Do I drink too much alcohol?

Medics have looked at all the research and advise that we shouldn’t regularly drink more than 7 drinks (such as a pint, a glass of wine or a double vodka) spread over the week.

The guideline is actually 14 units for both men and women, but many drinks contain more than one unit.

What is a unit of alcohol?

How many units in a drink?

What we shouldn’t do is save up all those drinks for the weekend and binge – but instead, we should spread the drinks over the week and make sure we have alcohol free days. 

Most people drink less than 14 units a week and find it a sociable and relaxing thing to do and 3 in 10 of under 24s choose not to drink at all.

What does 14 units look like?

What are the risks of alcohol?

Binge drinking – drinking a lot at one time, or drinking to get drunk makes us more vulnerable to assault and injury as well as to long term health and problems if we do this a lot.

The biggest short term risks of getting drunk are accidents, injury and unprotected, risky or regretted sex, antisocial behaviour, not getting home safely, vomiting, passing out or even alcoholic poisoning, being a victim of crime and of course, the inevitable hangover.

When someone ‘binge drinks’ (that is drink five or more drinks in a row), they increase their blood pressure and the risk of long term health problems such as some cancers, heart and liver disease as well as the risks of dependency and addiction. See Keeping a balance.

For some, drinking alcohol can lead to them becoming more aggressive or violent, and some people need more and more alcohol to get the same effect. For others, it can get to the point that they can’t get through a day without alcohol.

Read next What are the signs of problem drinking?