| Myth |
Alcohol destroys brain cells. |
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| Fact |
The moderate consumption of alcohol does not destroy brain cells. In fact it is often associated with improved cognitive (mental) functioning. |
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| Myth |
Standard Drinks graphically illustrates information on the equivalence of standard drinks of beer, wine and distilled spirits or liquor. Its accuracy has been established by medical and other health professionals.
A glass of white or red wine, a bottle of beer, and a shot of whiskey or other distilled spirits all contain equivalent amounts of alcohol and are they same to a Breathalyzer.
- A 12-ounce bottle or can of regular beer
- A 5-ounce glass of wine
- A one and 1/2 ounce of 80 proof distilled spirits (either straight or in a mixed drink).
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| Myth |
A "beer belly" is caused by drinking beer. |
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| Fact |
A "beer belly" is caused by eating too much food. No beer or other alcohol beverage is necessary. |
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| Myth |
Switching between beer, wine and spirits will lead to intoxication more quickly than sticking to one type of alcohol beverage. |
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| Fact |
The level of blood alcohol content (BAC) is what determines sobriety or intoxication. Remember that a standard drink of beer, wine, or spirits contain equivalent amounts of alcohol. Alcohol is alcohol and a drink is a drink. |
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| Myth |
Drinking coffee will help a drunk person sober up. |
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| Fact |
Only time can sober up a person...not black coffee, cold showers, exercise, or any other common "cures." Alcohol leaves the body of virtually everyone at a constant rate of about .015 percent of blood alcohol content (BAC) per hour. Thus, a person with a BAC of .015 would be completely sober in an hour while a person with a BAC of ten times that (.15) would require 10 hours to become completely sober. This is true regardless of sex, age, weight, and similar factors. |
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| Myth |
Drinking long enough will cause a person to become alcoholic. |
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| Fact |
There is simply no scientific basis for this misperception, which appears to have its origin in temperance and prohibitionist ideology. |
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| Myth |
Drinking alcohol causes weight gain. |
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| Fact |
This is a very commonly believed myth, even among medical professionals, because alcohol has caloric value. However, extensive research around the world has found alcohol consumption be does not cause weight gain in men and is often associated with a small weight loss in women. |
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| Myth |
Alcohol stunts the growth of children and retards their development. |
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| Fact |
Scientific medical research does not support this old temperance scare tactic promoted by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League, the Prohibition Party, and similar groups. |
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| Myth |
Binge drinking is an epidemic problem on college campuses. |
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| Fact |
Binge drinking is clinically and commonly viewed as a period of extended intoxication lasting at least several days during which time the binger drops out of usual life activities. Few university students engage in such bingeing behavior. However, a number sometimes consume at least four drinks in day (or at least five for men). Although many of these young people may never even become intoxicated, they are branded as binge drinkers by some researchers. This practice deceptively inflates the number of apparent binge drinkers. In reality, the proportion of college students who drink continues to decline, as does the percentage of those who drink heavily. |
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| Myth |
Men and women of the same height and weight can drink the same. |
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| Fact |
Women are affected more rapidly because they tend to have a slightly higher proportion of fat to lean muscle tissue, thus concentrating alcohol a little more easily in their lower percentage of body water. They also have less of an enzyme (dehydrogenises) that metabolizes or breaks down alcohol, and hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle might also affect alcohol absorption to some degree |
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| Myth |
A single sip of alcohol by a pregnant woman can cause her child to have fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). |
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| Fact |
Extensive medical research studying hundreds of thousands of women from around the world fails to find scientific evidence that light drinking, much less a sip of alcohol by an expectant mother, can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Of course, the very safest choice would be to abstain during the period of gestation. |
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| Myth |
People who abstain from alcohol are "alcohol-free." |
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| Fact |
Every person produces alcohol normally in the body 24 hours each and every day from birth until death. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies.
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| Myth |
Alcohol abuse is an increasing problem among young people. |
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| Fact |
Heavy alcohol use among people in the US 17 years of age or younger actually dropped by an amazing two-thirds (65.9 percent) between 1985 and 1997, according to federal government research.The proportion of young people who consumed any alcohol within the previous month dropped from 50% to 19% in about the same period. Other federally funded research also documents the continuing decline in both drinking and drinking abuse among young people. Similarly, alcohol-related traffic injuries and fatalities among young people continue to drop. Deaths associated with young drinking drivers aged 16 to 24 decreased almost half (47%) in a recent 15-year period. |
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| Myth |
If alcohol were less available there would be fewer alcoholics. |
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| Fact |
This is an idea that has been tested through prohibition in the US and a number of other countries. There is no association between the availability of alcohol and alcoholism.
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