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[alcohol info]

Understanding more about alcohol and its effects can help you make more informed choices about the amount you drink. Here we give some basic advice and key pointers to help reduce the harm that alcohol may cause you and those around you.

Addiction or dependency?

Many people use and understand the word 'addiction' when referring to problem drinking, drug using or gambling, so we've used the term on our website. But at NORCAS, we often use the terms 'dependency' or 'addictive behaviour' instead because they're preferred by the World Health Organisation, and because they're less judgemental too.

 

How to work out units

The traditional way of working out how many units of alcohol are in your drink (i.e. that 1 unit = half a pint of beer or one glass of wine) is misleading. The correct way to work it out is to use this formula:

ABV [% of alcohol by volume] x ML [millilitres of drink] / 1000

ABV and ML figures are always displayed on the bottle or can. 1 measure of spirits = 25ml.

Here are two examples:

12% wine x 250ml glass = 3 units

5.2% lager x 568ml (pint) = 3 units

9% lager x 500ml = 4.5 units

 

How many units is safe?

Once you've worked out your weekly consumption, you can use the table below to gauge the health risks of this amount.

Safe
 At risk
Possible alcohol-related illness or other problems
Men 3-4 units per day with at least one
alcohol free day a week		 If you regularly drink more than 4 units per day then
there is an increasing risk to your health.
Women 2-3 units per day with at least one
alcohol free day a week		 If you regularly drink more than 3 units per day then
there is an increasing risk to your health.

 

How to reduce the harm it causes

  • Nothing sobers you up except time. Black coffee may make you feel more alert but it doesn't rid the body of alcohol, only the liver can do that.
  • For the average person it takes about 20 minutes for alcohol to reach the liver and about one hour to process one unit after that. This is why, after a night of heavy drinking, many people drink and drive the next morning without realising it.
  • The amount of alcohol concentration in the blood will vary form person to person depending on age, sex, weight, circumstance and state of health. There is no way of accurately gauging whether you are over the drink drive limit by the number of units you have consumed.
  • Alcohol is dehydrating. Drinking water before you sleep and while you're drinking will diminish the effects of a hangover.
  • If you drink on an empty stomach, you'll feel the effects of alcohol quicker and you're more likely to become ill. Always eat before you go out drinking.
  • Fizzy drinks such as champagne and spirits with mixers are absorbed into the blood stream quicker.
  • Mixing drinks is more likely to make you sick too - try to stick to one type and throw in the odd non-alcoholic drink to pace your drinking and reduce dehydration.
  • Dark drinks such as red wine, sherry and whisky are full of chemicals called 'congeners' and are likely to cause more severe hangovers than clearer drinks such as white wine, lager and vodka.
  • Alcohol makes you lose your inhibitions and take more risks. Violence, unsafe sex and other risky behaviour are then more likely to result. Try to drink with a group of trusted friends and make sure you can get home safely.
  • Alcohol is a painkiller. If you hurt yourself when you're drunk, you may not realise how serious it is until some time later.
  • Alcohol is addictive - if you drink more than 20 units a day, serious withdrawal can result when you stop. Make sure you seek medical advice.
 

How to spot the signs of dependency

At least 4% of all adults are alcohol dependent. It is around 7% for men and 3% for women. The highest rates in men are in the 20 - 24 age group and fall steadily after that. Women don't follow such an easy pattern, but the highest rates are in the 16 - 19 age group.

Reliable studies show that people may be alcohol dependent if they agree with three or more of the following statements:

Loss of control

  • "Once I started drinking it was difficult for me to stop before I became completely drunk"
  • "I sometimes kept on drinking after I had promised myself not"
  • "I deliberately tried to cut down or stop drinking but I was unable to do so"
  • "Sometimes I needed a drink so badly that I could not think of anything else"

Symptomatic behaviour

  • "I have skipped a number of regular meals while drinking"
  • "I have often had an alcoholic drink first thing in the morning"
  • "I have had a strong drink in the morning to get over the previous night's drinking"
  • "I have woken up the next day unable to remember some of the things I had done while drinking"
  • "My hands shook in the morning after drinking"
  • "I need more alcohol than I used to, to get the same effect as before"
  • "Sometimes I have woken up during the night or early morning sweating all over because of drinking"

Binge drinking

  • "I have stayed drunk for several days at a time"
 

How to get some help

If you're worried about your drinking, or someone else's, you can talk to us in confidence at NORCAS. Find your nearest NORCAS centre.

 

Our alcohol services

At NORCAS, we offer a wide range of services to help clients reduce their dependency or addiction to alcohol, or give up altogether. Find out more about our services.

 

Refer someone

Get information about our referrals procedure.

 

Refer yourself

Find out more about self-referrals.