YOU can't see straight, you are vaguely aware you are throwing your weight around but you are having the time of your life. You are drunk.

Tomorrow you will feel so ill and be so ashamed of yourself you will declare yourself teetotal – but your friends will say they have heard that before.

Sadly, this is a story shared by many young people today. There are more reasons than ever for agencies to come up with ways to get them to drink responsibility.

CAIS's Mike Denman said one of the techniques that is being used in his agency is highlighting the body's struggle in dealing with drunkeness.

He said: "What we are seeing now is that the number of people being admitted for treatment for alcohol related illnesses has gone up in the last year by 15,000.

"We believe this rise is being partly caused by people starting to drink from a much earlier age than ever before.

"What we are trying to do is say to young people, if you are going to drink you need to do it wisely and know what the impact on the body is.

If they don't the potential harm that could come to them is incredible."

CAIS substance misuse workers travel around schools in the area with presentations outlining the negative changes that take place in the body as you drink alcohol to excess. The presentation is called 'Don't Touch, Tell'.

Mike says the amount of binge drinking among young people is at an all-time high.

"We are seeing young people drinking well into excess and drinking very strong liquors. An independent review has found that showing young people what happens to their bodies when they drink works.

"They go home and pass the message on to their parents and grandparents which can only be a good thing."

Mr Denman said: "The presentations which show young people what happens to their bodies when they are drunk do work. A recent report from an independent inspector proves this.

"Anti social behaviour is often fuelled by excessive drinking in young people but it is just one of the many effects that binge drinking has on young people and the community."

According to Timothy Peters, professor of clinical biochemistry of King's College, London, the first few hours of drinking have the most significant impact on the body.

Victim 1 – The central nervous system.

"In the first few hours after drinking, one of the most rapid affects of alcohol is on the central nervous system, which controls a range of vital bodily functions, not least the sense organs and muscles controlling speech as well as the sweat glands in the skin.

"Under normal circumstances the central nervous system receives sensory information from organs such as the eyes and ears, analyses it and then initiates an appropriate response such as contracting a muscle.

"But intoxication interferes with the central nervous system's ability to analyse sensory information resulting in the typical symptoms of being drunk such as disturbed balance, slurred speech, blurred vision, heavy sweating and the dulling of our sensation of pain, which is why alcohol in the past was used as an anaesthetic.

"High alcohol consumption can disrupt the brain's judgement of distances and heights. Alcohol also affects the outer layer of the brain, the frontal cortex, the region concerned with conscious thought which is why people under the influence of alcohol often lose their inhibitions."

Victim 2 – Dehydration

"The kidneys direct fluids straight to the bladder, making you urinate excessively and speeding up the loss of fluid from the body causing dehydration. Most of the nasty symptoms of a hangover including headache, dizziness, thirst, paleness and tremors are caused by dehydration."

Victim 3 – Liver

"The liver is the main organ that gets rid of alcohol by breaking it down. It metabolises about 90 per cent of the alcohol in our body while only about 10 per cent is excreted through either our urine or breath.

The liver metabolises alcohol, at the rate of one to two units per hour.

"A unit of alcohol is equivalent to half a pint of beer or lager, 25mls (a standard shot) of spirits in a pub or 125mls of red or white wine.

Victim 4 – Sugar levels

"When a person drinks the body responds to large quantities of increased glucose in the system by producing more insulin which removes the glucose.

"Once the process has started, the insulin carries on working removing glucose from the blood. Low blood glucose levels are responsible for that shaky feeling, heavy sweating, dizziness and blurred vision. Low glucose levels also result in feeling tired.

"To overcome this feeling of lethargy and tiredness, the body will be craving a carbohydrate boost which is why many people feel hungry when they have been drinking."

Victim 5 – Quality of sleep

"Although people often seem to crash out and sleep after drinking, there is evidence to show that after drinking people's quality of sleep will be affected through dehydration. People are still likely to feel tired after sleeping following drinking as they will have missed out on quality sleep.

"Therefore, even though someone who has been drinking might look as if they are crashed out, they will not be getting the deep sleep that is needed to recharge their batteries."

Victim 6 – Stomach

"Alcohol plunders our stores of vitamins and minerals, which need to be in the correct balance for the body to function normally. The toxicity of alcohol can irritate the stomach causing gastritis (chronic stomach upset) often resulting in retching and vomiting.

"The toxic effect of alcohol can also cause inflammation of the oesophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach, causing heartburn. Alcohol often affects the large bowel. The small and large intestine reabsorb salt and water but alcohol interferes with this process often causing diarrhoea.

"It seriously disturbs the appropriate balance of minerals in the blood."

Victim 7 – Head

"The liver needs water to get rid of toxins from the body but as alcohol acts as a diuretic there will not be sufficient amounts in the body, so the liver is forced to divert water from other organs including the brain which causes the throbbing headaches.

"Not only is alcohol toxic but the liver also produces more toxins in the body as a by-product during the breaking down process of alcohol.

"When the liver is metabolising alcohol it produces acetaldehyde, which has toxic effects on liver itself, the brain and the stomach lining, resulting in severe headache, nausea, vomiting and heartburn and the feeling of being unwell."