YOU can tell what is important in a culture by the amount of names it has for a particular thing. Take the Innuit, for instance. They have nearly 100 words for snow, a dominant feature in the Arctic.

It says a lot for Scotland that we have scores of names for being drunk. Like snow around the North Pole, alcohol has a grip on the nation. According to a recent report, drinking-related illnesses are dropping across Europe but still rising in Scotland.

Following the excesses of Hogmanay, maybe it's time we reconsidered how much we drink and the effects, on our bodies and our social lives, that getting hammered has.

We spoke to a number of teenagers, all under 18, who shared some cautionary tales of what happens when you drink too much.

Andrew: I burned my stomach lining off and puked it up. When I was 14 I went out with a bunch of friends. We were planning to get some dinner but skipped over that and got some vodka instead.

When we met up with the rest of my friends, they had crates of beer, so I had some of that too.

We never meant to drink that much, but I ended up drinking three quarters of a straight bottle of vodka.

I passed out, fell over and woke up the next morning, covered in plasters and on a drip.

So I ended up in hospital having burnt off my stomach lining and puked it up. My parents went mental.

Lexxie: After collapsing, I couldn't see properly for days I DON'T get really drunk or paralytic any more. I realise you can still have a good time without drinking until you spew.

I cut back after one incident. It was just after I left school, so I was really excited about not having to get up for anything. So a few friends and I started drinking at 10.30am, which is really quite sad.

We drank all day and then went to a beach party, where I had more beer, cider and vodka.

Someone passed me a smoke and then I passed out, smacked down in the sand. It was quite traumatic. I couldn't look at the light for a few days after that. I haven't been like that since.

A lot of people in Scotland have a really bad problem, going out on a Friday and Saturday night just to get hammered. It's pathetic that they feel the need to get drunk just to have fun. But I do it too.

Danielle: I'm violent to strangers and fight my friends I drink a lot. I just drink more and more and more and end up making an arse of myself by the end of the night.

You wake up swearing you'll never drink again, but next weekend, you're doing the same. It's a vicious cycle.

I can't drink socially. Most of the time when I drink too much I vomit and fight with my friends. When I'm not doing that I'm being violent to other people in the street, crying to strangers, and waking up the next morning and feeling like an arsehole. That's when I know I've gone over the line. And I do that every weekend. I started drinking when I was 13, but I'd kill my little brother, who is 13 now, if I caught him drinking. I thought I was so mature then.

Jonathan: I started to become addicted when I started drinking three years ago it was just for the sake of getting drunk and to enhance parties. But now I drink more in moderation. There was a point when I would get really angry and be really on edge if I didn't have a drink. I've calmed down and cut down since then. I knew that I was drinking too much when I was feeling like I was dependant.

Angel: We were wrecked and this guy wouldn't leave us alone A few of my friends and I were going to a party after a night in town, and we were all reeking. On the way to the party my friend Sarah and I got separated from the rest of the group. We were wrecked. This guy asked if we wanted money for the phone box. He started following us and hassling us. He wouldn't leave us alone and wanted to come to the party with us. Then he said he'd get a taxi and we'd all go back to his because he had nice expensive wine.

We managed to get a taxi, but he jumped in with us. It was quite scary. Being so drunk just made us vulnerable.

Dr Chris Stewart, a GP in Edinburgh, explains the short-term effects of what happens when you drink too much. And it ain't pretty . . .

HEALTH EFFECTS When you mention these, people sometimes go "du-uh" because they're so obvious: fuzzy vision, decreased control of judgement and inhibitions, slurred speech and moving towards the potential of falling unconscious, vomiting and vomiting while unconscious. But alcohol affects your body in a great many ways.

SKIN AND HAIR Drinking too much will give you dry skin, dry hair and dry nails, due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol. When you are fit, your skin is in really good condition. When you're drinking too much you'll see the difference, especially if you pay attention to your skin and look after it.

Premature wrinkles happen to young people too.

MOUTH Drinking can affect your oral hygiene, more so because you don't clean your teeth before you go to sleep as you're in no fit state to do so. If you spend the night with a dirty mouth, your breath will stink in the morning, your teeth will feel scummy and become prone to decay. Your overall hygiene is going to suffer too, and you become less attractive.

WEIGHT GAIN It's difficult to be fit if you're drinking too much. You're not going to feel as on top of things because alcohol is knocking you around. And you gain weight, especially when drinking lager - the amount of carbohydrates and calories is very high. And while your body is absorbing these calories, it is getting no nutritional value from them.

LONG-TERM DANGERS Other health effects include gastritis: inflammation of the stomach. It's reckoned that a female's chances of contracting breast cancer increases by 20-per cent if she regularly drinks more than 14 units a week. Fertility too is affected, in men and women, who drink too much.

SOCIAL EFFECTS Drinking too much alcohol causes loss of control and embarrassment. It can put you in a situation where you don't know what's going on and you may even forget things.

When you are drunk, you become exceptionally vulnerable and may go off with someone you otherwise wouldn't have. You are certainly more vulnerable to being attacked or assaulted, or even knocked down.

If you miss your last bus home and don't have money for a taxi, you could find yourself having to walk home alone late at night, down quiet streets you would never normally venture on to.

When people are drunk, they do things that they would never have dreamed of doing when sober. Many become violent, which leads to trouble with the police and a criminal record.

TIPS Be aware if you start to feel like you're losing control and be strong enough to pass on having another drink at that point.

Be mindful of what the recommended intake each week is (14 units for women, 21 for men, bearing in mind that these figures are for adults) and spread it out over the week. Keep track of what you are drinking and cut back accordingly.

Also, remember drinking on an empty stomach means the effects of alcohol hit home faster. Take a meal before going out.

AND FINALLY . . .

It's possible to be a teenager and an alcoholic.

We move from drinking sensibly and in control - when you can take a drink or leave it - to a dependancy on it. It becomes a stress reliever and a tool for coping with life in general. And then it becomes an addiction.

As a teenager, you might not be addicted yet, but you can be dependant. When that happens, be aware that addiction is just around the corner.

HOW MUCH IS A UNIT OF ALCOHOL?

A rough guide to how much one unit of alcohol is: A glass of wine, a single measure of spirits or half a pint of beer.

IS THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT DIFFERENT FOR MEN AND WOMEN?

Yes. Men are advised to drink no more than 21 units (about 10 pints of beer) a week, while women should consume no more than 14 units (seven pints of beer). Doctors state that going over these guidelines poses a health risk.

THE image of drunken teenagers is a bit of a stereotype. Here one young person explains why drinking just doesn't appeal to her and many of her friends

REBECCA, 16, EDINBURGH

I don't drink because I don't like the taste and I don't like the smell. None of my friends drink either. The fact that it's illegal at our age isn't a deterrent really. It's more that it's hard to get hold of. Most teenagers just want to try it and see what it's like. But that doesn't appeal to me. After a party I was at last New Year, I'll never see being drunk as an attractive quality. I've never seen so many drunk people in my life. One of them fell out of a window.

Luckily, the party was in a basement flat. But that put me off drinking. You just make a fool of yourself.

It's unfair to assume all teenagers binge drink. There's no peer pressure on me to drink either. I may try alcohol again, but I won't get drunk. It's not worth it.