Legal Drugs ALCOHOL. Why do people drink alcohol? What is a drug? A definition of a drug is

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1 Legal Drugs What is a drug? A definition of a drug is.. Using this definition which of the following are drugs? Alcohol/ Caffeine/ Sugar/ Tobacco Words associated with legal drugs POSITIVE NEGATIVE ALCOHOL Why do people drink alcohol?

2 Units of Alcohol Facts 1. Alcohol is measured in units. The number of units any one person can drink safely will vary according to age, sex, body weight and tolerance. However, government guidelines suggest a safe dose is: For men 3-4 units of alcohol per day with at least 2 alcohol free days a week For women 2-3 units of alcohol per day with at least 2 alcohol free days a week A dangerous dose is: For men 33 units at one session For women 20 units at one session These figures are based on pub not home measures 2. Drinking and driving the upper legal limit of alcohol in the blood whilst driving is 80mg per 100ml of blood. It is almost impossible to calculate how much this is as everyone metabolises alcohol at a different rate. It is better to drink nothing if you are going to drive and never to get into a car with someone who has had any drink at all. There is a great risk to drink driving, not only to the driver but to passengers and pedestrians as well as other road users. Recovery process As soon as alcohol is detected in the blood stream, the liver begins to break down the alcohol. The liver can remove about one unit if alcohol per hour. Question so how long does it take to remove 1 pint of ordinary strength beer? Answer. hours 5 tips for a safer night out Here are five ways to help you and your friends have a safer night out: Deploy a Des (designated non-drinker) When I was in the army, it was common, and probably still is, for a group of soldiers to pick one or two people in the group to stay sober on that night and make sure that the rest of us got home alright after a few drinks. We had a kind of rota going so you knew when you were lined up to be Des for the night. Try it out, it works well and your friends will be really grateful for getting them home. Stick with your friends and don t go astray If the plan is to go to a few different places, get it mapped out before you start drinking. And if you get chatting to someone else, make sure that your friends know where you are

3 and that they don t leave without you. Nine times out of 10, the people that we find slumped out on the street are people who have lost their mates somewhere. Drink plenty of water and eat well You ve heard it a hundred times before, but having a pint of water to hand while drinking alcohol, or a glass of water in between drinks will hydrate you and stop you from getting too drunk. Get something substantial down you food-wise before or during drinking too. Have a taxi booked or know when your last bus or train is Don t save doing this until you re drunk because you will only put it off or end up putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation staggering home or resorting to a dodgy cab. Knowing that you ve got a taxi booked or a last train to catch acts as a good cut off point for yourself, and a good excuse if your friends are trying to talk you into staying out. Drink at your own pace People often get themselves into a mess if they re out in a group and trying to keep up with their mates. We drink a lot more in mixed groups these days, where women are expected to go drink for drink with their male friends, which is very dangerous when you take into account the difference in body size and alcohol tolerance. If you re out in a large group try opting out of rounds, or stay on lower alcohol drinks if you and your mates are buying rounds. Official government advice for young people and their parents about alcohol was published in January 2009 by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. His recommendations are: Children should not drink before they re 15, if at all.

4 15-17-years-olds should only drink when they are supervised by a parent or other adult. If year-olds drink, they should do so infrequently and definitely on no more than one day a week. Parents and young people should be aware that drinking, even at age 15 or older, can be dangerous to health. Not drinking is the healthiest option for young people. The importance of parents influence on their children s drinking should be made clear. Parents and carers need advice on how to respond to alcohol use and misuse by children. Support services must be available for young people who have alcohol-related problems and their parents. While there have been official government drinking guidelines for adults for many years, there has been little guidance for under-18s and their parents. This advice is based on extensive research done by a panel of experts. Binge drinking What is binge drinking? For the NHS, binge drinking is defined as drinking over double the amount of recommended daily units in one session. For men this is over eight units, and for women, over six. However, because individuals are all different, the rate at which they reach intoxication varies. Binge drinking is a major factor in accidents, violence and anti-social behaviour. This is 4 pints of ordinary beer for men and 6 small glasses of wine for women in the DVD clips you are about to see do you think these young people have had more than this??? Alcohol and your health Facts and Figures Either on its own or in conjunction with other factors, alcohol is estimated to be responsible for at least 33,000 deaths in the UK each year. In Great Britain, just under a third of men (31%) and one in five women (20%) drink more than the advised weekly limits of 21 and 14 units a week respectively. Some 8% of men and 2% of women drink more than the levels regarded as harmful, namely 50 and 35 units a week respectively.

5 More than one in 25 adults are dependent on alcohol, and the UK has one of the highest rates of binge drinking in Europe. An estimated 17 million working days are lost each year due to people missing work due to the effects of alcohol. Around 6% of road casualties and 17% of all deaths on the road occur when someone has been drinking over the legal limit. In young adults, binge drinking is also associated with a range of risky behaviours, including a higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted illness. The harmful effects of drinking are almost entirely related to the alcohol content of what you drink, not the type of drink. In other words, beers are no safer than spirits. What matters is how much you drink. The short term health risks of alcohol include: Anxiety Sexual difficulties such as impotence Impaired judgement leading to accidents and injuries Slowed breathing and heartbeat Loss of consciousness Suffocation through choking on your own vomit (aspiration) Potentially fatal poisoning Drinking heavily also increases your calorie intake, and it is frequently associated with obesity. This in turn leads to increased health risks. Adding 3 or 4 units per day to your usual diet would lead to an increase in weight of around 4lbs in four weeks. Smoking What s in a cigarette? Why do people smoke? What are the effects of smoking? To begin with we will look at the history of smoking. What does the word cigarette mean? When was the link between smoking and lung cancer discovered?.

6 What s in a cigarette? Explain what the following chemicals are Carbon monoxide. Acetone Formaldehyde..... Nicotine... Tar.. Why do young people smoke and others don t? Reasons why some people smoke

7 Reasons why some people choose not to smoke