Myths about alcohol

Myth 1: Alcohol energises you

Reality: Alcohol is a depressant, and can actually make you feel sleepy and drowsy. It slows down your motor skills, which control the way you think, speak, move and react. Alcohol also impairs your reasoning powers and judgement.

Myth 2: Switching between different drinks make you more drunk

Reality: Your blood alcohol content (BAC - the percent of alcohol in your blood) determines how drunk you are and not the flavours / the kind of drink you select. Alcohol is alcohol.

Myth 3: Everybody reacts same to alcohol

Reality: A number of factors affect how one reacts after taking alcohol. Some of these factors include body weight; time of day, how you feel mentally, body chemistry, your expectations, and the list goes on and on.

Myth 4: A cold shower or a cup of coffee can sober someone up

Reality: Nothing sobers you up but time. With coffee, you're simply a wide-awake drunk!

Myth 5: Beer doesn't damage you as much as other drinks do

Reality: Large amounts of alcohol, even if it's beer, can do major damage to your digestive system. You can hurt your heart, liver, stomach, and several other vital organs as well as losing years from your life.

Myth 6: Drugs are a bigger problem than alcohol

Reality: Alcohol kills more young people than cocaine, heroin, and every other illegal drug combined. Alcohol abuse is as grave a problem as drug abuse

Myth 7: A bad tummy is the maximum that drinking too much can lead to

Reality: Drinking excessively can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can even cause death. Excessive alcohol can cause vomiting. When drunk and unconscious, a person may inhale fluids that have been vomited, resulting in death by asphyxiation. Long-term, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism), and makes one highly vulnerable to heart attack or stroke.

Myth 8: Alcohol isn't harmful to my body

Reality: Drinking occasionally and in moderation is not harmful but large amounts of alcohol can take its toll on your body, causing disturbed sleep, nausea, vomiting and a dreaded hangover. Heavy drinking can inhibit the firing of nerve cells that control breathing, a condition known as respiratory depression, which can even be fatal

Myth 9: Eating a big meal before you drink will keep you sober

Reality: Drinking on a full stomach can only delay the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, not prevent it. Eating before you drink is not a defense against getting drunk.