Alcohol

Drinking in moderation is not detrimental to your health and can actually be beneficial. It is a good idea to work out whether you are drinking within healthy limits, and try to cut down if you're not.

However, one in ten of us drink too much. From binge drinking to alcohol dependence, alcohol abuse is a huge problem in the UK.

If you are worrying about the amount you are drinking, take time to fill in our questionnaire. This will give you a guideline as to whether you need to cut back on your drinking a bit or whether you have a serious problem and need more help. You can also read our sensible drinking tips.

Safe drinking limits

The recommended units of alcohol are 14 units a week for women and 21 units a week for men. These guidelines have now been refined to incorporate a daily limit of three units for women and four for men, with at least two alcohol-free days a week.

Older people have reduced body water content, and slower metabolism of alcohol. Therefore it is recommended that older men drink no more than two units of alcohol per day, and older women only one.

Why does it matter how much you drink?

The long term health implications of drinking too much alcohol are huge. There are up to 100 different health conditions associated with alcohol misuse from liver cirrhosis to impotence.

Someone who is addicted to alcohol may fail to fulfil major obligations at home, work or school as a result of drinking, or drink in physically hazardous situations.

Signs of addiction

There are types of behaviour that may indicate an addiction problem such as an inability to relax, erratic behaviour with violent mood swings, incoherent speech, hyperactivity; talking for long periods of time, deterioration of physical appearance.

These are just some of the possible signs of drug and alcohol misuse but when you are suffering from an addiction you may sometimes be the last one to recognise your own symptoms of addition.

Getting help

There are a variety of different treatment programmes that help individuals manage their addictions. Some are residential, others are accessed while the individual still lives in their home.

For further information, please call us on: 0845 126 4130 or email us on: action@actiononaddiction.org.uk