Aside from the long-term health consequences of heavy drinking, it carries some immediate health risks too. Chief among these is the risk of alcohol poisoning.
There have been concerns amongst medical professionals over recent years of the increase in alcohol consumption throughout the UK, particularly in the rise of alcohol abuse and diagnosed cases of alcohol dependence since the coronavirus lockdowns which began in 2020.
Recent statistics reveal that there has been an alarming rise in alcohol poisoning cases and deaths over recent years which places a huge burden on healthcare services throughout the UK.
Indeed, deaths due to alcohol poisoning in the UK account for over 5% of all alcohol-specific deaths between 2020/21. (4,9)
Alcohol poisoning occurs as a result, of people consuming large amounts of alcohol quicker than the body can process, absorb and eliminate its harmful chemical contents.
Anyone who drinks several alcoholic drinks in a short space of time will see their blood alcohol levels rise significantly which will have a highly toxifying effect on their cardiovascular system as the alcohol levels build up.
The behaviour commonly associated with such consequences is binge drinking.
Binge drinking, that is, consuming large amounts of alcohol in a very short time frame has become very common on nights outs but the consequences of this can be catastrophic.
Consuming a lot of alcohol very quickly in a short time can result in a drastic reduction in cognitive and physical abilities.
For example, we will lose control of our coordination and motor abilities, we may be unable to walk in a straight line or hold on to an object.
Our decision-making is also affected leading to poor judgement, or we may become vulnerable to impulsive behaviour which is likely to have negative consequences for us
If we continue to drink alcohol when in this state and do not recognise how we have deteriorated then we are on the way to overdosing on alcohol and having alcohol poisoning. (8,9)
Alcohol poisoning is caused by drinking a very large amount of alcohol in a limited space of time (otherwise known as binge drinking). It is a very serious, and potentially life-threatening condition.
Someone suffering from alcohol poisoning may experience changes in their heart rate (BPM), breathing, gag reflex and body temperature. In extreme cases, alcohol poisoning can trigger a coma and death.
It is worth remembering that alcohol has a significant depressive effect on our central nervous system, its chemicals produce the same intense physiological effect on it as other depressive-inducing drugs such as opioids.
This means that alcohol will dampen certain important biological mechanisms in the human body, the more alcohol a person drinks within a short space of time the more blood alcohol levels will rise and the greater its suppressive effects on the human brain.
For example, depressive drugs tend to contract connective tissues in the human brain and damage a large number of brain cells which can cause problems with memory, cognition and our emotional state.
Alcohol can take effect quite quickly as its molecules cross several membrane barriers in no time at all and reach several parts of the body quite rapidly. (2,3)
How severe a person’s state of intoxication becomes is dependent on several factors such as how quickly the body processes and absorbs alcohol, their gender, body size and type, their tolerance to alcohol, how much food they have eaten and their metabolic rate.
On average it takes one hour for the liver to metabolise one drink (one pint of average strength or one spirit measure at 40% strength).
After drinking a couple of alcoholic drinks people will experience a relaxed state accompanied by a slight loosening of their inhibitions.
Consuming 4 or 5 drinks in less than two hours results in drinkers becoming sedated which will be accompanied by a sharp decline in people’s judgement and assessment, their speech will become somewhat slurred they will become very clumsy, and their reaction time will be much slower compared to the time before they started drinking alcohol.
Being intoxicated also tends to lower a person’s mood and will reduce their ability to recognise their emotional state, they may become angry and aggressive and vulnerable to engage in risky behaviour as alcohol’s depressive effects take a grip.
After 10 or more drinks in two hours, a person can slip into a coma and if they do not receive care and treatment they may choke on their vomit or die as a result of their respiratory system becoming depressed and slowing down to a dangerously low rate. (5)
Adolescents and older people are most vulnerable to becoming unwell due to alcohol poisoning and the risk is also high for people that simultaneously take other drugs, especially sedatives.
Adolescents are at risk because their bodies are not yet familiar with drinking and processing alcohol, this is particularly the case for any adolescents drinking alcohol for the first time who engage in binge drinking and adolescents are also said to be more likely to participate in behaviours considered high risk.
Older people are at risk because as we get older our ability to process alcohol efficiency declines as our tolerance levels drop. (5,9)
Like all things ingested the body is programmed to break down the chemical properties in alcohol, and either absorb nutrients or eliminate the unhelpful waste products.
As there is little or no nutritional content in alcohol then the body via the liver strives to filter it out of the bloodstream and then eliminate it from the body as soon as physically possible.
A psychoactive drug like alcohol upsets the balance of the body despite the pleasurable and relaxing feelings it provided for people.
Because the brain strives for balance it automatically seeks to adapt to the imbalance generated by alcohol and sets off processes to minimise the effects of the drug and eliminate it from the body.
The body is unable to process any more than 1 unit of alcohol per hour, this equates to half a pint of beer (3.6%) and one measure of a spirit, even though alcohol takes effect quickly.
The rate of absorption is quite slow in comparison, so anyone who drinks more than one unit of alcohol per hour will find that their Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) which measures the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream will rise rapidly as the body will not have time to process all the alcohol that the body consumes, so the alcohol content in the blood builds up as it waits to be processed and eliminated, which means the bloodstream contains a lot of toxic elements. (2,3,7)
People who engage in binge drinking are posing a huge risk to their health as anyone who consumes too much alcohol in a short space of time is damaging several internal physiological mechanisms that are important for our health.
When too much alcohol has been consumed the level of alcohol in the blood rises very quickly which causes a great degree of toxicity in the blood and also inhibits specific parts of our brain which are responsible for coordinating our respiratory system and our consciousness.
The extremely negative consequences of this could be that the person slips into a coma, their breathing can slow down drastically and stop and in case of high levels of poisoning, death, depending on how much alcohol they consume in a short time frame. (7,9)
One of the unknown but significant negative effects that alcohol has on the human body as a depressant is that it dampens several nerves that govern several involuntary processes in the human body, one of which is the gag reflex.
The gag reflex protects us from choking and swallowing any substances that may be harmful to us, but if weakened, binge drinkers are vulnerable to choking.
It is clear that alcohol irritates the lining of the stomach and anyone who drinks high volumes of alcohol in a short period is vulnerable to vomiting heavily. So these two factors together mean people with a high level of alcohol poisoning are placing themselves in s very dangerous situation.
Unfortunately, as the chemical properties of alcohol have reduced the efficiency of the protective gag reflex people are in danger of choking to death on their vomit if they become unconscious after a heavy bout of binge drinking. (8,9)
Anyone who develops alcohol poisoning after consuming an extremely high volume of alcohol in a couple of hours is vulnerable to:
The definition of binge drinking is when people consume too much alcohol in two hours and their Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) reading rises to 0.08% and above.
The following people are particularly vulnerable to alcohol poisoning:
It is difficult to be precise in stating exactly how many drinks will lead to alcohol poisoning as there are an array of variables that determine this, which differ from person to person, these variables include:
As the level of alcohol in the blood rises, the blood slowly becomes poisoned, and the person is heading towards an alcohol overdose if they continue drinking alcohol at this current rate.
The level of alcohol in the blood is measured by BAC which stands for blood alcohol content (or concentration).
People will be surprised to learn how little alcohol it takes to cause serious physical concerns.
Individuals with this reading for the BAC are mildly impaired and will begin to have some verbal difficulties and will start to be forgetful. They may become uncoordinated and start to feel tired and are sleepy
People with this level of alcohol in their blood will experience a worsening of earlier cognitive and physical impairments and this level of alcohol in the bloodstream will seriously impact a person’s ability to drive a car safely and competently.
Research suggests that people who are engaging in binge drinking will return a BAC of 0.08%, which is reached by women after drinking 7-11 units and men after drinking 10-15 units in two hours.
Any physical, perceptual, and decision-making abilities are now totally impaired, people have lost the ability to control their behaviour and they are likely to be vomiting at this stage and they may start to suffer from blackouts.
When the BAC reaches this level there is a serious threat to life, the high alcohol levels in the blood have depressed vital brain functions necessary for maintaining breathing and consciousness and the body has become seriously dehydrated. (8,9)
If you suspect a person you are with is exhibiting symptoms of alcohol poisoning call the emergency services immediately and be mindful that the person could die if they do not receive treatment very soon.
Being aware of the following points can help you to assist the person you are with if you suspect they have alcohol poisoning, as this information could save their lives:
It is dangerous to think someone is sleeping off the effects of alcohol when their condition could still be getting worse rather than improving.
It is important to realise that a person’s Blood Alcohol Concentration can slowly increase after they have become unconscious due to the rate at which the body processes alcohol from the stomach into the bloodstream.
It is also unhelpful to encourage them to vomit as much of the alcohol has left the stomach and been transported to the small intestine area. (8,9)
A key area in protecting yourself against the life-threatening consequences of binge drinking and alcohol poisoning is to educate yourself on the alcoholic content of a variety of drinks.
Not all drinks are the same strength and if you drink alcohol at parties or in your home then you are likely to drastically underestimate the volume of alcohol that you consume and be in danger of suffering from alcohol poisoning.
Those attending happy hours or promotional offers can also lose track of their intake and be unaware of the high levels of alcohol they are taking into their bodies as alcohol could be mixed in with a soft drink such as coke or orange juice which disguises the actual alcoholic strength and volume of the drink.
A standard pint of average-strength beer, cider and lager with a strength of 3.6% is equal to two units, although if this rises to 4% then it is worth 2.3 units.
Some of the high-strength beers that have an ABV of up to 8% are equivalent to 4 units of alcohol. (6)
If someone is buying drinks for you or you are unaware of what you are drinking then this can have serious, severe consequences for you very quickly.
Some of the key unit contents are shown below:
Anyone with alcohol poisoning will be admitted to the hospital as a medical emergency and be carefully assessed and regularly monitored until all alcohol has left their body.
Depending on the seriousness of the condition, the following treatments may be administered by hospital staff:
Below, we outline six steps to avoid an alcohol poisoning emergency:
Hopefully, this informational page has helped you to understand alcohol poisoning in a bit more detail.
As mentioned at the start of this article, there are still hundreds of deaths from alcohol poisoning annually in the UK. Through proper treatment and care, this number can be reduced.
(1) Harvard Medical School (2022) Eleven ways to curb your drinking.available@11 ways to curb your drinking – Harvard Health
(2) Heather, N. & Stockwell, T. (2004) The Essential Handbook of Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Problems. John Wiley and Sons. Chichester.
(3) Moss and Dyer (2010_ The psychology of addictive behaviour. Palgrave Macmillan. Basingstoke.
(4) NI Direct (2022) How alcohol affects your health. available@https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/how-alcohol-affects-your-health
(5) National Health Service (2022) Alcohol poisoning. available@Alcohol poisoning – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
(6) National health service (2022) Alcohol units. available@.Alcohol units – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
(7) National Institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (2022) Understanding the dangers of alcohol overdose. available@Understanding The Dangers of Alcohol Overdose | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (nih.gov)
(8) Standford University (2022) Alcohol Overdose and Poisoning available@Alcohol Overdose/Poisoning | Vaden Health Services (stanford.edu)
(9) The University of Texas (2022) Alcohol poisoning. Available @Alcohol Poisoning – What to do (utexas.edu)
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