You should never drink on an empty stomach because food slows the passage of alcohol into the blood.
Mixing various spirits or drinking alcohol and taking substances such as drugs, contraceptives and drugs can cause severe physical damage and mental alterations with unpredictable consequences.
The combined use of several substances has significant effects on sensory, motor and behavior functions even in the face of low concentrations in the blood, since their association produces an amplification of the effects.
Binge drinking
A very dangerous behavior has increased among young people: binge drinking.It consists of drinking a lot of alcohol in a short time, for example 6 or more glasses, until you are drunk.
Binge drinking has spread among 18-24 year old boys and girls but also among very young 11-17 year olds, especially in contexts of socialization and fun.It can cause serious health problems: it causes effects on the brain, an organ that is still growing in young people and reaches full maturity only around the age of 20.
Binge drinking in younger boys and girls increases the risk of alcohol addiction in adulthood.
ISTAT data on the use and abuse of alcohol in Italy show a change in the use of alcoholic beverages.There is a slight decline in daily consumption but occasional and after-meal alcohol consumption increases.
- Increase the consumption of beer, alcoholic aperitifs and spirits, certainly favored by advertising that links drinking to a fun and successful lifestyle.
- From the data it emerges that the consumption of wine during meals decreases, the occasional consumers increase, the drinks consumed by young people change (aperitifs, bitters and spirits occasionally and between meals).
- Among young people aged 18-24 and adolescents aged 11-17 there is alcohol abuse and with a view to getting high, alcohol is consumed in association with other substances such as tobacco, hashish, cocaine.
Energy drink
Energy drinks are increasingly popular drinks among 18-35 year olds. A growing trend is the consumption of energy drinks in combination with alcohol or in the form of cocktails.These are energizing drinks that contain guarana, taurine, carnitine, B vitamins, ginseng, ginko biloba and other plant derivatives.
- They contain high levels of caffeine which produce stimulating effects.
- They are sold with indications of a positive effect, increased physical and mental energy, improved sports and cognitive performance.
Consuming energy drinks and alcohol has various risks:
- masks the depressant effect of alcohol
- it makes you underestimate your intoxication and leads you to drink more
- increases risky behaviors: violence, sexual abuse, drunk driving
promotes addiction and alcoholism - leads to dehydration: alcohol and energy drinks have diuretic effects while caffeine
- causes an increase in sweating
- alters heart rhythm: tachycardia and palpitations are the main related side effects and those with heart disease can cause serious effects
- impairs kidney functions due to the presence of taurine which eliminates waste.