How much alcohol is safe to drink?
If you’re a healthy adult:
- To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 14 standard units a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
The less you choose to drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol. For some people, not drinking at all is the safest option.
Hwo do you know you have an alcohol problem?
There is no agreed definition of an ‘alcohol problem’ or an ‘alcoholic’. And no agreed level of ‘too much’.
And many people in the UK drink too much but are not ‘alcoholics’.
Actually, at MyHSN, we don’t like the phrase alcoholic. It is judgemental. An ‘alcohol problem’ is a better phrase.
It is important to know how many units are in all drinks.
Signs of a significant problem (i.e. too much) are:
- Volume. Over 30 units a week is a concern, over 40 is a major concern. Doctors and the government recommend 14 units or less
- Drinking in the morning
- ‘Withdrawal symptoms’ (e.g. sweating and shaking) if you do not have it. These are sometimes called ‘DT’s (delerium tremens)
- Drinking high percentage alcohol (e.g. beer or cider over 6.5%, vodka, fortified wines like sherry).
It’s not just amount the amount and %
‘Too much’ is also determined by how much alcohol is having a detrimental effect on your life. In other words, it may be ‘OK’ to drink a bit more than recommended, it it’s not affecting your physical or mental health, job, network of friends and family etc.
Where to go for help
If you are having the issues above, you may well need help.
- First of all, have a complete break for 4 weeks. Then try to drink 14ish units or less, on no more than 2 nights.
- If you cannot keep to that, you should talk to your GP, GP practice nurse or hospital consultant can refer or signpost you to an NHS alcohol team. They often cover recreational drugs as well.
- Alcoholics Anonymous is a good idea too.
