Sight

• Red eyes, a flushed face and sweatiness are some signs of alcohol use. A person may appear ruddy, especially in the cheeks and nose. Rumpled clothing, smeared makeup and messy hair are other signs of alcohol use because the person becomes less in control. Other signs include the person's inability to focus on another person's eyes. One common method used in field sobriety tests is holding a pen or other object about 1 foot in front of a person's face. The object is moved back and forth as the person is asked to follow it with his eyes. Those who have been drinking will often exhibit involuntary eye spasms, trembling or jerky eye movement.
  
  

Stance

• Someone who is staggering around, falling over, acting lethargic or unable to stand up straight may be under the influence of alcohol. Methods used in field sobriety tests include asking the person to walk in a straight line, turn and walk back in that same straight line. Balancing on one leg is another way to test drunkenness. A person is asked to stand with his heels together and lift one leg about six inches off the ground. His goal is to stay balanced and calm while counting to 10. Someone who has been drinking may flail his arms, waver from side to side or simply burst out laughing.
  
  

Sounds

• Slurred speech, mumbled words and a heavy voice are other signs of alcohol use. Someone who has been drinking will often have difficulty expressing a coherent sentence, repeat himself endlessly or talk jibberish altogether. Field sobriety tests often ask the person to recite the alphabet, which can be a grand feat for someone who is drinking. To make it even tougher, ask that person to recite the alphabet backwards or count from 1 to 20 in reverse.
  
  

Smell

• Alcohol is often powerful enough to be smelled several feet away. If a person walks into a room and the room immediately smells like a distillery, a drinker may be on hand. Others attempt to use mouthwash, chewing gum or breath sprays to mask the smell of alcohol. These smells will not mask alcohol but mingle with it to create a sickening sweet odor with the underlying aroma of drink. The smell of alcohol can come from both the person's breath or from his sweat. The odor of vomit is another tip-off because people who have been drinking sometimes throw up.
  
  

Other Signs

• The morning after can be a huge sign of alcohol use the night before if the person wakes up sweaty, sickly, nauseous and with a major headache. Other less obvious signs of alcohol use can include sneaky behavior, frequently running off to the bathroom or another secluded spot or always chewing gum, covering of the mouth or standing far away from other people. A dramatic personality or mood change, failing grades, isolation or a set of new friends and disinterest in extracurricular activities---unless they involve drinking---are other tip-offs.
  
  

Long-term Effects

• Those who drink long and hard can expect to have an array of physical signs associated with such bodily abuse. Long-term physical effects of alcohol use can include liver damage, which starts as an inflamed liver and develops into a scarred liver or cirrhosis of the liver. The stomach can also take a beating with bleeding ulcers, damaged lining and the inability to keep down food. The brain may also suffer with memory loss, cell damage and, in the worst case scenario, a condition called "wet brain" that brings about incoherence, a staggered walk and mental disturbances.