NIAAA: What to Know About Alcohol Use During Football Season

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Many of us look forward to tailgating, viewing parties, and cookouts during football season, yet it is also a time when some people are more likely to drink beyond their limits. Some people will suffer adverse consequences that range from fights to falls to traffic crashes. So, this football season, do not underestimate the effects of alcohol. Don't believe you can beat them, or they may beat you.

Despite the potential dangers, myths about drinking persist, which—for some—can prove fatal. An estimated 95,000 people (approximately 68,000 men and 27,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually,¹ making alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Scientific studies supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provide important information that challenges widespread, yet incorrect, beliefs about how quickly alcohol affects the body and how long the effects of drinking last.

People may not recognize that critical decision-making abilities and driving-related skills are already diminished long before they show overt signs of intoxication.

Initially, alcohol may appear to act as a stimulant, so people who drink may feel upbeat and excited. But don't be fooled. Alcohol decreases inhibitions and judgment and can lead to reckless decisions.

As people consume more alcohol, reaction times get longer and behavior becomes poorly controlled and sometimes even aggressive—leading to fights and other types of violence. Continued drinking causes the slurred speech and loss of balance that is typically associated with being drunk.

Alcohol can also cause blackouts—which are gaps in a person's memory while they were intoxicated. These gaps happen when a person drinks enough alcohol to temporarily block the transfer of memories from short-term to long-term storage—known as memory consolidation—in a brain area called the hippocampus. At higher blood alcohol concentration levels, alcohol acts as a clear depressant, which can cause people who drink to pass out if the dose is high enough. At even higher levels, people who drink face the danger of life-threatening alcohol overdose due to the suppression of vital life functions.

Over the course of a football game, it's easy to misjudge how long alcohol's effects last. For example, many people believe that they will begin to sober up—and be able to drive safely—once they stop drinking and have a cup of coffee. The truth is that alcohol continues to affect the brain and body long after the last drink has been finished. Even after someone stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream, resulting in impaired judgment and coordination for hours.

Of course, we don't intend to harm anyone when we celebrate during football season. Yet, violence and traffic fatalities associated with alcohol misuse persist, and myths about drinking live on—even though scientific studies have documented how alcohol affects the brain and body.

Because individuals differ, the specific effects of alcohol on an individual will vary. But certain facts are clear—there's no way to make good decisions when you are intoxicated and there's no way to sober up faster.

• Offer a variety of alcohol-free drinks—water, juices, sparkling sodas. Alcohol-free drinks help counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Also, the other fluids may slow the rate of alcohol absorption into the body and reduce the peak alcohol concentration in the blood. They also provide your guests with alternatives to alcohol.
  
  
• Provide a variety of healthy foods and snacks. Food can slow the absorption of alcohol and reduce the peak level of alcohol in the body by about one-third. Food can also minimize stomach irritation and gastrointestinal distress the following day.
  
  
• Help your guests get home safely—use designated drivers and taxis. Anyone getting behind the wheel of a car should not have ingested any alcohol.
  
  
• If you are a parent, understand the underage drinking laws—and set a good example.

Have a safe football season!

Thinking about a change? Visit https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov.

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). Annual Average for United States 2011–2015 Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use, All Ages. Available at: https://nccd.cdc.gov/DPH_ARDI/Default/Default.aspx

SOURCE National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism