed with alcohol.
3. Drinking alcohol while you are pregnant can cause a range
of birth defects, and children exposed to alcohol before birth
can have lifelong learning and behavioral problems.
4. Liver disease, heart disease, certain forms of cancer,
and pancreatitis can develop over many years of heavy drinking.
5. Alcohol consumption accounts for 85,000 deaths per year
in the U. S. while illegal drugs account for 17,000 deaths.
See Actual
Causes of Death for more information.
6. Effects of alcohol can include slurred speech, disturbed
sleep, nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, liver damage,
heart damage, birth defects in the form of fetal alcohol syndrome.
7. Withdrawal from alcohol can include severe anxiety, tremors,
hallucinations, convulsions, seizures, strokes and heart attacks.
8. 65% of the youth surveyed said that they got the alcohol
they drink from family and friends.
9. Nearly 14 million Americans meet diagnostic criteria for
alcohol use disorders.
10. Youth who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use
cocaine than those who never drink alcohol.
11. More than 18% of Americans experience alcohol abuse or
alcohol dependence at some time in their lives.
12. Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death
for persons aged 6-33. About 45% of these fatalities are in
alcohol-related crashes.
13. Approximately 90 percent of alcohol must be metabolized
through the liver and the remaining 10 percent is eliminated
through the lungs and urine. It takes about one hour to eliminate
one-half ounce of alcohol.
14. A hangover is a sign of alcohol poisoning and is the body's
reaction to alcohol withdrawal. Symptoms of a hangover include
nausea, disorientation, headache, irritability and tremors.
15. One drink for the average person is a 12-ounce beer, five
ounces of wine, or one and one-half ounces of 80-proof whiskey.
16. Alcohol is a depressant and impairs muscle coordination.
17. 88% of all the students surveyed at eight Virginia colleges
reported at least one regrettable sexual encounter they could
attribute to alcohol.
18. College students will spend about $4.2 billion yearly
for alcoholic beverages--which is more than is spent on operating
campus libraries, college scholarships and fellowships combined.
19. The first amount of alcohol reaches the brain about 30
seconds after ingestion.
20. Alcohol acts as an irritant and increases the amount of
hydrochloric acid (a digestive juice) secreted from the stomach
lining and can cause gastritis, ulcers and severe bleeding.
The alcohol facts listed in this section come from many different
reliable government sources. Please check back often as the
alcohol facts listed are constantly being updated with new
information.
For additional facts about alcohol, see the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website.
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