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Alcohol

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Alcohol
Bottles of alcohol
Releated terms: booze, bevvy.

The Drug

The Effects

The Risks

The Law

The Drug
Overview Appearance Use
Overview

What is alcohol?

Although it is legal for those aged 18 and over to buy and drink alcohol, that doesn’t mean it’s any less powerful than other drugs.

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows down your body's responses in all kinds of ways. Just enough can make you feel sociable; too much and you’ll have a hangover the next day, and may not even remember what you got up to; and way too much alcohol in a single session could put you in a coma or even kill you.

Effects of alcohol can include:

  • Reduced feelings of anxiety and inhibitions, making you feel more sociable.
  • Some exaggeration of whatever mood you're in when you start drinking.
  • Causing a wide range of physical health problems, either as a result of binge drinking or from drinking most days of the week over recommended levels. The problems caused by alcohol include cancers, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke, liver disease, and falls and other accidents.

Official guidelines:

For young people – it is recommended that you don’t drink at all if under 15, as this can be especially harmful. The best advice is not to drink alcohol until you’re 18. If you do choose to drink before then, remember to make sure you’re with a responsible adult who will stop you doing anything that could be dangerous;

  • Never drink more than once a week – and on that one day young men are advised not to drink more than 3-4 units, and young women not to drink more than 2-3 units.
  • For adults – it is recommended men shouldn’t regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women shouldn’t regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day (regularly is drinking at this sort of level every day or most days of the week). After a night of heavy drinking, you shouldn’t drink for 48 hours to allow the body to recover.
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Appearance

Alcohol comes in a whole range of different drinks.

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Use

Spirits usually contain a higher level of alcohol than wine or lager.

‘Alcopops’ and ready-to-drink ‘mixers’ may not seem to be strong drinks but they usually contain more alcohol by volume than beer or cider.

Prices vary depending on what you drink and the quality, for instance a premium whisky or older bottle of wine is more expensive than a pint of beer.

Official guidelines:

For young people – it is recommended that you don’t drink at all if under 15, as this can be especially harmful. The best advice is not to drink alcohol until you’re 18. If you do choose to drink before then, remember to make sure you’re with a responsible adult who will stop you doing anything that could be dangerous.

  • Never drink more than once a week – and on that one day young men are advised not to drink more than 3-4 units, and young women not to drink more than 2-3 units.
  • For adults – it is recommended men shouldn’t regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women shouldn’t regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day (regularly is drinking at this sort of level every day or most days of the week). After a night of heavy drinking, you shouldn’t drink for 48 hours to allow the body to recover.

This may give you an idea of the number of units of alcohol in different drinks. Larger drinks and drinks with higher strengths will contain more units:

  • 1 unit is half a pint of lower-strength beer, lager or cider (ABV 3.6%), or a 25ml measure of spirits.
  • 1.5 units is in a small 125ml glass of mid-strength wine (ABV 12%).
  • You may be surprised that one pint of stronger beer or one large glass of wine can be 3 units.

Check the label on drinks as they often show the number of alcohol ‘units’.

The Effects

What are the effects of alcohol?

Alcohol is a depressant on brain activity:

  • A small amount can reduce feelings of anxiety and inhibitions, making you feel more sociable. And it will often exaggerate whatever mood you're in when you start drinking.
  • The short-term effects of alcohol can last for a day or two, depending on how much you drank, including the hangover.
  • Long-term effects include damage to body that can take years to develop and this leads to a wide range of serious health problems, like cancers that you may not realise are due to alcohol.
The Risks
What are the risks? Impurities Getting hooked
What are the risks?

What are the risks of alcohol?

Drinking alcohol involves risks, and the risks are higher if you drink excessively on a single occasion or drink higher amounts regularly over time. Here’s what it could do to you.

  • One drink too many can leave you feeling out of control – slurring your words, losing your balance and vomiting.
  • Alcohol can make you mouthy, argumentative and aggressive. There’s no way of knowing beforehand if you’re going to turn into a nasty drunk but some people do find that heavy drinking affects them in ways they don’t like. Alcohol can also make you take risks that you normally wouldn’t take.
  • You’re more likely to take part in risky behaviours that you wouldn’t when you’re sober, e.g. unprotected sex.
  • Alcohol contributes to all kinds of problems in Britain, from violent crime to domestic violence to car-related deaths to missing work and unemployment.
  • Drinking above the lower-risk guidelines for regular drinking persistently over time causes illnesses such as high blood pressure, liver damage, stomach cancer, breast cancer and heart disease.
  • Too much on a single occasion can lead to alcohol poisoning which could put you in a coma or even kill you.

More information about alcohol can be found at the Drinkaware website

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Impurities

No information

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Getting hooked

Can you get addicted to alcohol?

For most people, if you drink within the guidelines, you have a lower-risk of health harm. But for some people, drinking gradually gets out of control and results either in regular binge-drinking; or in higher-risk drinking that puts them at particularly high risk of health harms; or, for some, leads to dependence on alcohol.

Psychological and physical dependence on alcohol can creep up on you. Tolerance gradually increases the more you drink excessively on a regular basis, so you may find you'll need more alcohol to reach the same state. In other words, you may seem to be getting better at holding your drink when that’s really a sign of a developing problem.

Withdrawals from alcohol can be severe then they do need medical treatment because of the risk of death from untreated withdrawal. Typically the symptoms include sweating, shaking, nausea and retching and high levels of anxiety; and some people can develop hallucinations or fits, or occasionally life-threatening  delirious states.

The Law

Under 5 – It’s illegal to give an alcoholic drink to a child under 5 except in certain circumstances (e.g. under medical supervision).

Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult in a pub.

It is against the law for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol in a pub, off-licence or supermarket or on-line.

It's also illegal for a person to buy alcohol for someone under 18 except where that person buys beer, wine or cider for someone aged 16 or 17 to be drunk with a table meal while accompanied by a person over 18.

The police have the power to stop a person and confiscate alcohol in a public place if they reasonably suspect the person to be under 18 years of age. Those under 18 who persistently drink or possess alcohol in a public places may be prosecuted.

Anyone over 18 can buy and drink alcohol legally in licensed premises in Britain. But, a lot of shops operate a scheme called Challenge 21 where if you look under 21 (or 25 in some places) and don’t have proof of your age they can refuse to sell you alcohol.

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