The Impact Of Alcohol Consumption

Generally people drink to celebrate, when they socialize, and also to help them relax. This in itself is not considered to be a problem – unless you drink “too much.” But the scary part is that the effects of alcohol vary from person to person, and depend on a number of other factors – which means that there is certain unpredictability in terms of identifying when or whether there is a problem. It also means, in reality, that some people who over indulge will become addicted, while others will not. And the reasons for this are still not known.

The NIAAA alerts us to the fact that because alcohol enters the bloodstream immediately we start drinking it, the effects can appear in as few as 10 minutes. As one continues to drink, the body’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level will continue to rise.

Effects of rising BAC are varied, typically starting with inhibitions being reduced and then slurred speech. As a person becomes “drunk” there is commonly confusion and both memory and concentration problems, as well as motor impairment. Especially severe effects might result in breathing problems and even coma or death. Additional risks include accidents including car crashes, risky or violent behavior, and suicide or homicide.

The NIAAA identifies longer-term risks as:

• Alcohol use disorder (AUD) which, in 2012 affected 11.2 million men and 5.7 million women over the age of 18.
• Health problems that can affect every part of the body including the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and the body’s immune system.
• Increased risk for certain cancers including breast cancer, and cancer of the throat, liver, esophagus and mouth.

How Drinking Levels Are Defined

The official dietary guidelines for American, developed jointly by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), state that acceptable “moderate drinking” for women is one drink per day, and two drinks per day for men.

Their updated guidelines for 2015 have not been released, so it is not known if the newly published NIAAA research findings will alter this definition. But in any case, the NIAAA definition for “low-risk drinking” also gives men a higher capacity. They say that men shouldn’t consume more than four drinks in one day and no more than 14 in a week. Women, on the other hand, shouldn’t have more than three drinks a day, and no more than seven a week (which is half of what they say men can consume.) Other NIAAA research indicates that only two percent of people who drink within these low-risk levels have an AUD.

The NIAAA also defines “heavy drinking,” stating that this implies five or more alcoholic drinks consumed on the same occasion on five or more days over a 30-day period.

READ Alcohol Effects On The Body

The NIAAA defines binge drinking differently to the dietary guidelines, stating that this is a particular pattern of alcohol consumption that results in BAC levels of 0.08 g/dL. Typically, they say, this level is attained in about two hours, when women have had four drinks, and men have had five. Similarly, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that conducts an annual national survey that considers health and drug use, defines binge drinking as having at least five alcoholic drinks on a single occasion on at least one day in a 30-day period of time.

So What Does This Mean

Men still drink more than women, but even if women are catching up, statistics show that more women than men (37 percent versus 25 percent) don’t drink at all. And as the NIAAA researchers say, more studies are needed for all this info to help with prevention and with treatment of alcohol-related diseases and problems.