Office of Alcohol, Drug, and Health Education
Alcohol: What It Is And What It Does
Most people think of alcohol as a beverage, not a drug (the name Beverage Industry certainly encourages this thinking), but, in fact, ethyl alcohol is a drug as much as is Valium or an amphetamine. When a person becomes stuporous from consuming too much alcohol, we mistakenly refer to the condition as alcohol poisoning, rather than its appropriate name - drug overdose. The term alcohol poisoning is actually redundant because ethyl alcohol is a toxin.
Ethyl alcohol is a sedative hypnotic drug and is the active ingredient in all forms of alcoholic drinks, beer, liquor, wine. Although many people refer to liquor as 'hard alcohol', the alcohol is the same as in the other types of drinks. For basic information about alcohol and its action in the body, please check out www.arf.org
How Does the Body Eliminate Alcohol?
One of the most important things a drinker can know about alcohol is the process of its elimination from the body. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver. Ninety-five percent of the alcohol consumed is eliminated in this way. The liver metabolizes approximately one-half ounce per hour, the amount in one 12 oz. can of domestic beer, one ounce of 100 Proof liquor, or 5-6 ounces of wine. Throwing-up, urinating, or sweating eliminates little to no alcohol from the body.
Why Do Some People Do Things Drinking They Wouldn't Do Sober?
As the blood alcohol concentration rises, the drug affects brain function which, in turn, affects judgement, emotions, coordination, and, if the person continues to drink, voluntary and involuntary muscles. As brain functions become impaired, some people say or do things not normally part of their behavior. People may become insulting, angry, or tearful. Most people become happy because that is the reaction they expect.