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Some of the slang names for alcohol are booze, sauce, brewskis, hooch, hard stuff, and juice. Don't worry about trying to fit in or be cool when it comes to drinking alcohol. Most teens aren't drinking alcohol. Drinking is not as common or as "cool" as some people would like you to believe it is.

Alcohol is in drinks like beer, wine, liquor, wine coolers, whiskey, liqueurs, and even some coffee drinks. If you are not sure whether the drink you are going to have has alcohol in it, check the label. If there is alcohol in the drink, it has to say so on the label—it's the law. If you are still not sure or can't tell from the label, ask a trusted adult.


Alcohol is really unhealthy for our bodies. It is considered a central nervous system (CNS) depressant. The main job of the CNS is to send signals throughout the body. For example, the CNS tells you when to raise your hand in class or how to jump over a hurdle. Our brains think of the actions it wants our bodies to do and sends messages to that part of the body. When this system is slowed down by alcohol, the body can't react as quickly to the messages the brain is sending. That is why it is important for people not to drive after they drink alcohol.

Besides harming the central nervous system, alcohol can weaken our immune system and make us more likely to get sick or develop diseases.

Here are the parts of my body that could be damaged by alcohol if I chose to drink—yuck!

Heart
Drinking alcohol could cause your blood pressure to rise, increase your heart rate, cause your heart to beat abnormally, and it could increase the size of your heart. All of these things are bad for you. If you have an irregular heartbeat, you won't be able to play sports or exercise as well as you normally could.



Stomach
Drinking alcohol over a long period of time could cause stomach ulcers or stomach cancer.



Liver
Drinking alcohol could cause diseases such as cirrhosis (pronounced "sir-o-sis"), inflamed liver (hepatitis), or even cancer of the liver. The liver is the largest organ in our body. Its job is to keep poisons like germs and bacteria out of our blood. The liver also makes the protein that causes our blood to clot, and clotting is what causes scabs to form and makes us stop bleeding when we get a cut. We need our liver so we can stay healthy and so our bodies stay clean. Cirrhosis is a disease that damages the liver. It weakens the liver's ability to clot and keep our blood free from poisons and bacteria. People can get cirrhosis in different ways, but drinking too much alcohol is the most common way.



Brain
Drinking alcohol leads to a loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts. This means alcohol won't let you do the things you normally do that require coordination and skill. You can't ride a bike, inline skate, play sports, or even walk in a straight line.


ALCOHOL'S TRIP THROUGH THE BODY







The dotted lines show how alcohol passes through the body. By reading what is written next to each number, you can find out exactly where it goes, how it gets there, and what happens when it gets there


1 MOUTH: Alcohol is consumed

2 STOMACH: Alcohol gets right into the stomach. A little of it goes through the wall of the stomach and into the bloodstream but most of the alcohol goes down into the small intestine.

3 SMALL INTESTINE: Alcohol goes from the stomach into the small intestine. Most of the alcohol then goes through the walls of the intestine and into the bloodstream

4 BLOODSTREAM: The bloodstream then carries the alcohol to all parts of the body, such as the brain, heart and liver.

5 LIVER: As the bloodstream carries the alcohol around the body, it carries it through the liver, too. The liver changes the alcohol into water, carbon dioxide, and energy. The process is called oxidation. The liver can oxidize (change) only about one-half ounce of alcohol an hour, or .015%. This means that until the liver has time to oxidize all of the alcohol, the alcohol keeps on passing through all parts of the body, including the brain.

6 BRAIN: Alcohol goes to the brain almost as soon as it is drunk. The bloodstream carries it there. Alcohol keeps passing through the brain until the liver has had time to oxidize all the alcohol.

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