This probably sounds familiar...

*"Drinking alcohol. It's what everyone does on the weekends."
*"Someone's parents are out of town and there's a party at the house. So...I'll just have a few drinks...enough to give me the courage to talk to a few guys. No big deal."
*"Mom and Dad think we're going out to dinner anyway. Someone in the group is going to be the 'designated driver'-she'll only have 3 or 4 drinks."
*"It's ridiculous that the law says I can't drink until I'm 21. I can go to war and vote before that, but I can't buy alcohol? Please!"
*"Everyone drinks. Adults are naïve if they think teens aren't going to at least experiment."
*"It makes me feel good. And besides, my parents drink with their friends."

This may NOT sound familiar...

Q. What is alcohol?

A. Alcohol is a drug that affects your central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and nerves in your body). It is the most abused substance by teens, and over 50% of seniors in high school reported drinking within the past month. The good news is that half of high school seniors are smart enough to say no to drinking.

Q. What can alcohol do to my body?

A. Alcohol has short-term and long-term effects that can really hurt your body and your relationships with family and friends.

Even though you see beautiful girls and guys on TV and in ads drinking together, alcohol itself doesn't make you beautiful or guarantee you'll meet a great guy. Alcohol actually has a lot of calories and doesn't offer any nutrition to your body, even if it's a fruity wine cooler. Alcohol slows down your central nervous system by blocking messages to your brain. So, even when you drink small amounts your responses to everything are slower and you may feel less nervous and relaxed. Some people become more aggressive. Also, because you loose your inhibitions, you can make bad judgements like driving drunk, having unsafe sex, or trying other drugs. These bad judgements can result in car crashes that lead to serious injury or death for yourself or others, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), unwanted pregnancies, rape, and deadly drug interactions, especially if you take medications.

If you drink too much, you may vomit because alcohol is toxic and vomiting is the body's way of getting rid of an unwanted poison. If you consume large amounts of alcohol in a very short time, you can get alcohol poisoning. This is very dangerous and can even result in death.

Q. What do impaired and intoxicated mean?

A. Whether you are impaired or intoxicated depends on how much alcohol is in your body. The amount of alcohol in your body is measured in terms of blood alcohol content (BAC), or the number of grams of alcohol in 100 millimeters of blood. BAC can be measured in blood, urine, or breath.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) explain these two terms as:

* Impairment is when the amount of alcohol you have had affects your ability to act or perform appropriately, and this process begins with the very first drink. With low BAC levels, some people may not appear to be impaired, but their judgment, coordination, and reaction time have been affected. Since it takes time for alcohol to leave the stomach and enter the blood stream, a person may continue to become more impaired for a period of time following their last drink.

* Intoxication is a legal term that establishes a certain level of alcohol in the blood as the point of impairment severe enough that criminal sanctions are enforced for driving. Most people are severely impaired before they become legally intoxicated. The level of legal intoxication is .08 (BAC) in most states. Several states have now lowered their legal definition of intoxication to .02 for youths under 21. The American Medical Association supports .05 as the legal limit, which is the standard in many foreign countries. In many states, a BAC less than the legal limit may still lead to criminal sanctions. Regardless of whether or not the drinker believes he or she can drive, the law in most states says that a person is intoxicated and must not operate a motor vehicle if the BAC reaches .10. It doesn't take many drinks to reach that point!

Q. How much alcohol does it take to become impaired or intoxicated?

A. Every person is affected differently by alcohol. For example, girls and women don't digest or metabolize alcohol as fast as males, so their bodies are more sensitive to alcohol's effect on the brain, muscles, and speech. Other factors that affect how fast you process alcohol are your mood, your weight, and how much food is in your stomach. Regardless of these things, everyone needs about one hour to process one ounce of alcohol. One ounce of alcohol, regardless of the type, has the same power to affect the drinker. A 12 oz. can or bottle of beer, a 5 oz. serving of wine, and a 1 oz. shot of hard liquor all have about the same amount of alcohol. But you can't tell how much alcohol someone has had by just counting their drinks since some mixed drinks contain more than one shot of alcohol.

Remember that you don't have to slur words or stumble around to be impaired or intoxicated. Once you have been impaired or intoxicated, the only thing that will sober you up is time. Coffee, cold showers, exercise, or other things you've heard about will not speed up your body's rate of eliminating alcohol from your system.

Q. What is binge drinking?

A. Binge drinking is drinking a large amount of alcohol very quickly, for the sole purpose of getting drunk. Male binge drinkers can be defined as those who have five or more drinks in a row at least once in a two-week period. Female binge drinkers have four or more drinks at one time in this same time period. Binge drinking should concern girls because females don't digest alcohol as quickly as males, and so they are affected even more easily than males. Drink for drink, girls face greater health risks from alcohol. Heavy alcohol use, like when binge drinking, can lead to alcohol poisoning, being the victim of sexual assault, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), unwanted pregnancies, deadly drug interactions, and other injuries.

Q. What are the signs of alcohol poisoning?

A. Learn the following signs of alcohol poisoning so, if you are capable, you can get help, or help a friend:

* violent vomiting;
* extreme sleepiness;
* asphyxiation;
* unconsciousness; and
* difficulty breathing.

Although alcohol poisoning is extreme, it does happen. In fact, it usually happens at parties during drinking games. It is a senseless waste of someone's health or life. You don't have to get alcohol poisoning to suffer from drinking too much. You can have hangovers, a feeling of being sick and sluggish, because the alcohol robs your body of fluid. This also is called dehydration. Besides harming your body after a night of partying, you can be arrested for underage drinking and possibly be fined or lose your driver's license.

Q. What are the effects of alcohol if misused over a long period of time?

A. Here's how alcohol can hurt your body if you misuse it for a long time. Alcohol causes:

* vitamin deficiencies;
* stomach problems;
* major liver damage;
* kidney damage;
* heart damage; and
* brain problems, like memory loss.

Plus, if you drive drunk, or if you are in the car with someone who is driving drunk, you can be seriously injured or killed in a car accident. Don't forget that you also can injure and kill innocent people.

Another risk for drinking is that when a woman is pregnant and drinks it can hurt her baby. If a woman drinks alcohol, her baby could have brain damage, problems growing, facial features that aren't normal, and problems eating and sleeping.

Q. What about my parents? They drink and it doesn't seem to hurt them?

A. Hopefully, if your parents drink alcohol, they do it responsibly and in moderation-which means they never drive after drinking and they have fewer than 2 drinks a day, such as wine with dinner. Your parents probably are not binge drinking, and hopefully they don't drink to deal with problems. If they do, they have a problem with alcohol and they need help. The same behaviors that are signs of a problem with alcohol for teens also apply to adults. And if your parents misuse alcohol for any period of time, they will suffer the same damage to their health.

Be safe: Choose not to use

You can choose to say NO to alcohol when friends are drinking. Here are some ways:

* Just say, "No thanks."
* Find an excuse to leave.
* Ask for help from other nearby friends or adults if someone is really pressuring you to drink.
* Find a new group of friends who respect your decision not to use alcohol.
* Find events that don't involve alcohol.

Be safe: Never let friends who have been drinking drive

Take their keys, offer to drive them home if you have a car, call a cab, or let them sleep at your house. Don't let them walk home alone either. You can avoid situations with alcohol by getting involved in organizations in your school or community that help teens plan other activities. You'd be surprised how much fun you can have organizing and participating in projects that don't involve drinking! Make plans with friends that don't involve alcohol, like dinner and a movie, a sports event, playing sports, shopping, or going to a concert.

Be aware: When alcohol is a problem

People who drink too much alcohol on a regular basis may have a disease called alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease like asthma or diabetes. Alcoholism also can run in families. The good news is that it can be treated. Many teen girls who suffer from alcoholism get help from doctors, treatment centers, or support groups, especially Alcoholics Anonymous. You may have a problem with drinking if you show some of these signs:

*Alcohol has become more important than your schoolwork, family activities and relationships, or friendships.
*You use alcohol to escape from things you are unhappy with every day.
*You can't control your drinking once you start. Even if you decide you'll only have a few drinks, you end up having a lot.
*When you drink you act like a different person than when you are sober.
*When drinking with friends, you can drink more than anyone else.
*You have blackouts or events you don't fully remember after drinking.

Don't be afraid to talk to someone if you show these signs. People want to help you and you should not be ashamed. Try talking with your doctor or a school counselor. These people can guide you in the right direction so you can be evaluated for alcoholism and get counseling.
Be a friend: Help a friend with a problem

If you have a friend who you think has a problem with alcohol, you should be there for her (or him). She needs you. She may feel alone, sad, and scared. Try to set some time aside alone with her. Be a good listener. Talk with her openly about how she can feel better if she gets help. Help her understand that she is not a bad person for having a problem with alcohol. Get her to speak to a trusted adult, counselor, or a doctor.
Fast Facts:

*Girls' and women's bodies are more sensitive to the effects of alcohol. Their bodies react more quickly to alcohol's influence on the brain, muscles, and speech.
*Drinking gives you bad breath and can make you gain weight.
*Teens who drink are more likely to be sexually active and have unsafe sex. Pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases from unsafe sex can change or end your life.
*Over 38% of all drowning deaths are alcohol-related. Drinking alcohol greatly increases the chance that teens will be in a car accident, homicide, or suicide.
*Drinking can really hurt your grades.
*One beer, one shot of whiskey, and one glass of wine all have the same amount of alcohol.
*Anyone can become an alcoholic, young or old, rich or poor, married or single, employed or out of work.
*Mixing alcohol and other drugs, even over-the-counter medicines, can make you sick or even kill you, or may cause you to hurt others.
*Girls who get drunk are vulnerable to assault or date rape.
*Drinking coffee, taking a shower, or breathing cold air will not sober you up faster. The only thing that works is time.

Additional information on choosing not to use alcohol:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Cool Spot

Al-anon/Alateen

March of Dimes

National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome