ALCOHOL & THE LAW

What do in this section

You need to read the information carefully and take notes in your book.

You may be able to form questions from this information for your game.
You need to fill the blanks in some sections. You may need to research this or discuss with others in the class, to check or find out what the answer is. There may be questions on a page that you need to find the answers for, brainstrom by yourself, then with a partner to find all the correct responses.

Whens it legal
In Australia it is legal to buy, sell and serve alcohol at ___ years of age.
If you are caught drinking underage penalties for this include:
-

Informal warning

Formal caution
$61. 00 fine Or if it goes to court $610.00

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
It is illegal to drink in public places, eg: footpaths
-

List 6 other public places It is illegal to purchase or sell alcohol to someone under the age of ___ years. It is illegal in Victoria to serve alcohol in __________ ________ to anyone under the age of ___ years without parental permission (should be in writing).

- Adults who break this law can be fined up to $7,000.

WHY THE LAWS EXIST

-STATISTICSIn Australia 3,200 people die as a result of excessive alcohol consumption & around 81,000 people are hospitalised a year. 6,180 Victorians aged 16-24 were assaulted in incidents involving alcohol - around 30 every week 5,152 Victorians aged 15 to 19 were admitted to hospital because of medical issues relating to alcohol - about 25 each week 2,135 Victorians aged between 18 and 24 were seriously injured in alcohol-related road crashes more than 10 every week 194 Victorians aged 15 to 24 died because of alcohol - almost one every week.

ALCOHOL
HOW ITS PROCESSED BY THE BODY

&

Alcohols pathway through the body.

On the following slides I will explain the process in which alcohol goes from entering the mouth to being eliminated from the body. Your task is:
-

One page in your work book- heading: TRACKING ALCOHOL Draw a picture of a person having a drink (if you are not a visual learner you may write the
process in boxes showing the pathway, make sure you connect all the right boxes together)

Draw each step of the process Label each stage of the process; us may use arrows, speech bubbles etc Read the whole process first to ensure you can fit all the steps into your diagram.

The alcohol pathway

Alcohol travels down the esophagus, and is absorbed into the stomach (20%) and small intestine (80%).

Where alcohol goes.

After it is absorbed alcohol enters the bloodstream where it dissolves in the water.

Once in the bloodstream alcohol flows through a large blood vessel to the liver

Excess alcohol that cannot be broken down by the liver continues flowing in the bloodstream to the heart.

How alcohol gets around.

As the heart beats blood moves from the heart to your pulmonary vein to the lungs

The now oxygenated alcohol blood continues to flow through the pulmonary artery to the heart

From the heart the alcohol blood now travels through the aorta to muscles/tissues.

How it begins to take effect

Alcohol makes blood vessels dilate (expand) causing the blood to flow close to the surface of the skin.

When the blood reaches tissues such as the brain the water inside those tissues dissolves the alcohol into the them. (The only tissue that cannot dissolve alcohol is fat.)

Once inside a tissue alcohol begins exerting its effects on the body.

How alcohol leaves your body.

Alcohol is removed from the body the 4 different ways.

1) 3% is breathed out (expired) as alcohol reaches the air sacs through the bloodstream the same as carbon dioxide.
2) 3% is lost in perspiration (sweat)

3)
4)

3% is eliminated in urine
91% is broken down (metabolised) by the liver;

Alcohol is converted to energy by a coenyme, the same way glucose from other carbohydrates is converted to energy.

It takes the liver approximately 1 hour to break down 1 standard drink (7-10 grams pure alcohol). Nothing can speed up this process.

ALCOHOL
& WHY ITS ADDICTIVE

How come people keep coming back for more?

Alcohol physiologically alters the balance of chemicals in the brain.

People who drink a lot of alcohol cause the release of more endorphins (stops pain) and dopamine (naturally occurring feel-good chemical) than other people.
People whose brain releases more dopamine and endorphins when drinking, get more pleasure out of drinking and are more likely to drink too much and become alcoholics. The brain eventually craves alcohol to feel pleasure

Process of addiction.
A persons body becomes more efficient at eliminating high levels of alcohol in the blood, as they become dependent on alcohol to live.

The person finds that they need to drink more and more alcohol to feel the same effect of avoiding reality.
This leads to more drinking, more tolerance to alcohol and ADDICTION!

GENETICS: According to some research you are 4 times more likely to become addicted to alcohol if your parents were addicted.

HOMEWORK
Make sure you have completed Week 4 Homework.

- No one had written on the Blog as of Monday. Your opinion on one issue of the article must be posted on the BLOG so that Week 5 task can be completed. Week 5 Homework
Go to Health- Alcohol Then complete Week 5 Homework