How much is too much when it comes to alcohol?
Knowing ‘how much is too much’ can be confusing when it comes to alcohol. Most of us feel that we know when we’ve overdone it, but sometimes drinking can ‘creep up’ on us and, over time, we can find that we’re drinking more than we would like.
For this reason, in 2016, the UK’s top doctors – the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) – published new ‘low-risk’ drinking guidelines to help give us a steer about how we can minimise the risks associated with drinking and make healthier choices [1].
It's safest not to drink more than 14 units per week, spread over three or more days and with a few days off.
What do the low-risk drinking guidelines say?
The guidelines for both men and women state that:
- You are safest not to drink more than 14 units per week. 14 units means roughly six pints of lager or one and a half bottles of wine. Use this handy calculator to work out the number of units in your drinks.
- It is best to spread this drinking over three days or more during the week.
- A good way to help you keep the risk low is to have several alcohol-free days each week.
- If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.
Support Available
If you want to reduce your drinking try these Tips for cutting down from Alcohol Change UK.
Dry January, an alcohol-free break and a total reset for the body and mind. It's not too late to join in with Dry January. Take part.
Drinkline, a free, confidential helpline for people who are concerned about their drinking, or someone else's. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm)
SMART Recovery meeting available online here. SMART holds both face-to-face and online meetings which support people in managing harmful addictive behaviour. The SMART Recovery Programme helps individuals and family members of those who are struggling. They also have women's only meetings and those specifically for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Alcohol addiction services can help you stop drinking in a safe way.
Warning! Stopping drinking suddenly can be very dangerous, and can even kill you, if you are dependent on alcohol. Seek help from your GP or an addition service if you are dependent on alcohol.
