Almost everyone has had some form of alcohol in their lives. A lot of people drink alcohol on a reoccurring basis. However, most people that consume alcohol have no idea the short term and long term effect that it have on their body. The purpose of this paper is to inform everyone of the affects of alcohol, so that they make an educated decision about drinking.
             Once alcohol enters the body it is not digested like food. Once in the stomach, alcohol is absorbed directly into your blood stream through the tissue lining the stomach and small intestine. Food and water can slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, while carbonated beverage will speed the process up. Once alcohol is in ones blood stream, it is carried to all the organs of their body. A person's body composition, sex, the presence of food in the stomach, and the amount and type of alcohol consumed will determine exactly how alcohol will affect a person. Females, people with high percent body fat, and people with empty stomachs will feel the effects of alcohol the most.
             Ten percent of the alcohol is eliminated through sweat, breath, and urine. Your liver must detoxify the remaining alcohol. The liver breaks down alcohol at a rate of one half an ounce per hour. This also varies depending on the person; some people can break down more, some break down less. There is nothing that a person can do to speed up the rate your body breaks alcohol down. When the rate of alcohol consumed exceeds the liver's detoxification rate, the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream continues to increase, further impairing the brain, causing intoxication, coma, or possibly death.
             Alcohol can alter a person's mood and can cause depression. Alcohol can cause a lot of damage to the body because none of the body's cells are immune to alcohol. Alcohol moves quickly to the brain and passes the blood-brain barrier, which normally keeps harmful substances away from the brai...