Page 22 - Manage Licenced Premises Learner Workbook

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PART TWO

HOST RESPONSIBILITY

WHAT IS ALCOHOL? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALCOHOL IS
CONSUMED?

The chemical composition of alcohol is ethanol. Alcohol is When alcohol is swallowed, it passes more or less
formed when yeast ferments the sugars in different foods. unchanged into the bloodstream through the walls of the
stomach and small intestine. Once in the bloodstream,
It is a poison with no nutritional value which has the alcohol circulates through the body within minutes. As
chemical impact on the body of slowing down the it travels around the body, it starts to slow things down,
central nervous system, including the brain. Alcohol causing symptoms of intoxication – relaxation, laughter,
is a depressant, this means that it slows or minimizes slurred speech, inability to walk straight, and impaired
the functioning of every part of the body. The brain is judgement and coordination.
especially sensitive to alcohol as it contains a lot of water,
which is replaced by the alcohol. Thus, the alcohol can The liver ultimately breaks down the alcohol to enable
have a very direct effect on all brain functions. If so much its elimination from the body. This is done at a slow and
alcohol has been consumed that the functions of the brain constant rate, taking one to two hours to process one
stem are affected, depression of vital functions such standard drink. So when people consume alcohol at
as those of the heart and lungs can occur and coma and a rate faster than one standard drink per hour, alcohol
death can follow. concentration increases in the blood (this is known as the
blood alcohol content level or BAC) and they can become
intoxicated. In other words, drunkenness occurs when
alcohol is drunk faster than the liver can break it down;
the higher the BAC, the greater the effects on the body.