POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 79 continued Know the Risks and Effects continued Long term effects and risks: Chronic or long term risks refer to the harms that happen over the longterm. If you frequently drink too much alcohol, you risk some of these longterm harms:3 • damage to organs, including: liver brain heart stomach • increased risk of cancer, including: liver breast throat stomach • high blood pressure • reduced resistance to infection • sexual impotence • decreased appetite • malnourishment and vitamin deficiencies • disturbed sleep patterns • anxiety and depression, including suicidal depression • hormonal irregularities and infertility The Risks of Underage Drinking Road crashes are the number one cause of death among young people in Canada. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among 16 to 25yearolds, and alcohol and/or drug impairment is a factor in 55% of those crashes. (Madd Canada). Having frequent conversations about drinking and driving (including being a passenger in a car with an impaired driver) with your teen before they begin driving is extremely important. Youth who consume alcohol (with or without other drugs) need to understand that their ability to drive will be significantly impaired. An impaired driver puts themself and everyone else on the road in danger including their passengers, cyclists, other drivers, and pedestrians Purified Alcoholic beverages These singleserve drinks, like coolers, usually contain high alcohol content and are highly sweetened, masking the signs of overconsumption. Some of these beverages actually contain the same alcoholic content as four standard alcoholic drinks. The effects may not be felt immediately, increasing the chances of overconsumption. A singleserve purified alcoholic beverage could be enough to severely intoxicate a youth, and two or more of these drinks could lead to unintentional overconsumption and acute alcohol poisoning, hospitalization, with even a risk of death. Binge Drinking Binge drinking means having many drinks on one occasion. Drinking to get very drunk greatly increases the risk of safety and health issues in youth. It is more common among young people than adults. Getting “wasted or hammered” can be a rite of passage for many teens and young adults – think university frosh week and drinking games like beer pong – but drinking many drinks to get drunk can lead to a significant number of risks to a young person’s health and safety. Recent surveys show that: 4 onefifth (20%) of Ontario students in grades 712 report binge drinking at least once in the past month almost one in three (32%) Canadians between 20 and 34 years report binge drinking 12 or more times in the past year nearly one in five (19%) of Canadians between 35 and 44 years report binge and – drinking at this same rate Consuming more than 2 standard drinks per occasion is associated with an increased risk of harms to self and others, including injuries and violence. 5
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