The drinkable type of alcohol is called ethanol alcohol. It is a clear, colorless volatile liquid. The liquid evaporates quickly even at low temperatures, and is very flammable. Alcohol has a burning sensation when entering the body through the mouth. Alcohol is made through fermentation, which is the process of sugar mixing with yeast to produce alcohol and carbonic acid. The alcohol content in a beverage is measured by proofs, which is twice the amount of actual content (40 proof = 20% alcohol). .
Drinking alcohol causes many side effects on your body. Alcohol is a depressant that reduces the activity in the central nervous system. Because of this, the intoxicated person will be confused, disoriented, and possibly hallucinate. They also loose fine motor coordination, which causes them to stagger when walking and their speech to slur. The eyes might appear glossy and the pupils respond slowly to changes in light. Alcohol decreases the heart rate, lowers the blood pressure and breathing rate which causes slow reflex responses and reaction times. The intoxicated person's skin might feel cold, although the person feels warm and sweaty. As the blood alcohol content rises, the side effects get worse to the point of loss of consciousness or even death due to alcohol poisoning. All these are short-term effects of alcohol use.
Alcohol also brings long term effects with its continued use. A chronic drinker can develop liver disease, heart disease, forms of cancer, and pancreatitis. Women who are chronic drinkers will develop the alcohol-related problems quicker than men will. Studies have shown that physical brain damage is closely related to drinking, and is evident even if some of the other long-term effects are not. The alcohol effects the part of the brain that controls coordination and balance. Since alcohol affects many organs in your body, long term drinking puts you at risk for developing many serious health problems.
