The Skinny On Red Wine

LUNGS: A small amount of alcohol speeds up the breathing rate. 

But at this level of intoxication, the stimulating effects of alcohol are replaced by an anaesthetic effect 

that acts as a depressant on the central nervous system. The heart rate lowers, as does blood pressure 

and respiration rates, possibly to risky levels - in extreme cases the effect could be fatal. During exhalation, 

the lungs excrete about 5 per cent of the alcohol you have consumed - it is this effect that forms the basis 

for the breathalizer test.