NERAF - Sensible drinking advice

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SAFE DRINKING LIMITS
Safe drinking levels are defined as 2-3 units per day for a woman and 3-4 units per day for a man. It is advised that we should all have several days per week of not drinking alcohol. This does not mean that you can save the units from your ‘alcohol free’ days up and spend them all on Friday night.

CALCULATING UNITS
Bottled or canned alcohol drinks do not tell you how many units are in the container it tells you the size of it and the strength of the alcohol (%ABV alcohol by volume) contained in it.

1 container/glass does not necessarily mean 1 unit. Strengths and measures of alcohol vary so much and makes calculation of units awkward but here’s how to do it.

A bottle of wine contains 750mls of 12% ABV.
Multiply the volume of the drink by the %ABV then divide by 1000
750ml x 12% ABV = 9000.
9000 divided by 1000 = 9 units…easy eh

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF MISUSING ALCOHOL

Alcohol is a mind altering, highly addictive drug. Respect it because abusing it can lead to death. Other effects of abusing alcohol include:

• Hair; your hair will become very dry & brittle
• Obesity
• Mouth & teeth
• Eyes, long-term abuse of alcohol can lead to blindness
• Skin; alcohol dehydrates your body, often causing redness. It can lead to your blood vessels being permanently enlarged causing you to be of a flushed colour.
• Joints & bones
• Heart disease,.heavy drinking increases blood pressure
• Psychiatric disorders
• Strokes
• Throat cancer, if you drink 3 units of alcohol every day you almost double the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, throat, pharynx & oesophagus. Heavy drinkers are 6 times more at risk.
• Reproductive, heavy drinkers take longer to get aroused & longer to reach orgasm. I t can lead to a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant less & to impotency for men.
• Hormonal upset
• Kidney damage
• Breast cancer, drinking 1 unit of alcohol each day increases the risk of developing breast cancer by 10%. 5 units per day increases it by 41%
• Brain & nervous system, persistent heavy drinking is linked to a number of forms of brain damage. Wernicke’s encephalopathy is a condition where a person always appears to be drunk, caused by a lack of thiamine(B1). It is treated by a course of injections but usually this condition remains undiagnosed. Korsakoff’s syndrome can develop from untreated Wernicke’s encephalopathy & is characterised by significant memory loss, similar to dementia Treatment is variable.
• Stomach & Oesophagus. Regular heavy drinking irritates then rots the linings of these organs causing conditions such as Gastritis, Ulcers
• Reflux

Pancreas
A large gland behind the stomach which secretes enzymes & releases insulin. Regular binge drinkers are at risk of this ..Acute pancreatitis causes severe pain with symptoms sometimes remaining when alcohol is avoided. Chronic pancreatitis is similar to acute but can lead to diabetes.

Liver disease
the liver gets to the point of not being able to cope with alcohol anymore, years of excessive heavy & binge drinking takes its toll. The liver becomes damaged which usually develops in stages. Fatty liver are fatty bits in the liver but full recovery is possible. Alcohol hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver but full recovery is still possible. Cirrhosis is when the liver is permanently scarred & damaged.

430 people from the North East died because of liver cirrhosis in 2004.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Is where an unborn baby is subject to the effects of its mothers’ excessive drinking. It can lead to the baby, if born at all, having growth difficulties, problems with central nervous system & difficulty in developing. The baby may be born with abnormal facial features such as narrow slit eyes, have a small head & have a flat face because of loss of the groove between upper lip & nose. The baby may have abnormal limbs & can have defective bodily organs.

What happens when you drink alcohol?
In no way are we telling you not to drink. What we are saying is drinking
alcohol is usually pleasurable & that alcohol is safe if used safely but
if you misuse it you are likely to subject your body & your family to
anything but pleasurable. Treat alcohol in the same way as you do
prescription or over the counter drugs, above all, RESPECT ALCOHOL

When you drink alcohol it is absorbed into the body via the stomach &
small intestine & then absorbs into the blood & body waters. It reaches
the heart, brain, muscles & other tissues usually within 5 minutes. The
body cannot store alcohol so it needs to be removed, the liver does 90% of
this & 2-5%is processed by urine, sweat & breath.

The amount of alcohol in the blood is known as blood alcohol
concentration(BAC) and depends on how much you have drank & how quickly.
Other factors that can affect BAC are:

Your size & weight. If you are a small person your blood alcohol volume
will be less than that of a larger person so alcohol will affect you more.
Your sex. Women are generally smaller than men meaning that they cannot
drink as much as a man. A woman has less bodily waters & carry more body
fat. Drink for drink, women will end up with more alcohol in the
bloodstream than men.
Water levels. If you are dehydrated, drinking will have a greater effect
than when bodily waters are at normal levels.
Food. On an empty stomach a unit of alcohol will be mostly absorbed within
an hour but, if you have eaten, the process & effects will be slower.
Alcohol is a mind altering drug which people react to in different ways
when drank at high levels. Crying, depressed, happy or aggressive are a few
& it can make you do things that normally you wouldn't do like fighting,
singing, dancing & having casual sex.

Alcohol affects the nerves that pass signals throughout the body by
slowing them down & the more you drink the greater the effect. All the
while alcohol is affecting the part of the brain responsible for your
self-control. You may experience unsteadiness on your feet & your reflexes
will be impaired. Your speech will be impaired & you may vomit. Next day you may have a hangover with symptoms including lethargy, dehydration, nausea, headaches & even depression. This is your body telling you that you have misused alcohol.

Having another drink to clear the effects is not safe. People that drink regularly will form a tolerance towards alcohol which means that a person needs to drink more to get the same effect. These are clear warning signs to you, take heed, you are abusing alcohol! Other signs of problematic drinking include
Getting drunk regularly. Stealing alcohol or stealing money to buy alcohol. Can't just have a couple of drinks. Unable to stop when you start. Neglecting other interests to drink Drinking alone. Secret drinking. Making excuses to drink.
Lying about how much you drink. Forgetting appointments or letting people down because of your drinking. Self guilt about your drinking.
Always smelling of alcohol. Shakiness?tremoring on the morning after.

Remember, alcohol is non-descriminate, it can affect at any age, any sex,
any occupation or lifestyle. You do not need to be dependent on or have a need for alcohol to have a problem.

Majority of people that drink alcohol heavily & regularly feel no adverse
effects when not drinking this does not mean that they aren't causing
themselves damage but there is no signs of a dependency forming.
Some other people do form alcohol dependency which means that, to the
drinker, alcohol is needed to function!. High levels of alcohol will be
consumed to achieve this feeling of being able to function. When alcohol
is not available the person will experience mental & physical withdrawal
symptoms & also be liable to fitting. A heavy drinker should never stop
suddenly - consult your GP. You will never be subject to any of this if you drink safely.

REMEMBER - RESPECT ALCOHOL & USE AS ANY OTHER PRESCRIBED DRUG