Alcohol and Drug Resources

How Alcohol Affects Us

Alcohol is the most widely misused drug among college students. Many students feel that drinking alcohol is part of the college experience and that they will miss out on social aspects of college if they do not drink. The misuse of alcohol can be devastating. It is important for people to understand that alcohol abuse impairs their judgment and their peripheral and central nervous system.

Alcohol should be used responsibly and cautiously. Alcohol also affects different people in different ways. Some of the characteristics that determine the way alcohol affects you include:

• Sex
• Mood
• Body Weight
• Type of Alcohol
• Full/Empty Stomach
• Speed of Consumption
• Use of Medication or Other Drugs

For most people, the effects of alcohol are determined by simple volume.

Strategies to Prevent Alcohol Poisoning

Preventing alcohol poisoning has to start with understanding how alcohol affects the body. There comes a point, called the point of diminishing returns, when the “buzz” will not increase with more alcohol. In fact, at this point (typically around a BAC of .06), drinking more alcohol is almost guaranteed to lead to a series of negative effects.

Below is a list of ways to help prevent alcohol poisoning:

• Drink no more than one drink per hour
• Eat a full meal shortly before you start drinking
• Drink non-alcoholic drinks between alcoholic drinks to slow the rate of consumption
• Do not mix alcohol with other drugs, legal or illegal
• Do not let others pressure you to drink
• Know your limits and stick to them
• Leave any drinking situation that is out of control before you become involved

Assistance

For questions or concerns about your own use of alcohol or other substances, concerns about others around you, or if you just want to discuss strategies for using responsibly please contact Joye Shrager, Substance Abuse Educator at jshrager [at] haverford.edu.

• Campus Drug Prevention
  Resources to prevent drug misuse among college student
• Rethinking Your Drinking?
  Tools and information to help you evaluate your relationship with alcohol and tips on making changes to improve your health.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse
  Accurate facts about specific drugs, research and clinical resources
• Start Your Recovery
  Substance misuse information, signs of a problem, treatment and recovery information and in-recovery resources
• Go Ask Alice
  A health question and answer resource produced by Alice! Health Promotion at Columbia University. It provides reliable, accurate, accessible, culturally competent information and a range of thoughtful perspective to help the reader make responsible decisions concerning their health and well being
• Drink Responsibly
  Be a responsible drinking. Try the virtual bar calculator. Take the Think Responsibly Quiz.

Self-Help Groups

• Alcoholics Anonymous
  Find an AA meeting to attend in person or online
• Narcotics Anonymous
  Find an NA meeting to attend in person or online
• Al-Anon
  Provides support for friends and family members of alcohol abusers.
• Nar-Anon
  Provides support for friends and family members of narcotic and polysubstance abusers