Alcohol and Substance Abuse Effects

Study Notes

Body size and water content influence alcohol tolerance
Temperament impacts alcohol's effect, some become quieter, others more aggressive
Illness increases alcohol's effects
Regular drinkers experience alcohol's effects differently

Reduced inhibitions: Loudness, friendliness, changing behavior, drinking alone
Impaired Judgement: Complaining about drink strength, changing consumption, ordering doubles, arguments, foul language, careless spending, buying drinks for strangers, irrational behavior, belligerence
Impaired Reactions: Difficulty lighting cigarettes, multiple lit cigarettes, glassy eyes, lack of focus, difficulty following conversation, slurred speech
Impaired Coordination: Dropping change, spilling drinks, difficulty bringing glass to mouth, inability to sit straight, swaying, drowsiness, stumbling, bumping into objects, falling

General Symptoms: Unusual anger outbursts, secretive behavior about possessions, wearing sunglasses when others aren't, wearing long sleeves in hot weather, associating with known drug abusers, stealing items for resale

Aim to educate and train servers to prevent intoxication and impaired driving
Practices include:
- Offering food with drinks
- Delaying service to rapid drinkers
- Refusing service to intoxicated or underage customers
- Discouraging intoxicated customers from driving

Establishment Practices:
- Promote responsible drinking through pricing, promotions, and daily practices
- Offer non-alcoholic beverages at all price points
- Avoid selling beverages in bulk
- Serve only one drink per customer at a time
- Do not serve customers to the point of intoxication
- Monitor customer drinking behavior and consumption
- Do not serve alcohol to customers likely to become intoxicated
- Assign servers to specific areas for better customer monitoring

Establishment Actions:
- Intervene to prevent intoxicated customers from driving
- Arrange alternative transportation (friends, family, taxis)
- Provide overnight accommodations if necessary

Strict Enforcement:
- Do not serve alcoholic beverages to underage individuals
- Verify the age of anyone suspected of being below the legal drinking age

Program Implementation:
- Train all staff involved in alcohol service on program aims, expectations, and promotion
- Hold regular staff meetings to assess program effectiveness and gather employee input
- Recognize and reward staff achievements

Program Transparency:
- Maintain contact with the press and media to highlight program success
- Inform the community about the server intervention program and its goals