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Alcohol is made from potatoes, corn and other cereals, or
grapes. Water is added to the ingredients. Then the water
and other ingredients are sealed together in a warm area.
This is called fermentation.
After fermenting a while, the sugars in the ingredients turn
into the chemical ethanol. Ethanol is a drug. And ethanol
is alcohol.
All drinks that contain ethanol affect the drinker’s
brain and body. Alcoholic drinks affect drinker in the same
way, whether the drink is beer, wine, or liquor. All alcoholic
drinks are dangerous drugs. The only difference between the
types of drinks is the amount of ethanol they contain.
Doctors who deal with drinking problems talk about a “standard
drink.” What is a standard drink? It is the amount
of any drink that contains 12 grams of ethanol.
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When
someone takes a drink of alcohol, it takes about 90 seconds
for the drug to reach the brain and other organs.
The major organ that clears alcohol from the body is the liver.
Soon after a person begins drinking alcohol, the liver “gets
behind” in processing the alcohol. When that happens, the
concentration of alcohol in the blood grows. This means that
the amount of alcohol in the body grows compared to the amount
of blood in the body. Scientists and the police determine how
drunk a person is by measuring their blood alcohol concentration
(BAC).
Once the level of alcohol in a person’s body begins to
grow – even a little – it begins to affect the person.
Alcohol is a depressant, which means that it slows the brain
and body. As blood alcohol concentration grows, the drinker
gets weaker and weaker. Roll over the dots to see how a drinker
loses abilities bit by bit:
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