Alcohol is a very popular drug in Australia, with almost 90 per cent of the population having drunk it at some time during their life. It is particularly popular among young people. Alcohol has a greater impact on young people, as some of them tend to drink more than they should and often don’t have the experience to know what effect it will have on them. This section has been written specifically for young men to give you some information about how alcohol can affect you.
Drinking in moderation can make you feel happy, relaxed and confident. However, drinking too much puts you at risk of experiencing a range of problems.
Alcohol and young men
Everybody is different and alcohol will affect everyone in a different way. It can affect the same person differently at different times. Alcohol is a depressant, which means that it slows down the body and its functions. Your reaction to alcohol can be affected by many things, including your weight, your fitness level, how much body fat you have and what you have eaten.
The ‘average’ man is able to drink more than the ‘average’ woman. This is because they have a higher water content in their body, allowing the alcohol to be more watered down. This means that you do not feel the effects of the same amount of alcohol as much as a woman would.
However, many young men drink far more than they should. We call this type of drinking ‘binge drinking’ or ‘drinking to get drunk’. Binge drinking can cause many health problems, some of which happen just after drinking and others in the years to come.
As alcohol slows your reactions down and reduces your ability to think, you are more likely to find yourself in risky situations. These may include road and pedestrian accidents, other accidents and falls and fights. Unfortunately, every year some young men die in Australia as a result of binge drinking.
Most young people do not believe that you can overdose on alcohol. However, this can happen, particularly when someone is drinking too much, too quickly. Too much alcohol causes the body to ‘shut down’ and the person falls into unconsciousness. In extreme cases, if the person does not receive medical help quickly, they can die.
Why do we worry about young men and alcohol?
Many young men talk about the confidence that alcohol gives them. They say they can approach girls more easily and have a better time with their mates than they would have otherwise. However, alcohol can also cause you to make decisions you normally wouldn’t.
Some young men become aggressive or get behind the wheel of a car when they are drunk.
Mixing alcohol with other drugs is dangerous because the effects of the mix can be unpredictable. Some young men report mixing cannabis (marijuana, pot, grass) with alcohol. Being stoned can cause you to drink more than you would normally and many young people report being sick when they mix these drugs together.
The combination of too much alcohol and sex can lead to big problems. For men who have drunk too much alcohol they may find it difficult to perform. Unfortunately, drinking too much can lead to unplanned and unprotected sex, or even sexual assault and rape. It can also have major legal implications.
Drinking too much, too often, can also have a bad effect on your health, education, work and relationships with your family and friends.
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