A rough guide to drugs

The Annual Consequences of Alcohol Misuse include:
• 50% of all violent crimes.
• 33% of all domestic violence.
• Over 30,000 hospital admissions for alcohol dependence.
• Up to 22,000 premature deaths.
• Up to 70% of all admissions to accident and emergency.
• Up to 1,000 suicides.
• Up to 17m working days lost through alcohol related absence.
• Between 780,000 and 1.3m children affected by parental alcohol problems.
• Marriages where there are alcohol problems are twice as likely to end in divorce.

is our most popular drug. Over 90% of the adult population drink and for most people, most of the time, this doesn’t present a problem. But drinking too much or at the wrong time can be harmful. The recommended guide to how much you can drink daily without putting your health at risk is 3-4 units for men and 2-3 units for women.

Effects & Risks
Alcohol gets into the bloodstream within a few minutes and is carried to all parts of the body. It can…
• Affect your physical coordination and reaction times.
• Make you dehydrated; this is one reason why people feel hung-over after drinking too much.
• Drinking alcohol together with taking illegal drugs is particularly dangerous, increasing the likelihood of a serious drug overdose.
• Binge-drinkers are at increased risk of accidents and alcohol poisoning, are more likely to be victims of violence and to commit violent offences. Binge drinkers can also be at a greater risk of sexual assault or of having sex that they may later regret.

The effects can take hours to wear off and they vary depending on:
• How much the person has had to drink and how quickly.
• What they’ve been drinking; stronger drinks like spirits and fizzy drinks like sparkling cider are absorbed more quickly.
• How used they are to drinking alcohol.
• Their size and weight.

Drink for drink, alcohol will have a greater effect on a woman than a man. Women are generally smaller and lighter, their bodies contain less water and their metabolism is different.

With increased use:
• Raised blood pressure.
• Coronary heart disease and strokes.
• Liver damage.
• Cirrhosis of the liver.
• Cancers of the mouth and throat.
• Psychological and emotional problems, including depression.

What is a Unit?
Half a pint of 3.5% ABV strength beer/lager/cider = 1 unit
A 25ml pub measure of spirits (40% ABV) = 1 unit
A small glass of wine (9% ABV) = 1 unit Note:
These days, most beers and wines are stronger than this.^pThese benchmarks are not targets to drink up to. There are times and circumstances when it makes sense not to drink at all, such as when on certain medication, during pregnancy or before driving.

Benefits
For men over 40, and for women after the menopause, drinking one or two units a day – but no more – can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.