We know you know there are dangers involved in drinking alcohol, not only the direct health risks associated, but also those to your personal safety and reputation. But you’re probably sick of people telling you not to drink, so we’re here to give you the facts and offer guidance so you can make an informed decision about your own drinking habits.
When alcohol is broken down by the liver is produces fat and sugar, both of which can mean weight gain. Calories from alcohol are therefore known as “empty calories” as they serve no purpose in nutrition for our wellbeing. A glass of wine can have the same calorific value as a slice of cake, and a pint of beer can be the equivalent to a burger. Alcohol itself contains 7 calories a gram, which is almost as much as pure fat. In addition to this, drinking on a night out can also lead us to be tempted to have a fatty snack on the way home which we may otherwise have avoided. You can find out more here.
Alcohol is so widely used that we sometimes forget the harm it can cause to our physical and mental health. You may think that alcohol related illnesses only affect older people, but problems such as liver disease are on the rise in young adults. In fact, according to the NHS, in the last decade the number of 25 to 29-year-olds being treated alcohol-related liver disease has risen by 60% in men and 88% in women!
It’s easy to convince ourselves we’re invincible, but realistically the booze can put a strain on our young bodies and cause major issues in later life; this not only includes your liver, but your central nervous system (after all, alcohol is a depressant), kidneys and circulatory system. It can also encourage weight gain due to the high calorific value of alcohol.
Dehydration: Alcohol dehydrates the body. This is partly what causes ‘hangover’ symptoms. If you’ve been drinking alcohol, drink plenty of water before going to bed.
Early ageing: Dehydration and lack of proper sleep wrecks skin and hair. It expands blood vessels, causing thread veins and other physical symptoms.
Sleep problems: It can help us nod off but even small amounts of alcohol prevent the deep sleep that we need to feel alert and refreshed.
Cancer: Drinking is the second biggest risk factor for cancers of the mouth and throat after smoking. Drinking too much could increase your risk of developing breast cancer. You can find out more about the links between alcohol and cancer here.
Liver disease: Alcohol turns some liver cells into fat and damages others. Because the liver has no ‘feeling’ in it, people often don’t realise it’s suffering until it’s too late. Repeated heavy drinking scars the liver (‘liver cirrhosis’) and causes permanent damage which can cause death. You can find out more about alcohol related liver disease here.
Mental health problems: Alcohol is a significant risk factor for poor mental health and mental illness. People sometimes wrongly use alcohol as a way of coping with difficulties in their life. Alcohol can cause and increase anxiety and depression. This is partly because it uses up our stores of the natural brain chemicals that calm us and lift our mood. People who drink a lot have more problems with their mental health. Continued excessive drinking can cause memory loss and alcohol related brain damage. Try to adopt healthier ways to cope, like walking, playing sport, learning to relax and talking through your worries. For more information on alcohol and mental health issues, visit here.
Sex: Alcohol numbs our sex organs and can make it hard to reach orgasm. It also makes us clumsier and that can result in unsatisfying and unsafe sex.
Unsafe sex can lead to unplanned pregnancy and also sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. You can find advice on sexual health issues here. You can also find advice on staying safe while drinking on the It’s up to me site.
Fertility & Pregnancy: Alcohol lowers sperm count in men and fertility in women. If you’re pregnant or trying for a baby avoid alcohol completely. You can find out more about the risks associated with drinking and pregnancy here.
Blood Pressure: Drinking to excess is linked with a rise in blood pressure. Raised blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
ALCOHOL has always been at the heart of British culture and the list of reasons for having a drink is seemingly endless. We’ll have a pint to unwind after a hard day at the office or a glass of wine if the children have been particularly troublesome. We drink to celebrate or to drown our sorrows.
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I don’t drink but I’m worried that if I get pulled over/breathalised that I could test positive because of my friends’ breath?
There is no possibility that a person can be contaminated by another person’s breath, as the alcohol has to be ingested to permeate the blood stream. Therefore, even though alcohol breath test meters are very sensitive, if you were breathalysed and had not ingested alcohol this would not register.
Every year many drivers are breathalised particularly after a crash. If it is the case the that vehicle interior smells of alcohol, it would not be unreasonable for driver to be breathalised but if the driver hasn’t been drinking, it will show negative so there will be no further action.
If you were pulled over it would simply be to check there is an alcohol-free designated driver at the wheel.
On the Isle of Man medical information is kept in the A&E Department for all visits that any individual patient makes to the department. They are a separate Department and as such have their own files and don’t use the hospital notes.
Any information is only shared with other agencies to ensure your health and wellbeing, or if it is thought you may be at risk of any harm. GPs also routinely receive a letter following every A&E attendance. (Unless your GP is in the UK.)
Accident and Emergency staff will automatically make a referral to the Alcohol Advisory Service young person’s worker as you are under 18 and have been admitted because of an alcohol issue. However, it would be up to you if you wanted to use them as a supporting network.
Any ‘charges’ that are made by the Police will be followed up by them – so if the Police took you to A&E with acute intoxication and subsequently made any charges they will follow them up. However, if you were not admitted by the police it is unlikely that any charges will be raised.
There is no failsafe guide as to how much you can drink and stay under the limit. The amount and type of alcoholic drink and your weight, size, age and metabolism will all play their part. Any amount of alcohol will affect your judgment, starting with your judgment about whether you should have another drink.
The legal alcohol limit for drivers on the Isle of Man is:
Any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive - even a single drink affects your driving performance.
If you drive after drinking, you’ll:
There’s no safe way to calculate how much alcohol you can drink and stay below the limit. The way alcohol affects you depends on:
The only way to be sure you’re not over the limit is not to drink any alcohol if you’re driving.
This is a great question and one that as always isn’t straightforward to answer ☺
It is a complex area and has been widely debated. Many of the issues come from the fact that people actually produce alcohol naturally so the base level of alcohol in the system will vary naturally from person to person. There is also a small amount of alcohol in some cough syrups and mouthwashes which makes the zero limit unrealistic.
Interestingly, the aviation industry, which is one of the most safety regulated communities in the world, has a limit of 20 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. The current driving limit is 80mg/100ml.
Ultimately, this is a matter for parliament and legislation to resolve. If it were to be reduced, they would also need to decide whether this would be a phased reduction or a single drop from 80mg/100ml to the new limit.