Danger of AlcoholAlcohol is not digested: it goes directly to the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels. Within minutes, the blood carries to all parts of the body.

The immediate risks

In the short term and when consumed in large doses, alcohol causes intoxication and can lead to digestive problems, nausea, vomiting. Drinking a large amount of alcohol in a short time causes a rise in the rate of alcohol, which then falls depending on the amount drunk: only time can bring it down. It is expected to be one hour on average absorbed by glass. If you drink without eating, the alcohol passes quickly into the bloodstream and its effects are more important.

Consumption of alcohol may be exposed to major risks:

>> Decreased vigilance, often responsible for traffic accidents, accidents at work;

>> Loss of self control that can lead to violent behavior, to acting out, sexual assault, suicide, homicide;

>> Exposure to attacks because of an attitude sometimes provocative or that the person intoxicated is more capable of defending itself.

The risks in the longer term

Regular consumption when it is excessive (or beyond the thresholds of 2 to 3 glasses per day) increases the risk of many diseases: cancer (including the mouth, throat, esophagus, etc.) liver disease (cirrhosis) and pancreatic cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, nervous system diseases and mental disorders (anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders).

Premix and alcopops: how to attract young

The industry of alcoholic beverages have developed marketing strategies directed at young consumers, attracted by the sweet flavors. They have created new products: the premix and alcopops. Packaged in bottles or cans, these products have an alcohol content that amounts to 5-6% of the volume.

The premixes are mixed drink soft drinks or fruit juices with liquor (whiskey, vodka.). Arriving on the French market in 1996, the premix have been heavily taxed from 1997 to curb the development of their use among young people.

Alcopops are composed of a mixture of alcoholic beverages (eg beer and vodka) or with an alcohol aroma (eg Vodka Lemon). Escaping to taxation premixes, alcopops appeared successfully on the French market, with over two million liters sold in 2003, and sales were almost multiplied by ten the following year. The adoption in 2004 of new rules of taxation should fall sales of these products.

UNEQUAL around alcohol

Faced with the consumption of alcohol, everyone reacts differently depending on his size, his physical health and mental state, whether you are a man or a woman, and by the time of consumption. The tolerance depends on the person and context. The production, sale and use of alcoholic beverages are regulated

Dependence

There is talk of dependency when the person became unable to reduce or stop consumption, despite the persistence of damage. Many symptoms appear during eating or stop tremors, cramps, anorexia, abnormal behavior. This dependence is accompanied by major difficulties in relationships, social, vocational, health, judicial.