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Alcohol
This section of the site provides alcohol-related information relevant to young people (under 18's), parents and young adults.
Alcohol & its effects
There are a number of short-term and long-term effects of alcohol consumption – the extent of these effects will all depend on the amount and manner in which you drink.
Drinking at moderate levels will have the least negative impact on the body, whereas drinking at hazardous levels will take its toll. Short-term effects of drinking to excess can be weight gain, hangovers and alcohol poisoning. When drinking to excess people can also become more susceptible to other dangers, such as risk of injury, verbal or physical abuse and unsafe or unwanted sex.
Alcohol can enter the bloodstream very quickly. Unlike food, it doesn’t require digestion and once consumed it can reach the brain within minutes. Once in the bloodstream it goes through to the liver, where it is estimated to take an hour to eliminate one drink – so if more alcohol is absorbed in the liver than what it can handle, excess alcohol will travel to all different parts of the body, circulating until the liver is finally able to process it. This will cause hangovers and leave you feeling tired and groggy.
Standard drinks
It is not always easy to determine exactly how much alcohol you’ve been drinking. Ultimately, it’s not how many drinks you have but rather the amount of alcohol you consume. In 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council released revised Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol , which are based on the concept of a standard drink. According to these guidelines, one standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol.
| Examples of a Standard Drink |
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Other drinks will vary in their strength of alcohol and will therefore be equal to more or less than a standard drink.
Alcohol intake guidelines
The following guidelines can help you determine if your alcohol intake is harmful.
- Adult men and women – for healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of alcohol-related disease or injury. Drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion. Everyone should have one or two days free of alcohol a week.
- Children and young people – the safest choice for young people under 18 years of age is not to drink at all. Young people under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and are advised not to drink alcohol. If older teenagers (over 15 years) do drink, it should be under adult supervision and within the adult guideline for low-risk drinking (two standard drinks in any one day).
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women – the safest choice is not to drink alcohol while pregnant or breastfeeding or if you are planning to become pregnant.
The risk of injury and disease increases the more you drink. Any drinking above recommended levels carries a higher risk than not drinking. Mixing alcohol and other drugs – either illegal drugs or some prescription drugs – can cause serious health problems.
Further information
See Alcohol guidelines: reducing the health risks (National Health & Medical Research Council)
