Drinking alcohol can be part of an enjoyable night out, but drinking safely will ensure you have good memories. Safe drinking guidelines have been developed to help you protect your health - both physically and socially. Everyone is faced with some risk when consuming alcohol but thinking before you drink can lead to an enjoyable and safe experience.
Alcohol comes in all different types, colours and containers. Regardless of this, a standard drink is about 10 grams or 12.5mL of pure alcohol. Alcohol labels are displayed on the bottle to tell you how many standard drinks it contains. Remember one bottle/can/glass doesn't always equal one standard drink.
- Men and women shouldn't drink more than 2 standard drinks on any day to avoid long-term harm from alcohol related injury or disease. Remembering to have regular alcohol-free days.
- Men and women should drink no more than 4 standard drinks on any single drinking occasion to reduce alcohol related injury.
Alcohol and your body
People come in all different shapes and sizes, so depending on your gender, age, weight and other factors; you may be affected by alcohol more than others. Get to know your body in relation to the standard drink guidelines.
How does alcohol affect your body?
Skin: Alcohol can dehydrate your skin. Drinking alcohol can deprive you skin of vital vitamins and nutrients and excessive alcohol can make your face look bloated and puffy.
Heart: Long term and heavy alcohol consumption can increase your risk of high blood pressure, weakening of the heart muscle heart failure and heart disease.
Pancreas: Continuous and excessive drinking can cause pancreatitis which is when the pancreas blood vessels, cells and tissue become damaged and can prevent proper digestion.
Bowel: Alcohol can cause bowel irritation and can trigger symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. There are also links between alcohol consumption and bowel cancer.
Bladder: Alcohol is diuretic and can lead to dehydration, so remember to drink water.
Immune System: Drinking too much can weaken your immune system making you more susceptible to disease and illness.
Brain: Alcohol is a depressant and interferes with the brains communication pathways, making it hard for you to think clearly and move with coordination. The immediate effects of alcohol can include slurred speech, blurred vision, changes in mood, loss of balance and clumsiness. Excessive alcohol misuse may cause alcohol related brain impairment such as memory loss, and adversely affect mental health. The effects are greater with increasing amounts of alcohol consumed. More serious effects can be unconsciousness, alcohol poisoning, coma or death.
Stomach: Alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the stomach and the small intestine. Short term effects of consuming alcohol can lead to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Food in the stomach can slow down the rate of absorption but it does not prevent drunkenness. Long term heavy drinking has been associated with increased risk of stomach cancer.
Liver: Regular drinking may result in Steatosis or fatty liver which can negatively affect your liver function. Continued heavy and excessive drinking may result in the liver becoming inflamed causing alcohol hepatitis, permanent liver scarring (cirrhosis), and liver cancer.
Kidneys: Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that it acts on the kidneys to make you urinate more often. Drinking too much means your kidneys have to work harder to remove toxins from your blood.
Breast: Long term alcohol consumption can increase a women’s risk of breast cancer.
Male reproductive system: Drinking alcohol decreases sex drive and performance. Alcohol reduces testosterone levels and heavy consumption may lead to a reduction in sperm production.
Female reproductive system: Drinking heavy or excessive amounts of alcohol affects a woman's menstrual cycle and ovulation making it difficult to conceive.
Women and pregnancy: It is recommended that you avoid alcohol altogether when you are pregnant.
Alcohol and the Law - Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Alcohol can impair your judgement, which can lead to doing something you wouldn't when sober. Across Australia it is an offence to drive with a BAC limit over 0.05% and if you are a novice driver a zero BAC applies. Penalties apply for breaking the law and differ between state.
These facts have been adapted from Australian Drug Foundation and the Drug and Alcohol Office.