If you plan to drink
- Stay with friends just in case you need them. Drinking alone is dangerous.
- Eat before and while you drink; it slows down the effects of alcohol.
- Familiar places with familiar people is safest.
- If a person is passed out, roll them on their side so they won’t choke if they vomit. Make sure they keep breathing.
- Unconscious people should not be left alone.
- Learn the signs of an alcohol overdose and seek medical attention if you see these signs in someone who has been drinking.
Signs of an alcohol overdose
- severe vomiting
- no response to being talked to or shouted at
- no response to being pinched, shaken or poked
- no response when you try to wake them
- inability to stand up
- slow and laboured breathing
- purplish colour or clammy skin
- fast pulse rate
Judgment
- Alcohol affects a person’s judgment and can lead to poor choices.
- Some people have unplanned and unprotected sex when they are drunk.
- A drunk person may say and do things they wouldn’t do if they were sober.
- Too much drinking can impair sexual ability and pleasure.
- Neither girls nor guys get prettier the drunker you get.
- You may think drinking makes you more appealing, but others may have a different feeling.
Violence
- Some people change and become aggressive when they drink.
- Fighting can ruin a friendship forever.
- Being drunk is never an excuse for hurting someone.
- Getting violent when drunk could be a sign of a bigger drinking problem.
Drinking and driving
- Driving after drinking is foolish, dangerous and illegal.
- Riding with someone who has been drinking is also foolish.
- Being a little bit drunk is just as dangerous as being really drunk when it comes to driving.
- Drinking can make you feel like you’re a better driver than you are sober, but you’re actually a far worse driver when you’re drunk. That’s why drinking and driving is so dangerous.
- One-fifth of Alberta drivers (21%) involved in fatality collisions and 5% of drivers involved in injury collisions in 2001 were drinking or impaired.
- Even one drink is too many if you are driving.
AADAC Youth Services can be found in communities and schools across Alberta.
For more information, contact your local AADAC office or call the AADAC Help Line at 1-866-33AADAC. We are available to give you information and support.
