Put down the coffee, sober up

As much as college students drink alcohol, they are not all well-educated about safe drinking… As much as college students drink alcohol, they are not all well-educated about safe drinking habits. The Pitt News offers some tips about safe alcohol use and facts about your body’s responses to alcohol, courtesy of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the University Counseling Center.

Coffee, cold showers and exercise will not sober you up; only time will do that. One drink of alcohol, whether it is a shot, a glass of wine or a beer, takes approximately two hours to be oxidized and processed through the body.

One 12-ounce glass of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a shot of an 80-proof liquor, such as whiskey, and a 10-ounce wine cooler all contain approximately the same amount of alcohol and can cause disorientation and impairment.

Don’t drink every day. The more often a person drinks, the more likely her body will become increasingly tolerant of alcohol, meaning she’ll require more alcohol each time to get drunk.

Sip a drink, rather than “chug” it. Sipping a drink allows you to keep control of yourself better. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream almost immediately.

Don’t drink in situations in which you feel uncomfortable; you’re more likely to drink beyond your own comfort level.

Men should consume no more than two one-ounce drinks of 80-proof alcohol each day, and women should limit themselves to one drink each day.

Never drink on an empty stomach; food helps decrease the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream.

Alcohol is the most widely abused drug in America.

Despite the frequency of drunken hookups, excessive use of alcohol actually suppresses sexual response and pleasure.

The less a person weighs, the more time it takes for the alcohol to clear out of his body.

The leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds is alcohol-related car accidents.