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Volume 3, Number 45 - April 5, 2002
How Much Do You Know About Alcohol

 

   Are you as savvy about alcohol as you think? Here are the answers to the true/false quiz "Do you have a problem with alcohol?":

   1. False. Although alcohol is classified as both a food and a drug, it actually requires no digestion. It is absorbed into the body directly from the stomach and small intestine.

   2. True.

   3. False. About 90 percent of high-school seniors have tried alcohol.

   4. True.

   5. True. Drinking also increases your risk for developing liver disease.

   6. False. Of adult American drinkers, about 15 percent abuse alcohol. And this 15 percent account for more than half of alcohol sales.

   7. False. The three most commonly abused drugs in the United States are alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco.

   8. False. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. By comparison, protein and carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram; fat contains 9 calories per gram. Alcohol also slows the metabolism, making it more difficult to burn calories.

   9. True.

   10. False. Psychoactive drugs are those that alter mood and/or consciousness. Alcohol is a psychoactive drug.

   11. False. Genetics play the greatest role in determining whether you become an alcoholic—whether or not you drink daily.

   12. False. Alcohol costs Americans more than $130 billion a year.

   13. False. More than 1,000 young people suffer injuries each week as a result of drunken assaults.

   14. False. Alcohol plays a role in half of all highway fatalities.

   15. True. Alcohol is metabolized at the rate of one drink per hour (one drink = 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine, 1.5 oz. of liquor).

   16. False. As many as half of U.S. problem drinkers are women, and their numbers are increasing.

   17. False. Alcohol is a depressant.

   18. True.

   19. False. Although beer, wine, and liquor contain different percentages of alcohol, all contain the same type of alcohol. A can of beer is the alcoholic equivalent to a glass of wine or a shot of liquor.

   20. False. Cardiovascular disease is the top-ranking disease among Americans. Alcoholism is second.
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