Editor’s note: This statement was provided by Project Community. The Pelham Examiner publishes statements in the form received as a service to the community.

Fact: “Alcohol affects your body quickly but is eliminated slowly.”

Alcohol affects your body quickly. It is absorbed through the lining of your stomach into your bloodstream. Once there, it spreads into tissues throughout your body. Alcohol reaches your brain in only five minutes, and starts to affect you within 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, your liver starts processing alcohol. However, alcohol is eliminated slowly. On average, the liver can metabolize 1 ounce of alcohol every hour. A blood alcohol level of 0.08, the legal limit for drinking, takes around five and a half hours to leave your system. Alcohol will stay in urine for up to 80 hours and in hair follicles for up to three months.

(American Addiction Centers, 2024)

Fiction: “Caffeine will help to sober you up.”

Contrary to popular belief, caffeine does not sober you up. Instead, a cup of coffee may make it harder for people to realize they are drunk. There are in fact serious risks associated with caffeine-alcohol combinations, including deficits in general cognitive ability, which increase the likelihood of alcohol-related problems such as driving under the influence, sexual misconduct, and needing medical assistance.

(American Psychological Association, 2009)

Angela Kang, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in New York and New Jersey with a private practice in Pelham and a member of Project Community.

Project Community is Pelham’s only volunteer organization that is spearheaded by expert healthcare professionals, dedicated to support family life by providing six innovative, original programs to tackle relevant issues with insights and answers… for teens, tweens, and kids with special needs.