Alcohol FAQ

Alcohol Facts

There are thousands of drinks which contain alcohol and they all seem to have their own rules.  A regular drink has a little over a half ounce of alcohol which is the equivalent of 15 grams.

Below are rough standard sizes of popular alcohol beverages:
    Spirits or brandy-1.5 oz
    Fortified wine-3 to 4 oz
    Beer or wine cooler-12oz
    Malt liquor-8 to 9 oz
    Table wine-5 oz
    Aperitif, cordial or liqueur-2 to 3 oz

Who are the People who Have the Greatest Problems with Alcohol?

These are the results of studies done a decade ago in the US

    17.5 million adults which accounts for 8.5% of the population can be classified as either abusing alcohol or alcohol dependent.
    Males are much more likely to abuse alcohol.
    Alcohol abuse decreases when people get older.
    The demographic breakdown of the abuse of alcohol is as follows:  Native Americans at 5.75%, Caucasians at 5.1%, African Americans at 3.29%, Hispanics at 3.9% and finally Asians at 2.13%.
    One quarter of children are subjected to one degree or another to family members who abuse alcohol or are dependent.
Problems people may get when they abuse alcohol:

    When drinking a small amount of alcohol it can interact with prescription medications, negatively affect pregnant women and their unborn babies, increase the likelihood of cancer, bleeding which can cause strokes and impair driving and making motor accidents more likely.
    When people drink more to function but are not dependent physically this is classified as alcohol abuse.
    When the abuse becomes stronger and they do become dependent physically they are known as an alcoholic.  According to  DSM-IV it is a 10 step diagnostic criteria which includes when they don't have access to alcohol, foregoing normal habits when drinking, impaired control and drinking even though they know it is causing psychological and physical problems.

What Damage can Alcohol Cause?

    Contributes to fatal accidents in bicycle crashes, car accidents, fires, falls, pedestrians, recreational activities and sports injuries.
    Economic damage due to abusing alcohol in the US is around $185 billion per year.
    Abusing alcohol brings on many health problems such as heart disease and cancer.
    Greatly increases the likelihood of car accidents.  Drivers or pedestrians who had alcohol in their system accounted for 41% of fatal automobile accidents.

Treatment for Alcohol Abuse

Because our treatment center relies on evidence based practices, our Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program shares many common methods with other successful rehab programs.  The foundations of our treatment program for substance abuse also rely on the principles of harm reduction, motivational interviewing, stages of change and cognitive behavioral therapy to promote recovery from alcohol abuse and drug treatment.  In fact, our Intensive Outpatient Program in Memphis, TN that has been proven to be effective in the treatment of alcohol abuse and drug abuse treatment in peer reviewed treatment outcome studies.   Our treatment center  provides services to those who need more treatment than one hour a week, but less than 24 hour care, by providing three hours of treatment per day, three to five days per week, in an intensive outpatient setting.  If you or a loved one is showing signs of alcohol abuse or needs drug treatment rehab, they should be assessed by a trained mental health professional who can help design a treatment plan that can result in recovery.  Treatment for substance abuse can be highly successful.  Call us at 901-682-6136 to schedule an appointment.