Alcohol and You

HEALTH INFORMATION FROM DPP

www.dpp.org.uk
Alcohol and You
Most adults (around 90%) in the UK drink alcohol – whether
out with friends or colleagues, at home, celebrating, or after
a good or bad day! For most people drinking alcohol can be a
pleasure but sometimes it can interfere with your quality of
life - whether this means having to deal with hangovers or
more serious problems.

Whatever the situation, it’s good to be aware of your alcohol

intake to avoid overdoing it and to help you stay in control.
The health risks of drinking too much are not always
something we think about or even realise, but there are
simple steps that you can take to ensure that you can enjoy
alcohol without it having a negative impact on your life.

This booklet offers

practical tips on how to
stay in control of your
alcohol intake and
highlights the hidden
health risks associated
with drinking too much.
How many
units in a drink?
• One 175ml glass of 12% red or
white wine = 2 units
• One pint of bitter or normal
strength lager (3-3.5%) = 2 units
• One pint of strong lager or
pilsner = 3 units
• One single measure (25ml or pub
measure) of spirits = 1 unit
• One 275ml bottle of alcopop
(5.5%) = 1.5 units
Tip: check the label as some bottled
drinks will tell you the number of
units they contain.
What’s my limit?
Sticking within the recommended
drinking limit can really help you stay
in control and avoid putting your
health at risk – which is why it’s good
to know what a unit is and how
many you are drinking. Safe drinking
guidelines are set by the government
who recommend that:
• men should drink no more than 3
to 4 units a day
• women should drink no more than
2 to 3 units a day
• If you are pregnant or trying to get
pregnant it is advised to avoid
drinking alcohol. If you do choose
to drink, to minimise the risk to the
baby, you should not drink more
than 1 to 2 units of alcohol once
or twice a week and should not
get drunk.
This doesn’t mean that you can save
up all your units for the weekend
and binge drink as this has health
risks.
What is safe and sensible to drink also
depends on other factors like your
medical history and whether you are
taking medication. For example,
drinking alcohol may interfere with
some medicines and cause them to
stop working or work less effectively.
It may also cause side effects. Always
read the label or check with your
pharmacist, doctor or practice nurse
before drinking alcohol when you are
on medication.
Binge drinking
Drinking to ‘get drunk’ or having
weekend binges – where you drink
no alcohol through the week then
drink heavily on a Friday or
Saturday – means you are likely to
be putting your health at risk (see
next page for more information).
Binge drinking also increases your
chances of being involved in, or
causing an accident.
One quarter of alcohol related
deaths are due to accidents and
40% of all A&E admissions are
alcohol related.
Overdone it?
Getting through the day with a
hangover can be a struggle – especially
if you’re at work. There are some
things that you can do to help yourself
feel better and get on with your job.
• Drink plenty of water throughout
the day as you will be dehydrated.
This will help you feel more alert,
able to concentrate better and
means you are less likely to get a
headache. Drinking water before
you go to bed may also help.
• Take paracetamol – avoid aspirin as
this can irritate what might already
be a sensitive stomach.
Alcohol stays in your system for a
surprisingly long time (on average it
takes the liver one hour to process
only one unit of alcohol – like half a
glass of wine), so if you’ve had a big
night out you may still be over the
limit to do things like drive or
operate machinery at work the next
day. Many accidents at work are
alcohol related which is why some
employers have an alcohol policy –
this could involve alcohol testing – to
protect the safety of their employees.
If you do get drunk try to avoid
alcohol for 48 hours to give your
body a chance to recover.
• Ask your pharmacist about
paracetamol products specifically
designed for hangovers which
provide headache relief,
rehydration and replace lost
minerals and salts.
• Don’t overload your stomach with
heavy food too quickly – especially
if you feel sick.
What are the health risks?
The damage caused to your health by
frequently drinking too much or
binge drinking can have some
obvious or immediate symptoms, but
the effects can also creep up without
you realising. Health risks include:
• anxiety and depression
• weight problems – alcohol is
fattening. One pint of beer/lager
contains 160-180 calories which
means that even moderate
drinking can cause weight
problems. The knock on health
effects of being overweight
include heart disease, diabetes,
high blood pressure and stroke
• sexual problems – one of the most
common problems for men is
How drinking affects your looks
The ‘beer belly’ look doesn’t just
apply to men, women can develop a
beer belly too but, aside from weight
problems, drinking too much can
take its physical toll in other ways
too. It can cause:
• skin to dehydrate which causes
premature ageing
• red, blotchy nose – often known as
‘drinkers nose’
• blood shot/puffy eyes
• red or flushed face
• red veins around the nose and
cheeks.
temporary impotence (‘brewers
droop’) and for women failure to
ovulate and period problems
• cancer – certain cancers,
particularly cancers of the mouth,
larynx (voice box), pharynx
(throat), oesophagus (gullet) and
liver can be alcohol related. If you
drink and smoke the risk of
developing these cancers is even
greater. Several studies have also
suggested a link between alcohol
and breast cancer
• high blood pressure – this can lead
to heart attack, heart failure,
stroke and kidney disease
• liver disease
• brain damage.
The good news is that
watching how much you
drink can reduce your
risk of developing serious
health problems and
there are simple ways to
do this and still enjoy
yourself at the same time.
Want to cut down?
There are loads of simple ways to • Try to have as many alcohol free
cut down on the amount of alcohol days or weeks as you can.
you drink whilst still being able to • Avoid ‘top ups’ so you can keep
enjoy it, stay in control and reduce track of how much you are
your risk of other health problems. drinking.
• Line your stomach – eating • Decide the maximum number of
before you drink, or drinking drinks you’re going to have before
with meals only, will help slow you start then keep count so you
down the rate your body absorbs don’t lose track.
alcohol. If your stomach is full • Think about how good you’ll feel
you may be tempted to drink less. the next day if you don’t overdo it.
• Dilute your drinks – add more • Visit Alcohol Concern’s
soft drink mixers to spirits. This www.downyourdrink.org.uk
will make your drinks last longer website which includes an online
and save you money. program designed to help people
• Pace yourself – start off with cut down and control their
water and try to drink it in drinking.
between each alcoholic drink.
• Swap your drink at lunchtime or
after work for a non alcoholic one.
• Drink slowly instead of knocking
them back.
• Opt for drinks with low alcohol
content – have a normal strength
lager instead of a strong one or
swap your large glass of wine for a
smaller one.
• Watch your weight – if you want
to stay a healthy weight or need to
lose weight try cutting back on
alcohol as it is fattening.
• Drink water if you are thirsty –
particularly in warm weather so
you don’t end up trying to quench
your thirst with alcohol.
Drinking too much?
It can often be difficult to tell when
your own or someone else’s drinking
becomes problem drinking.
Signs to be aware of:
• trying to hide drinking
• drinking simply to cope and get
through the day
• missing work or unable to function
properly at work because of drink
• relationship problems with friends,
colleagues, family, partners
because of drink
• becoming angry/defensive when
someone discusses drinking
• having accidents, fights or
arguments because of drink
• money problems because of
drinking.
If you recognise any of these signs
either with your own or someone
else’s drinking, or you are simply not
sure, there are several ways of
getting help and advice that you can
choose from.

What to do
Speak to a professional
• Your practice nurse or GP can offer support and refer you to other services
if need be.
• If you work, your occupational health department can offer help and advice
in relation to alcohol worries or problems. It is good to speak to someone
as early as possible to avoid more serious problems down the line.
• Your pharmacist can also offer advice about sensible drinking, drinking
when taking medication and advise you on over-the-counter medicines to
help with hangovers.

Remember - anything you tell a health professional will be held in strict

confidence.
• Some areas have alcohol advisory services where you can self-refer which
means you can contact the service directly without having to go through
your GP or practice nurse first. To find an alcohol advice or counselling
service in your area visit the Alcohol Concern online services directory at
www.alcoholconcern.org.uk.

Worried about your own or someone else’s drinking?

Call Drinkline on 0800 917 8282 ➜
 Help and advice lines
• Drinkline (0800 917 8282) offers help to callers worried about their
own or someone else’s drinking (lines are open 24 hours a day,
seven days a week). www.drinkaware.co.uk provides online
information about alcohol and sensible drinking.
• If you are worried about your own drinking call Alcoholics
Anonymous on 0845 769 7555. Calls are redirected automatically
to an A.A. member in your region. You may speak in complete
confidence. Calls are never monitored and everything you say is
kept completely private. All calls are charged at local call rates
and help lines are open 24 hours a day. You can also visit
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

Online information
• The www.downyourdrink.org.uk website from Alcohol Concern is
designed to help you work out whether you're drinking too much,
and if so, what you can do about it.
• Advice and information on sensible drinking is available from the
NHS Direct Online website at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk and on NHS
Direct Interactive on digital satellite TV – simply press the
interactive button on your remote control.

Support for friends and family

• Al-Anon Family Groups UK & Eire offers understanding and support
for families and friends of problem drinkers, whether the alcoholic
is still drinking or not. You can contact their confidential helpline
on 020 7403 0888 (10am-10pm, 7 days a week),
email enquiries@al-anonuk.org.uk or visit www.al-anonuk.org.uk

This booklet contains general information produced by DPP: Developing Patient Partnerships which can
be used as the first step to help you decide the best course of action to take when you or your family
are not well. In the absence of any examination it is not possible to reliably diagnose and treat a
medical condition. Diagnosis can only be carried out by a suitably qualified health professional after a
consultation. The advice and guidance in the leaflet is the responsibility of DPP.

© Developing Patient Partnerships, 2008, Tavistock House, TavistockSquare, London,WC1H 9JP.

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