Reduce your alcohol intake or stop drinking
Drinking any amount of alcohol carries a risk. Drinking alcohol increases the risk of a range of illnesses including breast and bowel cancer. We also know that drinking has no health benefits for most people. The effects of alcohol on your health and wellbeing will depend on how much drink and the period of time you drink it over.
The less alcohol you drink, the lower the risk to your health. There is no safe limit, but if you want to keep your health risks low:
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Drink less than 14 units a week.
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Spread your drinking over three or more days.
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Avoid harmful regular heavy drinking episodes. The risk to your health increases when you drink any amount of alcohol on a regular basis. The less alcohol you drink, the lower the risk to your health. Drinking too much on any single occasion (a binge) can carry additional risks.
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If you’re aiming to moderate your drinking, you may like to keep a “drinking diary”. On a daily basis make a note of:
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All the alcoholic drinks you’ve had.
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What time you had them.
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Where you were.
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How many units you drank.
This will give you a good idea of how much alcohol you’re drinking, the situations in which you drink, and how you could start to cut down. To check your drinking levels and learn more about reducing your alcohol intake, please visit Alcohol Change UK or the NHS website. If you would like to discuss reducing the amount you drink refer to the Drug and Alcohol Single Point of Access (DASPA - Drug & Alcohol Single Point of Access). You can also refer yourself to the local Alcohol Care Team
Useful Resources
Alcohol Change UK Unit calculator | Alcohol Change UK
NHS website: Alcohol advice - NHS