What's the truth about "sobering up"?

Drinking coffee, going for a brisk walk or talking a cold shower are not good ways to sober up after drinking . The liver does most of the work to rid the body of alcohol, and nothing can be done to spread up the elimination process.

Drinking milk or eating a meal before drinking alcohol will not prevent a person's getting drunk. While body weight and the rate of alcohol consumption directly influence the amount of alcohol needed to make a person drunk, nothing will prevent alcohol from entering the bloodstream.

How do people become Alcoholics

Alcoholism is a disease that develops when alcohol reacts with a person's particular body chemistry. Depending on a person's physical make-up, it may take a lot of drinking to trigger alcoholism or it may take just a little.

Each person is born with a certain level of risk for developing this disease.

Teenagers can quickly become addicted to alcohol because a young person's liver metabolizes alcohol more rapidly than an adult's. They will build up a tolerance to the drug, requiring more and more alcohol to achieve the same effect.

What are the warning signs of alcoholism?

• Needing a drink to start the day
• Chronic hangovers
• Making excuses for drinking
• Frequent absenteeism from work or school
• Sneaking extra drinks, gulping drinks

The Social Cost

It is estimated that 10% of those who drink will become addicted, i.e. dependent on alcohol. However, most of the social costs resulting from drinking are caused by the other 90% of occasional drinkers.

Alcohol alters perception, mood and behavior and impairs reflexes and judgment. These conditions lead to accidents on the roads or work places, falls, loss of productivity, absenteeism, spousal and child abuse, family problems, rape, vandalism, violence, crime and irresponsible sexual behavior which increases the risk of sexual transmitted infections including HIV.

The resulting costs are burdensome not only to the drinker and innocent victims, but to all taxpayers.