Alcohol and Smoking

The liver cells use enzymes to break alcohol down into other substances, some of which are toxic. A small amount can be dealt with, but heavy drinking over many years overloads the liver.

Fat builds up in the liver cells. There may be no symptoms, and the damage can be reversed if the person stops drinking.

The liver becomes inflamed, and liver cells die. It can cause jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin and eyes.

Scar tissue replaces the dead liver cells, and the liver becomes smaller and hard. The damage is permanent, and the liver can no longer do its jobs. This can cause liver failure, and raises the risk of liver cancer.

Alcohol slows the reactions of the brain, so reaction times are longer, judgement is poor, and there is a greater risk of accidents.

Alcohol can pass from the mother to the baby, and can cause damage to the baby's development.

It raises the risk of some cancers, high blood pressure, and weight gain, because alcoholic drinks contain a lot of energy.

It is linked to accidents, violence and time lost from work.

One unit is 10 cm cubed (10 ml) of pure alcohol.

Units \(=\) volume in ml \(\times\) alcohol by volume (as a percentage) \(\div\) 1000.

In the UK, the advice is not to drink more than 14 units in a week, and to spread them over three or more days.

The more a person drinks, the greater the risk of liver disease, so the amount is a risk factor.

It is addictive, which is why smokers find it so hard to stop. It makes the heart beat faster, and narrows the blood vessels, so it raises the blood pressure.

This gas combines with haemoglobin in red blood cells, instead of oxygen. The blood carries less oxygen, so the heart has to work harder to supply the tissues.

Tar is a sticky mixture that contains many carcinogens, and damages the lungs. Other chemicals in the smoke damage the lining of the arteries.

Where the lining is damaged, fatty material from the blood builds up in the wall. These deposits narrow the artery and make it harder for blood to flow.

Smoking also makes the blood more likely to clot, and a clot can block a narrowed artery.

A blocked artery in the heart causes a heart attack, and a blocked artery in the brain causes a stroke.

The carcinogens in tar cause mutations in the lung cells. Smoking causes most of the cases of lung cancer.

The walls of the alveoli break down, so there is less surface for gas exchange, and the person becomes short of breath.

The airways are inflamed and full of mucus, and the cilia are damaged, which leads to a long-term cough.

People who breathe in other people's smoke also have a higher risk of disease.

Rates of smoking and heavy drinking are higher in some communities, and so is the number of people treated for them in local hospitals.

Smoking is responsible for about 1 in 4 deaths from cancer in the UK. The number of adults who smoke has fallen from nearly half in the 1970s to about 1 in 8 today, because of the ban on smoking in public places, higher taxes, health warnings and the support to give up. Alcohol-related liver disease is rising, and costs the NHS billions of pounds.

Tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year, and alcohol causes millions of deaths. Smoking is falling in some rich countries, but rising in some poorer ones.