Alcohol passes down the food pipe (oesophagus) and into the stomach.

When in the stomach, some of the alcohol gets into the bloodstream through the stomach walls. The rest passes through the stomach, into the small intestines and then enters the bloodstream.

Alcohol affects children and young people more than adults because they tend to be smaller and their bodies and brains are not fully developed.

It is the liver’s job to remove alcohol from the body and it has to work hard to do this. For an adult, it takes about 1 hour to remove each unit of alcohol they have drank.

A young person’s liver is not fully-grown and takes longer to get rid of alcohol. This means that the alcohol stays in their body longer and can cause more damage than it would in an adult.