Laugh a lot (often at things which aren’t that funny)
Say things you wouldn’t normally
Become over friendly and too trusting of others
Become stupid and silly
Feel sick and throw up
Have double vision
Lose your balance and make you unsteady on your feet
Cry and get upset or over emotional
Feel over sensitive to harmless comments
Make a fool of yourself
Fall asleep and pass out
Become depressed
Become aggressive
Become angry
Become violent
Have an accident e.g. get run over, fall over and hurt yourself
Have a hangover (headache, feeling sick, tired, miserable)
There are loads of different types of alcoholic drinks you can get. Some types are
cider, lager, bitter, white cider, alcopops, vodka, whisky, brandy, white and dark rum, red
and white wine and loads more as well.
Over 1000 young people aged 15 and under are admitted to hospital each year with alcohol poisoning. This can mean the persons stomach has to be pumped, a pretty unpleasant thing
to have done to you!
WHAT IS IT LIKE?
Alcoholic drinks contain ethyl alcohol or ethanol as it is more commonly known. As it is a drink it comes as a liquid and it is drunk. There are some reports that people have injected alcohol and even tried to snort it. This can cause damage to the body.
It is illegal to sell alcohol in a shop to anyone under the age of 18 years. Some shops won't sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 21.
Every time you drink alcohol the effects can be different. It doesn’t matter how many times you have drunk you will never know exactly how you will be affected. The mood you are in, what you have eaten, the way your body is working that day and a load of other factors can make all the difference.
Alcohol damages the body each time you drink it. If you drink too much or too often it can damage the brain, liver, heart, kidneys, blood, throat and mouth.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION
There are lots of people who go out all the time and drink. Many of them will not come to any serious harm. But there are the cases that are more serious. The following are some of the consequences of drinking alcohol:
A hangover - It is basically feeling like death. Many people have a head and/or stomach ache, some might throw up, you feel tired and sort of like you have the flu. It does pass but a lot of people swear they will never drink again (but a lot do!).
Whack - If you have been drinking alcohol it can make you more vulnerable. You could end up getting beaten up or attacked by strangers without doing anything at all to them. There is also the possibly that drunken friends, whose judgement has been messed up through drinking, might have a go at you as well.
Icky - You could have unprotected sex leading to an STI (sexually transmitted infection e.g. gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, HIV / AIDS), become pregnant or have sex with someone that you regret when you sober up.
What was I thinking - Alcohol can really mess up the way you think. it can cause people to do stuff they would never normally do and they really regret it when the drink wears off.
Fight the world - Some peoples moods change really quickly if they have been drinking. They can go from happy to sad, quiet to violent fast and you never know how the alcohol will really affect someone till they've drunk it. It doesn't make someone violent but it can make them lose control and forget that little voice in their head that tells them to stop.
Rape and sexual assault - It is a big risk if you are male or female, especially if you are more vulnerable after drinking alcohol.
Don’t have too much - if you feel you’ve had enough don’t let anyone fob you off with “just one more won’t hurt”. Any drug can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do,
slow down your reactions, make you pass out etc. All of these leave you vulnerable to
theft, attack, rape or choking on your own vomit.
Keep an eye on your drink - If someone you don’t know (or do know) gets you a drink make sure you see what you are getting. Remember:
Keep your drink with you at all times.
Spiking is a word used in the media to mean when something you don't want is added to your drink.
If you think your drink may have been spiked (does it taste/look different from usual? Are you unsure what’s in it? Is it not what you ordered?) don’t drink it and throw it away.
There are drugs such as kETAMINE, GHB, ROHYPNOL that the media say are responsible for date rape. There is one drug that can really affect people that seems to be forgotten...ALCOHOL. If you add more alcohol to a drink a person gets drunk faster, this can affect their judgement and make them more vulnerable
One more thing: NEVER,EVER spike someone – you don’t know what their body’s reaction will be or what they’ve already had.
You can be prosectuted for adding anything to someones drink if you then take advantage of them in any way.
Gamble - Alcohol can affect you differently each time you drink it and you never really know whats going to happen. Sometimes it's too late to do anything because you're already drunk so use your head and don't have too much..or just don't drink!
Be careful - If you are going to drink remember to be safe. Drinking on the street is asking for trouble as anything could happen including the police taking you home and you getting in trouble.
All we ask is for you to be aware of what might happen.
If you'd like to know where to get help from click here.
