Did
you know that if you regularly exceed your recommended daily alcohol limit,
you increase the risk of having a stroke through high blood pressure?
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Worried about whether drinking is damaging your health?
Nearly one in three man and one in five women drink more than the NHS
recommended regular daily limits of 2-3 units for women and 3-4 units for men.
Drinking like this most days of the week is risky to your health, but when asked,
‘how much do you drink?’, many people actually underestimate how much alcohol
they are drinking. Most people who drink heavily are not necessarily ‘addicted’
to alcohol, but for many reasons they have got into the habit of consuming it
regularly or in ‘binges’ of heavy drinking. Such drinking has long and short
term risks.
Short-term risks of heavy drinking
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Anxiety
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Sexual difficulties such as temporary impotence
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Slowed breathing and heartbeat
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Loss of consciousness
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Accidents and injuries
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Suffocation through choking on your own vomit
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Potentially fatal poisoning.
Long-term risks of heavy
drinking
Drinking more than the recommended number of units
regularly over a long period of time can lead to:
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Certain types of cancer, especially breast cancer
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Memory loss, brain damage or even dementia
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Increased risk of heart disease and certain
types of stroke
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Liver disease, such as cirrhosis and liver
cancer.
The harmful effects for drinking too much when you’re young
may not become obvious for several years, and as you get older, the risks to
your health increases. Your body is less able to process alcohol, so you may
find that the time it takes you to recover from a drinking session is longer
than it was when you were younger. If you fall, you are more likely to
seriously injure yourself too.
Your looks may suffer if you drink too much. Not only is
alcohol high in calories, making you put on weight, it has been linked to skin
problems and signs of premature aging.
Advice
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Don’t mix alcohol with any kind of medication as it can reduce the effect of the medication and increase harmful side-effects
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Don’t mix alcohol with recreation drugs
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If you are pregnant or trying to conceive, you
should stop drinking altogether. If you do drink, never have more than 1-2 units
once or twice a week and do not get drunk
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Be careful if you have mental health problems
such as depression, as alcohol can make these worse
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Don’t drink and drive or operate machinery.
Many problems triggered by drinking can get better if you
stop or cut down.
Did you know that a double gin and tonic contains 2 units of
alcohol?, And that if women regularly exceed 2-3 units a day, it could add up
to a serious problem?
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Drinking and you
It’s not unusual to want to take a little time out and have
a drink or two. The problem with alcohol is that sometimes one drink can very
easily lead to another. Before you know it you might have drunk more than you
intended. There are plenty of positive things about having a drink. It helps
you unwind and relax and it’s enjoyable to do with friends, but regularly
drinking more than the recommended daily amount of units has its risks.
NHS advice on
drinking recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of
alcohol a day and woman should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day.
‘Regularly’ means drinking every day or most days of the week.
Pregnant women or
women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol. If they do choose to
drink, to minimize the risk to the baby, they should not drink more than 1-2
units once or twice a week and should not get drunk.
You may want to keep track of what you drink in a day or an
evening and count your units. Be aware of the health and personal safety risks
you face if you go over the NHS recommended limit – this will help you make an
informed choice as to how and when you drink.
Should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day
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Should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day.
Should avoid alcohol altogether
Never more than 1-2 units once or twice a week
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How
drinking affects those around you
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Its not only the health effects of drinking that you need to
be aware of. Alcohol can also put you in unsafe or embarrassing situations
because it can impair your judgment. If you’ve ever woken up one morning and
regretted something you said or did the right before, chances are you’d had
too much to drink.
If you are drunk you might put yourself at risk of having
unprotected sex, of being mugged or of getting into fights – you could even end
up being arrested or given an anti-social behaviour order. There is also a very
strong link between alcohol and becoming a victim of sexual assault or
violence.
At first, drinking makes you feel relaxed and happy but when
taken excessively, alcohol can be a depressant affecting your mood and
behaviour. That means it will also affect the people around you: your partner,
your friends, your children and the people you work with.
At home
Plenty of jokes are made about alcohol affecting men’s
sexual performance. Generally, they’re true. Alcohol can make man impotent. It
can also put a heavy emotional strain on relationships – marriages in which
alcohol is an issue are twice as likely to end in divorce-. Alcohol is also a
major factor in domestic violence.
Don’t forget that children learn about behaviour largely
from their parents. How you drink may well affect how they drink too both now
and in the future. So try to set a good example by drinking in moderation.
At work
If you are feeling hangover, unwell, anxious and depressed
because of the amount of alcohol you are drinking, this may affect your work or
the people you work with. Taking time off work put extra pressure on colleagues
who have to cover while you’re away. It’s not the best way to further your
career or build good working relationships.
Alcohol and children
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It is illegal to give alcohol to a child under
five, even at home
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It is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or be
bought alcohol, unless they are 16 or 17 and with someone aged 18 or over who
can buy them beer, cider or wine during a table meal in a bar or restaurant.
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If your child is curious about alcohol, try to
talk about it naturally and make sure you have the facts
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If your child does drink, try and talk to him or
her about it calmly. Don’t give a lecture or get angry.
Advice
Don’t drink and:
-drive
-use any type of machine
-use a ladder or work at heights
-take part in active physical sport
Units. They all add up.
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Over the limit?
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Did you know if you regularly exceed your recommended daily
alcohol limit, you could suffer from enlargement of the liver?
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Staying within NHS recommended limits for regular drinking
puts you at low risk of getting any alcohol-related health problems. But your
health is not the only thing you need to be careful about when making choices
about drinking.
Drinking and driving
Legally, the alcohol limit for drinking and driving is 80mg
in 100ml of blood. You can’t translate that into numbers of drinks easily – it
depends on factors such as your age, gender, weight and metabolism.
Even if you are under the legal limit you can still be unfit
to drive due to alcohol and the penalties are the same as for exceeding the
limit.
Any amount of alcohol in your blood will impair your
stability to drive. So it’s much safer not to drink at all than to try to
calculate the amount of alcohol you are drinking. You may discover that you are
over the limit without intending to be.
If you’ve had a heavy night drinking you may still be over
the limit or unfit to drive the next day. If you drive you could be prosecuted
and lose your driving license.
If you are convicted of drunk driving, you face:
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A minimum 1 year drinking ban
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A fine of up to £5000
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Up to six months in prison
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Endorsement of your driving license for 11
years.
Behaviour
Drinking can bring out the worst in people sometimes making
them aggressive. If you drink or behave in a way that is anti-social, the
police can fine you:
50 if you drink alcohol in a ‘no alcohol’ public
area, are drunk in the street or drink under the age of 18
80 if you harass, alarm or distress someone or
behave in a disorderly way
80 if you are under 18 and try to buy alcohol or
have it bought for you by someone else
80 if you vomit or urinate in the street.
You may get over the line. But it could take some time to
shake off the humiliation and embarrassment of having been penalized by the
police. It could even have consequences for your career. And it’s not only you
who risk a fine, the person serving you alcohol may also be fined if you’ve
clearly had too much to drink.
Worried you’re drinking too much?
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Did you know that women who regularly exceed the
recommended daily alcohol limit increase their risk of breast cancer by a
third
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You or someone you
know – could have a problem if any of these sound familiar:
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You get drunk regularly
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You can’t stop once you’ve started
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You are drinking more that before
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You are losing interest in other things because
of drink
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You’re drinking alone
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You’re making excuses to drink
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You’re letting people down as a result of
drinking
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You smell of alcohol during the day
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You feel guilty about drinking
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You get the shakes in the morning
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You’re not sure how much you’re drinking.
Where
to get help
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If you are concerned about whether your drinking fits into a
healthy lifestyle, a test from this site www.nhs.uk/units
will help you decide if you need to make any changes. It will also tell you
what steps you can take to cut down or control your alcohol consumption.
If you think you are drinking too much, you may well be able
to cut down on your own using the tips on this page if you find it difficult to
do it alone or are getting withdrawal symptoms, plenty of help and support are
available try visiting your GP or checking out www.nhs.uk/units.
If you are a heavy drinker and might suffer alcohol
withdrawal symptoms, NEVER stop drinking suddenly. Instead cut down a little
and get immediate medical advice.
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