The short version
- Alcohol is a depressant — it slows the brain, starting with judgement.
- A blackout means your brain has stopped forming memories: it signals a dangerous blood alcohol level.
- Mixing alcohol with other depressants (benzos, opioids) can stop breathing.
- Put an unconscious person on their side, never on their back, and stay with them.
- Call emergency services for slow breathing, unresponsiveness, blue lips or a seizure. You won't get in trouble for calling.
What it's doing in your body
Alcohol is a depressant: it slows down the signalling in your brain and nervous system. The chatty, confident early stage is actually the first part of that slowdown — the brain regions handling self-consciousness and judgement go offline before the ones handling speech and balance.
That order matters, because it means the point where you feel great is also the point where your risk assessment has already stopped working. Most alcohol harm to teenagers isn't the alcohol itself; it's what happens in those hours — injuries, fights, walking home alone, getting in a car, sex you didn't want or can't remember agreeing to.
Why it hits teens harder
The brain keeps developing into the mid-twenties, and the prefrontal cortex — planning, impulse control, weighing consequences — is the last part to finish. Heavy drinking during this window is associated with measurable effects on memory and learning, and the earlier and heavier the drinking, the higher the risk of developing a dependence later.
There's also a plain physical factor: lower body weight and less established tolerance mean the same drink produces a much higher blood alcohol level than it would in an adult.
- Blackouts aren't 'passing out' — you're awake and functioning, but your brain has stopped recording memories. It's a sign of a genuinely dangerous blood alcohol level.
- Mixing alcohol with energy drinks masks how drunk you are without making you less impaired.
- Mixing alcohol with other depressants — benzodiazepines, opioids, some prescription meds — is one of the most common ways young people die. Both slow breathing.
- Vomiting is your body's emergency ejection system. Someone who's vomiting and drowsy is not 'fine now'.
Alcohol poisoning: the part worth memorising
This is the section to actually remember, because at some point you may be the most sober person in the room. Call emergency services if you see any of these — you will not get in trouble for calling, and 'they'll be embarrassed' is not a reason to wait.
- Can't be woken up, or only briefly.
- Slow or irregular breathing (fewer than about 8 breaths a minute, or long gaps).
- Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin, especially lips and fingertips.
- Vomiting while barely conscious.
- A seizure or fit.
- Confusion so severe they don't know where they are.
If you're looking after someone
Never leave someone drunk to 'sleep it off' alone on their back — the real danger is choking on vomit while unconscious. Put them on their side, stay with them, keep them warm, and check they're still breathing. Don't give them coffee, a cold shower, or more alcohol. Time is the only thing that sobers someone up.
Myths worth binning
❌Coffee or a cold shower sobers you up.
Nothing speeds up how fast your liver processes alcohol. Only time does.
❌Beer is safer than spirits.
What matters is total units of alcohol, not what it came in.
❌Being able to drink a lot means you're handling it well.
High tolerance is a warning sign — it means your body has adapted to regular exposure.
Check what stuck
Quick multiple choice, with an explanation after every answer. Nobody sees your score.