st getting the substance. -You'd rather use than work or be with friends and family. -You keep using, no matter what. The National Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates, based on research, that a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) between .02 and .04 makes your chances of being in a single-vehicle fatal crash 1.4 times higher than for someone who has not had a drink. If your BAC is between .05 and .09, you are 11.1 times more likely to be in a fatal single vehicle crash, and 48 times more likely at a BAC between .10 and .14. If you've got a BAC of .15, your risk of being in a single-vehicle fatal crash is estimated to be 380 times higher than a non-drinker's. How much do you have to drink to get a BAC that high? A 160 pound man will have a BAC of about .04, 1 hour after consuming two 12-ounce beers on an empty stomach. Your BAC will depend on how much you weigh, how much you drink, amount of time since your last drink and your gender. Women metabolize alcohol differently from men, causing women to reach higher BAC's at the same doses. Recent research is showing that true substance dependence may be caused, in part, by brain chemistry deficiences. That is one reason that substance dependence is considered a disease. And, as with other diseases, there is the possibility of taking medicine to get better. There is now promising evidence that taking medicine can correct some of the deficiences that may cause drug dependence. It is beginning to look like a combination of the right medicine along with talking therapy and behavior therapy, will help us treat this disease as we have never before been able to. One drug is Naltrexone, sometimes known as ReVia. Fluoxetine (Prozac) and Desipramine (Norpramin) have also shown promise. Alcohol abuse is also a serious medical and social problem, but is not the same as alcoholism. Alcohol abuse is the intentional overuse of alcohol, i.e., to the point of drunkenness. This includes occasional ...
