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encouraging
people to make
informed choices
See what happens
when you have a
drink?
What happens when
you have a drink?
Alcohol affects us all when we drink. But we don’t all react in the same way.
The amount of alcohol that enters your system and how it is absorbed depend on things like how much
and how quickly you drink, your size, your gender and whether you’re drinking on an empty stomach.
The amount of alcohol in your blood is referred to as your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level.
BAC increases when your body absorbs alcohol faster than it can eliminate it.
The Brain
The hypothalamus controls a number
of functions, including sexual arousal
and performance. When it is affected by
alcohol, sexual arousal increases, but
performance decreases. The hypothalamus
also coordinates hormone production in the
pituitary gland. One of these hormones is antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which works to reabsorb
water in the kidneys. Alcohol restricts production of ADH,
which means the kidneys produce more urine.
Alcohol affects the nerve cells in the brain.
This means it interferes with how the cells
function and how the brain communicates
with all other parts of the body.
Different parts of the brain control different
processes. Alcohol affects each of these
areas in turn; as BAC increases, the effects get
more pronounced.
The cerebral cortex processes information from your senses;
it also controls how you think and the movement of your
muscles. When alcohol affects the cerebral cortex, you take
longer to process information from your senses, become less
inhibited and don’t think as clearly.
The brain stem controls automatic body functions such as
breathing, heart rate and consciousness. When alcohol reaches
the brain stem, you become sleepy and, depending on how
much alcohol you drink, you may even lose consciousness.
As the concentration of alcohol in your blood increases, it may
affect your heart rate, breathing and consciousness and can
even lead to death.
The limbic system is the part of the brain that controls
memory and your emotions. When it is affected by alcohol,
your emotions become exaggerated – for example, you could
get more giddy, sad, or upset – and you start to forget things.
The cerebellum coordinates fine muscle movements,
including the muscles that help you keep your balance. As
alcohol affects the cerebellum, you can become shaky and
uncoordinated and unsteady on your feet.
The Oesophagus
Alcohol is absorbed into your blood and distributed
around the body.
The Liver
The liver gets rid of about 90% of the alcohol in
the body.
The liver is the body’s major organ for handling
substances that get into the body.
The alcohol begins to be absorbed into your body
through the linings of your mouth and oesophagus.
The Bloodstream
The body can’t store alcohol – it’s the liver’s job
to break it down (‘metabolise’ it).
The chemical name for alcohol is ethanol. First,
an enzyme in the liver breaks down the ethanol
into acetaldehyde, which the body recognises
as toxic. That is why another enzyme and a
substance called glutathione break down the
acetaldehyde into non-toxic acetic acid. This
can then be broken down further into carbon
dioxide and water and expelled from the body.
Major organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs and brain
absorb more alcohol. Organs such as the brain have
special sensitivity to alcohol and its related compounds
and therefore can be adversely affected.
The absorption and distribution of alcohol throughout
the body happens quickly – within a few minutes of
taking a drink, alcohol reaches the body‘s organs.
The liver can only deal with a limited amount of
alcohol at a time. If too much alcohol is taken
into the body, the liver’s store of glutathione
runs out, leaving the toxic acetaldehyde to build
up in the body. This can cause headache and
nausea.
The Stomach
It can take three hours or more to remove the
alcohol from just one drink from your system
– the rate depending on factors such as your
size and gender.
The Lungs
About 5% of the alcohol is eliminated from your
body in your breath as you exhale.
Your lungs take in air to bring oxygen to the
body and get rid of waste carbon dioxide.
The more you drink, the longer it will take.
There’s nothing you can do to speed up the rate
of metabolism.
The Kidneys
However, alcohol is mainly absorbed into the blood
through the walls of the stomach (about 20%) and
intestines (about 80%), mostly in the small intestine. The
absorption process happens more slowly if you have
food in the stomach or intestines. The alcohol is then
distributed throughout the body in the bloodstream: it
is dissolved in the liquid in the blood and, as the blood
circulates around the body, it enters and dissolves into
the liquid of every tissue of the body.
The Intestines
When the alcohol in the bloodstream reaches
the lungs, some of it passes into the lungs’ air
sacs and then evaporates into the air. It is then
exhaled and eliminated from the body.
This is the alcohol detected by breathalysers
and that can be smelled on the breath.
The kidneys eliminate about 5% of the alcohol in your urine.
One of the functions of the kidneys is to maintain the correct composition of the blood.
To do this, the kidneys filter your blood – all your blood will be filtered about 20 times a day. Then, useful things like proteins and
amino acids are reabsorbed into the blood. Waste and excess products don’t get reabsorbed – they are excreted into the urine
and then eliminated from the body.
The kidneys also work to keep the volume of water in your body constant. Alcohol is a diuretic. If you drink too much, your body
ends up eliminating more water than it absorbs – and you can become dehydrated, with dizziness and a headache, as a result.
For more information visit: www.TalkingAlcohol.com
Alcohol affects us all
when we drink. But
we don’t all react in
the same way.
TalkingAlcohol.com is
about helping people
make informed choices
about alcohol.
The amount of alcohol that
enters your system and how it is
absorbed depend on things like
how much and how quickly you
drink, your size, your gender
and whether you’re drinking on
an empty stomach.
The amount of alcohol in your
blood is referred to as your
Blood Alcohol Concentration
(BAC) level. BAC increases
when your body absorbs alcohol faster than it can eliminate it.
Human Atlas
What is beer?
Beer’ is the name used to describe the
family of alcohol beverages brewed
from malt and flavoured with hops.
Talk to your children
Parents are the single most important
influence on whether or not teenagers
decide to drink alcohol.
Studies show that parents have the
biggest influence on whether an
underage person decides to drink
alcohol. So, it’s important that your
children know where you stand: that
underage drinking is not acceptable.
Keep talking
Visit TalkingAlcohol.com to view
a three dimensional animated
human atlas on liver cirrhosis.
Our contents database tells you
exactly what you are drinking. Visit
TalkingAlcohol.com for more information.
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Drinking and Driving
Drinking and driving is a dangerous
combination for you, your passengers,
pedestrians, other drivers and anyone
or anything that comes in your path.
The more you drink, the more likely you
are to become involved in an accident
– possibly a fatal one.
Driving requires a variety of skills
because driving conditions change
continually. A driver must maintain
alertness, react quickly to hazards, see
clearly and properly judge distance and
speed. Alcohol impairs certain bodily
functions, such as the sharpness of your
vision, judgement and reaction time.
When these functions are impaired, the
likelihood of an accident is increased.
Having a night out
People need to be able to make
informed decisions about alcohol
consumption based on accurate,
balanced information. They can then
judge the personal risks and benefits of
drinking alcohol.
Watch alcohol debates
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Feedback
Drink sensibly and you’ll enjoy
yourself – and stay safe
Meeting up with friends for a beer is the
perfect way to relax and have a great
time. But there are just a few things that
you should remember.
Be sensible
Drinking too much (either in one sitting
or over an extended period of time)
can lead to serious health and social
problems. These include:
• Alcohol poisoning
• Accidents, including car accidents
• Brain or neurological damage
• Risky behaviour
• Alcohol dependence
• Heart or cardiovascular problems
• Poor academic performance
•Absenteeism or poor performance
at work the next day
What can you do if friends start drinking
at a party?
What can you do if someone offers you
alcohol?
What can you do if the friend driving you
home has been drinking?
What can you do if a friend has been
drinking and is sick or passes out?
Talk through the range of choices
available and try to reach agreement on
which ones are most in line with your
family values. This exercise will help
prepare your son or daughter to face
peer pressure and to react positively to
potentially dangerous situations.
Set a good example
By drinking responsibly and observing
your country’s alcohol laws, you will
reinforce important family values for
your son or daughter to follow. Visit
TalkingAlcohol.com for more information.
Pregnancy
Drinking and driving is a dangerous
combination.
Discussion Forum
Open conversations about alcohol
encourage people to think about their
drinking choices.
A strong, positive relationship between
parents and children is based on open,
two-way communication. You can
develop a positive relationship by talking
with (and listening to!) your children
every day about school, friends, interests
and dreams. These conversations make
it easier to talk about more serious
subjects, like not drinking alcohol.
Build confidence by role playing
Pregnancy
Alcohol should be avoided during
pregnancy - even in small quantities
on’t drink and drive - make other
• D
arrangements
lcohol impairs your judgement, vision
• A
and reaction time
• Drunk driving is illegal
• G
ender, body fat and the presence
of food in your system affects your
BAC level
• B
AC levels can continue to rise even
after you have stopped drinking
• O
nly time will eliminate alcohol from
your body
Don’t ‘save up’ your drinks over the
course of a week and then have them all
in one go.
Don’t put yourself at risk
Alcohol is a depressant – it can
affect your reason, judgement and
coordination, and slows down your
reaction time. This means that if you
drink to excess, you’re putting yourself
at risk.
The results could be relatively minor
– perhaps you might not realise that your
jokes aren’t going down too well – or it
might lead to serious risky behaviour,
such as unprotected sex.
•Having a beer is a great way to
relax with friends
•Be careful not to put yourself or
others at risk
•Remember to think about how
you’ll get home
Pregnant women should either not drink
alcohol, or seek medical advice before they
do, as there is currently no consensus on how
much alcohol is safe for a pregnant woman to
consume before causing risk to a foetus.
When a woman drinks alcohol during
pregnancy, it is carried through her
bloodstream, through the placenta and into
the foetal blood.
in brief
• D
rinking during pregnancy can affect
foetal development
• D
rinking alcohol can cause FASD, a
significant preventable cause of brain
damage
• M
edical science has not established
what a safe level of alcohol consumption
during pregnancy might be
• H
eavy drinking by fathers may contribute
to foetal problems
• H
eavy drinking may be associated with
infertility in women over age 30
Social Situations
Some situations need you to be at your
best – particularly those which involve an
element of risk or skill.
Alcohol has been a part of social life
and celebrations around the world
for thousands of years, but it isn’t for
everyone, every time or every place.
If you’re going to be drinking, plan
ahead. Alcohol can affect your reason,
judgement and coordination. It slows
down your reaction times, accelerates
your pulse and dehydrates the body.
So don’t put yourself in positions that
leave you – or others – at risk.
contact us
TalkingAlcohol.com is about helping people make informed
choices about alcohol. Now available in seven languages:
Czech, English, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian and
Spanish. If you would like to talk to us about our approach
to responsible drinking in our local markets, please
contact us.
SABMiller plc (United Kingdom)
Kristin Wolfe
Email: [email protected]
Africa and Asia
Mitch Ramsay
Email: [email protected]
Europe (other than United Kingdom)
Paweł Kwiatkowski
Email: [email protected]
United States
Julian Green
Email: [email protected]
South Africa
Janine van Stolk
Email: [email protected]
Latin America
Juliana Ocampo
Email: [email protected]
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