Alcohol And Other Drug Facts
Standard Drink Sizes
A drink that you are served may be more than a standard drink size. Be sure to study the standard drink sizes below for all types of alcohol, so you can properly monitor your alcohol intake.
Regular Beer= 12 ounces
Most domestic beer is 4% to 5% alcohol. This means an average beer contains about ½ ounce of pure alcohol. It is important to check the % of alcohol in beers as the percentage of alcohol varies.
Wine= 5 ounces
The average table wine contains 12% alcohol, so 4 ounces of wine would contain about ½ ounce of pure alcohol.
Distilled Spirits= 1.5 ounces
One ounce of most distilled spirits contains 40% alcohol
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Facts
Blood alcohol content is an important measure when considering your alcohol intake. Use the link to the BAC calculator below to know how many drinks will make you legally drunk and unable to drive. Remember, if you are under 21 any alcohol in your blood makes you legally drunk!
BAC: Blood alcohol content, the percent of your blood volume that is alcohol.
In Pennsylvania, a BAC over .08% from someone over 21 is considered legally drunk and will lead to a DUI charge if you are driving.
Potential Consequences of Drinking Alcohol
Before you drink alcohol it is important to understand potential negatives consequences. Drinking excessively in a short time, or drinking regularly will heighten your risk of these consequences.
- 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes
- About 1 in 4 college students report academic consequences from drinking, including missing class, falling behind in class, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall
Click here for more negative effects of drinking alcohol.
Lower Your Risk of Negative Consequences with Alcohol
Below are some important strategies to use while drinking alcohol to lower your risk of negative consequences. Remember, the only way to reduce all risk is to not drink alcohol at all.
- For men, no more than 2 drinks per day. For women, no more than 1 drink per day
- Keep track of your intake and know your limits
- Pace yourself. Your body can process about one standard drink per hour
- Never accept an open drink
- Avoid drinking games
Learn About Alcohol Myths: https://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/SpecialFeatures/alcoholMyths.aspx
Learn How Alcohol Affects Your Body:https://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/SpecialFeatures/interactiveBody.aspx
Learn How Many Calories You Take in For Each Drink:https://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/SpecialFeatures/Calculators/alcoholcaloriecalculator.aspx
Marijuana Abuse
Marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug and is illegal to use without a prescription in the state of Pennsylvania. There are also many adverse effects from smoking marijuana that all students should be aware of. Listed below are some of those effects:
-Marijuana is considered a gateway drug to potential catastrophic drug use and addiction
- Marijuana's negative effects such as memory loss and attention loss can last for days or weeks after smoking
- There is considerable evidence that suggest those who smoke marijuana perform poorer in the classroom than those who don't
- Marijuana greatly impairs coordination, judgment, and reaction time, which will negatively effect driving
To read more about marijuana and its negative effects visit the NIH website.
Heroin Abuse
Heroin has become a major problem throughout the United States, including the community right here in Lancaster County. Countless lives are lost too soon from this epidemic. College students and young adults are one of the most at-risk groups of becoming addicted to heroin. Below is more information on the very dangerous drug heroin:
- On average, 78 people die nationwide each day from heroin use
- It only takes using heroin once to overdose on the drug, which could lead to slowed breathing, lacked of oxygen to the brain, brain damage, and death
- Consistent heroin use can lead to collapsed veins, lung complication, liver or kidney disease, or death
- It is now common for heroin to be laced with fentanyl (a powerful synthetic narcotic)
- Heroin is a highly addictive drug and you can become addicted after just one use
To learn more about Heroin and its negative consequences visit WebMD and NIH
Visit CBS News' America's Opioid Epidemic page to learn about current events and real life struggles of the heroin epidemic across the nation
E-Cigarettes and Juul
E-cigarette's, electronic devices that heat a liquid and produce a mix of small particles in the air, come in numerous shapes and sizes. Known by many names, including e-cigs, e-hookahs, vape pens, vapes, and tank systems, e-cigarettes deliver nicotine and sometimes other drugs including marijuana into the lungs.
Juul is a brand of e-cigarettes that is shaped like a USB flash drive and have high levels of nicotine in them. A single Juul pod can contain as much nicotine as one pack of 20 regular cigarettes.
It is important to recognize that e-cigarettes are not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking and often even can lead people into becoming future cigarette smokers. Some of the ingredients in e-cigarettes can be harmful to the lungs and brain development and can increase the probability of addiction.
Exhaled e-cigarette aerosol causes potential health risks to others.
Want to learn more?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Prescription Drug Abuse
Increased illegal use of prescription drugs has become a dangerous trend on college campuses. Students use prescription drugs such as, Adderall, OxyContin, and Vicodin, illegally with the belief it will help them perform better academically. Learn about the negative short and long term effects of using these drugs that are not prescribed by a doctor.