This lesson isn't here to scare you — scare tactics don't change behavior.
It's here so the costs are on the table, clearly, so that when you make a choice you're
making it with the full picture.
Your health — now and later
Right now: the biggest short-term risks are accidents, injuries, risky
decisions you wouldn't otherwise make, and overdose.1
Over time: heavy alcohol use damages the liver, heart, and brain and
raises cancer risk; it contributes to about 178,000 deaths a year in the
US.1 Different drugs carry their own long-term harms. The
body keeps a running tab.
The mixing danger — worth memorizing
Alcohol is a depressant: it slows the brain and breathing. Mixing it with other
depressants — opioids, benzodiazepines — stacks that effect and is a leading cause of
fatal overdose. Using two substances together can be far deadlier than either
alone.2
The costs that aren't medical
Relationships
Trust erodes with the people who matter most — family, partners, kids, friends.
This is often the cost people feel first and deepest.
Work & money
Lost jobs, missed days, and real expense. A single DUI can cost upward of
$10,000 in fines and fees before you count anything else.3
Freedom & record
The legal consequences — the reason many people are here — get their own lesson next.
The one idea to keep
The consequences aren't a lecture — they're a ledger. Health, people,
money, freedom. Seeing the real total is what makes a real decision possible.
Support & help lines
Emergency — overdose or immediate danger
Call 911.
In crisis — thoughts of suicide
Call or text 988.
Free, confidential support — 24/7
Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline. Prefer text? Text your ZIP code to 435748 (HELP4U).
