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What is alcohol?
Drinking alcohol is a pretty popular social activity, but not many
people know what alcohol is made of and how it’s classified. As well
as knowing what’s in alcohol, it can be helpful to find out how alcohol
is measured in standard drinks which can help with safe alcohol
consumption.
Alcohol is one of the most popular mood–changing recreational drugs
in Australia and can be accessed legally by people over the age of 18
in bottle shops, pubs, clubs and bars. The active ingredient in alcohol
is ethanol, a liquid which comes from the fermentation of starches (like
wheat, corn and barley).
Types of alcohol
There are three major types of alcohol:
Beer: It’s prepared by brewing and fermenting grains, then flavouring
the mixture with hops, a flower that gives beer its bitterness. The alcohol
content of beer usually ranges from 4% to 6% alcohol by volume.
Wine: It’s made using fermented fruits (usually grapes). Wine is completely
fermented and has a long ageing process, which leads it to having an
alcohol content of around 9% to 16%.
This might help if
you want to know about...
› Different types of alcohol
› How it’s classified
› What a standard drink is
Spirits: A product of both fermentation and distillation. Spirits are stronger
alcohols and can have an alcohol content of above 20%.
What’s the effect of alcohol?
Many people think that alcohol is a ‘stimulant’ as it can give people
feelings of confidence and fearlessness. However, alcohol is actually
classified as a ‘depressant drug’, which basically means that it slows
down the actions of the central nervous system in your body. If you feel
confident or fearless when you drink alcohol, it’s because the alcohol
impacts on your brain’s ‘warning system’ which helps you monitor your
behaviour.
Alcohol’s classification as a depressant has a lot to do with how your
body reacts to the drug. One effect of alcohol is that it lowers your heart
and breathing rates. It also slows down the time it takes for a person to
respond to things, which often results in being uncoordinated, having
slower reflexes and making poor decisions.
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What is a standard drink?
what is
alcohol?
In Australian bars, clubs and pubs, alcohol should be served in what’s
called a ‘standard drink’. This helps people work out how much they’re
drinking, and can make it a bit easier to control the amount of alcohol
a person is drinking in one session.
One standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol which can be
a small, strong shot or a large, weaker drink.
Some examples of a standard drink include:
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One 425 ml schooner of light beer (2.7% alcohol)
One 285 ml middy of regular beer (4.9% alcohol)
One 100 ml glass of wine (12% alcohol)
One 30 ml nip of spirits (40% alcohol)
One 60 ml glass of port or sherry (20% alcohol)
It’s important to remember that the size of drinks served at some places,
particularly at parties or home, can have more alcohol than the defined
standard drink. Cocktails and party punch can have up to six standard
drinks, so even though they may look like one drink they actually contain
a whole lot more.
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