Alcohol
{Booze, liquor, spirits, wine, beer, cocktails, long drinks}
Drink water
1
Careful mixing
2
Safe sex
3
Alcohol, or ethanol, is the most commonly used recreational drug in the world due to its legal status in most countries. This allows for labelling of alcoholic products by a percentage alcohol by volume, which allows the person drinking it to know how strong their drink is. This drug makes people feel happy and it clearly acts as a social lubricant in many occasions. It is often an accompaniment to meals or to celebrations. Alcohol has been consumed for thousands of years and it is now totally integrated in most countries. However, it is one of the most harmful drugs for society and individuals 1.
Interactions¶
Harm Reduction¶
- Carry condoms.
- Eat before you drink and stay hydrated; it can reduce the chances of getting a hangover or accidentally drinking over your limit.
- Don’t go out drinking alone, this will increase the chance of unpleasant experiences, unsafe circumstances, and risky behaviour.
- Avoid drinking out of impulse because of reaction to anger, this can lead to bad drinking episodes.
- To control for diseases such as cancer, the best policy is to reduce the amount of alcohol that is taken. You can do this by counting the drinks you have in a day and set targets to reduce them.
The Law¶
Due to its legal status, alcohol consumers wrongly classify the drug as ‘safe’, as it has been approved for consumption. The truth is that due to a drug safety measure (active dose/lethal dose), we know that alcohol is actually one of the most dangerous recreational drugs. Why? This concept compares how much you have to drink to get drunk to how much you have to drink to die, and alcohol has the highest level.
Effects¶
Here are the most common effects of alcohol. You won’t necessarily experience all these effects, every time you consume the drug, and it is possible that you may feel other effects not listed here.
The effects are (from positive to negative):
Relaxation
Happiness
Increased sociability
Slurred speech
Flushed skin
Sleepiness
Blurry, distorted vision
Higher impulsivity
Decreased coordination
Nausea, vomiting (vomiting while unconscious can kill! If a friend is unconscious due to alcohol, position the person in the recovery position)
Reduced ability to judge own impairment
Emotional volatility (anger, violence, sadness, etc)
Sexual dysfunctions (e.g. erectile dysfunction or difficulty reaching orgasms)
Dizziness and confusion
Blackouts and memory loss at high doses
Dose and onset¶
How? How Much? When? For how Long?
As with any drug, the correct dose for you depends on factors such as weight, gender, metabolism, whether you have taken the drug recently or not, amongst many others. Read our Dosing and Tolerance section in Me for more information.
How you take it matters...
The most common method to alcohol consumption is oral, which we recommend as it is the best way to gauge how much you've had. Recently new trends, such as inhaling, have appeared but these are ill-understood and can be very dangerous. If you want to learn more about how the method of administration affects you, read our Me section.
How much?
Alcohol is metabolised relatively quickly, however, it is more difficult for the body to get rid of the toxins with increasing alcohol dosages. Therefore, we suggest to limiting your alcohol doses if you want to be on the safe side!
People are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week. Spread your drinking over three days or more if you drink as much as 14 units a week.
What is a unit in the UK?
Source: NHS
Take this quiz on Quizmeter to compare how much you drink to others like you.
When do the effects kick in?
- Total duration: 1.5 - 3 hrs
- Onset: 15 - 30 mins
- Coming up: 15 - 20 mins
- Plateau: 30 - 90 mins
- Coming down: 45 - 60 mins
Source: erowid.org
Risks¶
Signs of dependence
Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is an incredibly addictive drug. If you think you might be dependent on alcohol, these websites might be useful:
In the long term
- Increase risk of oral, throat, colon, liver, and breast cancer
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Fetal alcohol syndrome if used by pregnant women in large quantities
- Fatty Liver Disease
- Injuries from accidents, falls, motor vehicle accidents, etc.
- Coma and death at extreme doses
More information¶
FAQs
Should I consume alcohol to protect from heart problems?
There is evidence to suggest that low and moderate drinking (i.e., within the lower risk guidelines) can protect against coronary heart disease, but it is a relatively small effect and it's best to try other, safer methods first.
Does drinking water cancel out the effects of alcohol?
Water or soft drinks do not cancel the effects of alcohol. However, they do slow down the pace of alcohol intake. Water also helps reducing the dehydration, helping the hangover next morning.
Does mixing drinks makes you more drunk?
Mixing drinks does not cause your hangover as the alcohol content does not change. However, mixing can irritate the stomach even more, leading to unpleasant side effects.
Does coffee sober you up?
Coffee can make you more alert and awake, but does not reduce the effects caused by alcohol. This makes drunk driving especially dangerous due to the impaired judgement and the perceived state of alertness caused by the coffee.
Source: http://drugscience.org.uk/drugs/depressants/alcohol
Useful links
References
1 Nutt, D. J., King, L. A., & Phillips, L. D. (2010). Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis.61462-6/fulltext) The Lancet, 376(9752), 1558-1565.