Heavy Drinkers Still Can’t Hold Their Liquor

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2 years ago

June 23, 2023

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Share on Pinterest People who drink an excessive number of drinks will be impaired, even if they are heavy drinkers. Narcisa Palici / 500px/Getty ImagesA new study found that when people with alcohol-use disorder consumed the equivalent of seven to eight drinks they showed impairment on fine motor and cognitive tasks.This impairment was more than double what they experienced after consuming the smaller intoxicating amount of alcohol. Heavy drinkers and people with AUD both reported feeling less impaired than the light drinkers. Tolerance also does not reduce the damage that can be caused by alcohol, experts say.

While under some conditions, heavy drinkers may be better at holding their liquor, this is only true up to a certain level of alcohol intake, say researchers from the University of Chicago.

In a study published June 18 in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, they tested the effects of alcohol consumption on young adults with different patterns of alcohol use light and heavy social drinkers, and those with alcohol use disorder (or AUD, previously known as alcoholism). Differences between heavy and light drinkers

Researchers found that heavy drinkers and those with AUD showed less overall impairment on fine motor and cognitive tasks after consuming the equivalent of four to five drinks, compared to light drinkers.

This amount of alcohol is sufficient to produce a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08-0.09%, the lower limit in the United States for drunk driving.

However, when people with AUD consumed the equivalent of seven to eight drinks which researchers say is more in line with their usual drinking habits, and produces a BAC of around 0.13% they showed impairment on both of those tasks.

In fact, this impairment was more than double what they experienced after consuming the smaller intoxicating amount of alcohol. Three hours after drinking, their performance on these tasks still hadnt returned to their baseline level.

In addition, people with AUD had greater impairment after consuming the larger amount of alcohol than what light drinkers experienced after drinking the lesser amount.

Theres a lot of thinking that when experienced drinkers (those with AUD) consume alcohol, they are tolerant to its impairing effects, study author Andrea King, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, said in a news release.

[Our study] supported that a bit, but with a lot of nuances, she added. When [young people with AUD] drank alcohol in our study at a dose similar to their usual drinking pattern, we saw significant impairments on both the fine motor and cognitive tests that was even more impairment than a light drinker gets at the intoxicating dose. Health effects of alcohol

Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer of American Addiction Centers, who was not involved in the new research, said the study highlights that technically, no one can handle their liquor.

There may be a marked difference in the amount of alcohol at which someone becomes intoxicated, which is a worrying issue in itself, but ethanol, acetaldehyde and other metabolites are toxicants that will affect anyone who consumes alcohol despite the tolerance theyve developed, he told Healthline.

Tolerance also does not reduce the damage that can be caused by alcohol, he said, adding: It is illogical to believe that one would remain unaffected by regular consumption [of alcohol].

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 140,000 people die from excessive alcohol use in the United States each year, making it the fourth-leading preventable cause of death in the country.

In addition, almost 30% of U.S. traffic fatalities in 2019 involved alcohol-impaired driving, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Over the long term, excessive alcohol use can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, certain types of cancer and other health problems.

[Alcohol is] costly to our society for so many reasons, said King in the release. Im hoping we can educate people who are experienced high-intensity drinkers who think that theyre holding their liquor or that theyre tolerant and wont experience accidents or injury from drinking. Different drinking patterns

In the new study, researchers enrolled almost 400 young people, most in their 20s, with different drinking patterns:light drinkers: consumed six or fewer drinks per week, with few binge drinking episodesheavy drinkers: consumed at least 10 drinks per week, with one to five heavy drinking episodes during that timedrinkers with AUD: consumed 28 or more drinks per week (21 or more for women), with at least 11 heavy drinking episodes per month; they also had to meet two or more clinical criteria for AUD

Binge drinking means consuming five or more drinks within about two hours for men, and four or more drinks for women.

Participants underwent two rounds of testing, one after consuming a high alcohol dose (the equivalent of four to five drinks) and the other after consuming a placebo drink containing only 1% alcohol (to create a similar taste). Both contained a flavored drink mix.

Researchers told participants they would receive a drink containing alcohol, a stimulant, a sedative or a placebo. This was to reduce the effect that peoples expectations might have on the results.

Participants consumed each drink over a 15-minute period.

Before drinking the beverage, and 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after drinking, participants took a breathalyzer and completed two performance tasks.

One task involved inserting a grooved metal peg into randomly slotted holes; this measured fine motor skills. The other was a pencil-and-paper task designed to test cognitive skills.

At the 30- and 180-minute intervals, participants also reported how impaired they felt. Impacts of higher alcohol intake

Heavy drinkers and people with AUD both reported feeling less impaired than the light drinkers.

In addition, these two groups showed less overall alcohol impairment on the fine motor and cognitive tests; although all groups had similar impairment on the fine motor test at the 30-minute interval.

The performance of heavy drinkers and people with AUD returned to baseline more quickly than that of light drinkers, suggesting they may have greater alcohol tolerance.

However, people with AUD often drink more than four or five drinks in a session. So researchers asked a subset of participants with AUD to repeat the tasks after consuming the equivalent of seven to eight drinks.

At this dose, they had more than double the impairment they experienced at the lower intoxicating dose. Their performance also did not return to baseline during the testing, even after three hours.

They also experienced greater impairment from that higher dose than light drinkers did after the lower intoxicating dose.

I was surprised at how much impairment that group had to that larger dose, because while its 50% more [alcohol] than the first dose, were seeing more than double the impairment, King said in the release.

Business

Markets tumble in reaction to Trump’s tariffs as he warns UK ‘out of line’ on trade with US

Published

1 hour ago

February 3, 2025

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Markets tumble in reaction to Trump's tariffs as he warns UK 'out of line' on trade with US

Shares on Asian markets tumbled in early trade on Monday as Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China sparked fears of a global trade war.

Japan’s Nikkei opened down 2.9% this morning while Australia’s benchmark – often a proxy trade for Chinese markets – fell 1.8%. Stocks in Hong Kong, which include listings of Chinese companies, fell 1.1%.

“Trump’s trade war has started,” said Alvin Tan, head of Asia currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Singapore.

The US president has also threatened to impose steeper tariffs elsewhere, telling reporters import taxes will “definitely happen” with the European Union.

He said the UK “is out of line” on trade with the US and told reporters “we’ll see what happens”. But he said he was confident the situation “can be worked out” without tariffs.

Mr Trump is set to speak to the leaders of Canada and Mexico later but warned them against retaliating to his tariffs, saying: “We can play the game all they want.”

Over the weekend. he announced he is imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and hit China with a 10% levy. Both Canada and Mexico hit back with retaliatory tariffs.

However, the US president returned to Washington from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday night and brushed aside the reprisals.

“I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada. And something’s gonna happen there,” he said.

“If they want to play the game, I don’t mind. We can play the game all they want.”

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Mr Trump said Americans could feel “some pain” from the developing trade war – and claimed Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the US.

In a post on his Truth Social platform: “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”

The Trump administration has said the tariffs are aimed at stopping the spread and manufacturing of the opioid fentanyl, as well as pressuring America’s neighbours to limit illegal immigration to the US.

But it risks a trade war and higher prices for American consumers.

Meanwhile, Canada’s high commissioner to the UK Ralph Goodale, speaking to Sky News’ Kamali Melbourne, had a warning for allies.

He said: “I would just say to our allies around the world watch this closely, you could be next, and in the meantime, stand by your friends.”

He added Mr Trump’s words were a “salesman’s pitch” and despite the historically close relationship between the countries “we don’t want to be each other”.

Politics

Keir Starmer’s 1,000 jobs pledge could take 20 years, GB Energy boss admits

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1 hour ago

February 3, 2025

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Keir Starmer's 1,000 jobs pledge could take 20 years, GB Energy boss admits

The boss of GB Energy has told Sky News it could take 20 years to deliver a Labour government pledge of 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen.

Sir Keir Starmer promised voters his flagship green initiative, which will be headquartered in the northeast of Scotland, would cut consumer energy bills by as much as £300.

It is one of Labour’s five key missions for this parliament after a manifesto commitment to “save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good”.

In his first broadcast interview, Juergen Maier, appointed by Downing Street as GB Energy’s start-up chairman, suggested this was a “very long-term project” spanning decades and repeatedly refused to say when household prices would be slashed.

“I know that you are asking me for a date as to when I can bring that, but GB Energy has only just been brought into creation and we will bring energy bills down,” Mr Maier said.

The state-owned company will not supply power to homes but it will invest in new renewable projects while attempting to attract private investors.

Aberdeen HQ ‘nervous’

Labour hopes GB Energy will help workers move from oil and gas and has pledged 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen, where the initiative will be based.

Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce told Sky News the estimated 50,000 local people currently employed in the industry are “nervous”.

Chief executive Russell Borthwick said: “I think the [GB Energy] ambition is good. It needs some quick wins.

“Right now, this city is nervous. We need to give the industry more confidence that things are going to start moving more quickly.

“What we do have is not a great deal of progress. We’ve had a lot of positive meetings with GB Energy. I think we are really looking over the next six months for that to be delivered on.”

1,000 jobs in 20 years? ‘Absolutely’

It comes after Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP recently said the UK government had “not moved away” from an ambition of creating “over 1,000 jobs”.

Sky News pushed Mr Maier for clarity on this pledge given the looming crisis in the North Sea industry.

He said: “Great British Energy itself is going to create over the next five years, 200 or 300 jobs in Aberdeen. That will be the size of our team. I have said in the very long term when we become a major energy champion it may be many more than that.”

Pressed to define “long term”, he replied: “Look, we grow these companies. Energy companies grow over 10 or 20 years, and we are going to be around in 20 years.”

He said “absolutely” when asked directly if it could take two decades to fulfil the commitment of 1,000 jobs.

‘Huge risk of not delivering’

Unions told Sky News there is a risk of GB Energy over-promising and under-delivering.

Unite’s Scottish Secretary Derek Thomson said: “If you look at how many jobs are going to go in the northeast, if GB energy does not pick up the pace and start to move workers in there and start to create proper green jobs, then I’m afraid we could be looking at a desolation of the northeast.”

Prospect, which represents more than 22,000 workers across the energy industry, said the current vision seems risky.

Richard Hardy, Scotland secretary, said: “I don’t want to be accused of cynicism, but I do want to see a plan.

“If what happens is that it only creates 200 or 300 jobs, then I think most people would see that as being a failure. There is a huge risk for them in not actually delivering.

“They must understand the political risk they are taking in doing this. It has to be a success for them because otherwise it is going to be a stick to beat them with.”

Politics

Starmer must delicately balance his risky EU reset as UK braces for Trump’s next move on tariffs

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1 hour ago

February 3, 2025

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Starmer must delicately balance his risky EU reset as UK braces for Trump's next move on tariffs

As Donald Trump kicks off his threatened trade war by slapping tariffs on both friends and foes alike, Number 10 is preparing for the moment he turns his attention to the UK.

The unpredictability of the returning president, emboldened by a second term, means the prime minister must plan for every possible scenario.

Under normal circumstances, the special relationship might be the basis for special treatment but the early signs suggest, maybe not.

It was never going to be an easy ride, with Sir Keir Starmer’s top team racking up years of insults against Trump when they were in opposition.

The bad feeling continued when Peter Mandelson was proposed as the UK’s new ambassador to the US – prompting speculation he might even be vetoed.

Amid all of this, the much-anticipated call between the two leaders seemed slow to take place, although it was cordial when POTUS finally picked up the phone last Sunday, with a trip to Washington to come “soon”.

It is against this slightly tense backdrop that the future of transatlantic trade will be decided, with Westminster braced for the impact of the president’s next move.

So, it’s unsurprising that as he waits, Sir Keir will spend the next few days resetting a different trading relationship – with Europe.

In this area, he is on slightly firmer ground, as the spectre of a global trade war makes European leaders want to huddle closer together to weather the storm.

And conversely, the Labour government’s track record works in their favour here, as they cash in their pro-EU credentials and wipe the slate clean after the bad-tempered Boris Johnson years.

It is still, however, an ambitious and risky endeavour to begin the delicate process of removing some of the most obstructive post-Brexit bureaucracy.

For minimal economic benefits on both sides, the UK must convince the Europeans that they are not letting Britain “have its cake and eat it”.

At the same time, Brexiteers back at home will cry betrayal at any hint that the UK is sneaking back into the bloc via the back door.

To make it even trickier, it must all be done with one eye on Washington, because while a united Europe may be necessary in the Trump era, the prime minister will not want to seem like he is picking sides so early on.

As with so many things in politics, it’s a delicate balancing act with the most serious of consequences, for a prime minister who is still to prove himself.