32. Alcohol and Tobacco

Question 1

How does smoking interact with the reward system?

Answer 1

Nicotine binds to the nicotonic acetylcholine receptors in the CNS, primarily in the ventral tegmental area.
Nicotine binding to receptors in the VTA results in a release of dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens (linked to reward)

Question 2

in the US, smoking is responsible for what % of cancer deaths? what % of COPD/emphysema deaths?

Answer 2

30% cancer

80% COPD/emphy

Question 3

besides emphysema/cancer, other bad outcomes from smoking?

Answer 3

vascular disease, arterial narrowing, venous stasis/ulcers, strokes

Question 4

what is the process of malting/why is it done?

Answer 4

increases the amount of enzymes/sugars in a grain so that when you ferment it, it has higher alcohol content.

Question 5

how many oz in one standard beer?

Answer 5

12 oz

Question 6

how many oz in one standard malt liquor?

Answer 6

8-9 oz

Question 7

how many oz in one standard glass of wine?

Answer 7

5 oz

Question 8

how many oz in one standard shot?

Answer 8

1.5 oz

Question 9

each drink raises a person’s BAC by what amount?

Answer 9

by 0.015 to 0.02 g/DL

Question 10

a BAC of 0.08 means you have had how many drinks?

Answer 10

4 ish.

Question 11

alcohol metabolism follows what type of kinetics? how many drinks can we metabolize per hour?

Answer 11

zero order kinetics. (independent of concentration of alcohol: dependent only on time)
can metabolize about 1 drink (0.015 to 0.02 g/DL) per hour.

Question 12

at what BAC would a non-tolerant person be in huge trouble from alcohol poisoning?

Answer 12

at a BAC of 0.3 g/DL, most people would be in the process of dying from alcohol poisoning.

Question 13

at what BAC is a person legally intoxicated?

Answer 13

.08 g/DL

Question 14

what signs would we see at a BAC of 0.2 to 0.3 g/DL?

Answer 14

nystagmus, blackouts, severe behavioral disinhibition

Question 15

what signs would we see at a BAC of 0.3 to 0.4 g/DL?

Answer 15

slowing HR, hypotension, coma, death

Question 16

if a person’s BAC does not correlate with their physical signs, what may be going on?

Answer 16

they may be tolerant.

Question 17

if a person is very tolerant to alcohol, at what point might you see signs of withdrawal?

Answer 17

you can see signs of withdrawal even at high BACs for people who are tolerant: for ex, someone may have to keep their BAC over 0.08 in order to avoid withdrawal.

Question 18

what are some physical signs of withdrawal?

Answer 18

seizures, changes in LOC, tremors, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations. can be fatal