Alcohol is also a drug, and students need to be aware of the health risks involved in using alcohol. In large doses, alcohol can dull sensation and impair muscular coordination, memory and judgment. Taken in large quantities over a long period of time, alcohol can damage the liver and heart and can cause permanent brain damage. Dependence on alcohol can be psychological when the drinker uses alcohol to escape from stress. A pattern of repeated heavy drinking produces a condition in which the body needs alcohol to function, and can lead to physical dependence.
Alcohol can kill.
A large dose consumed at once can interfere with the part of the brain that controls breathing. The respiratory failure which results can bring death. Delirium tremens, the most extreme manifestation of alcohol withdrawal, can also cause death. Pregnant women who drink risk delivering babies stillborn or with serious abnormalities. Approximately half of the deaths from car accidents each year in the United States are related to alcohol abuse.