Lungs

Immediate effects of alcohol use

Being drunk [9] increases the risk of pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs, usually due to infection from bacteria or viruses). [5] This is because at high blood concentrations, alcohol is sedating and relaxes the mouth and throat, suppresses reflexes (like the gag and cough reflexes), and reduces the ability of the lungs to clear mucus and foreign matter, so that vomit, saliva or other substances may enter the lungs and cause inflammation and infection (bronchitis or pneumonia).

Long-term effects of alcohol use

Chronic heavy alcohol use  is also associated with higher rates of pneumonia, tuberculosis (an infectious disease that affects primarily the lungs but also any other part of the body),[9] and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS – a life-threatening condition in which the lungs fill with fluid, which occurs as a rare complication of pneumonia, trauma and severe infections).[39] In addition to ways in which acute alcohol use can cause pneumonia, chronic heavy alcohol use also impairs the immune system and changes the bacteria present in the mouth to those more likely to cause infections, making people more vulnerable to pneumonia. [9]