Alcohol- The Facts & How To Cut Back

We know for our student readers there is a lot of pressure to take part in the stereotyped view of student binge drinking culture but for everyone alcohol seems to be everyone from magazines, posters, television and films. It is a well know fact that binge drinking is an issue within the UK, many use alcohol as a coping mechanism for the stressed of everyday life. We are going to be look at the facts and realities of alcohol and tips for those wishing to cut back.

Stages Of The Affects Of Alcohol On The Body

• Euphoria-Inhibitions start to become lowered, individual tends to get more talkative, may have difficulty with concentrating and color in the face may be brightened
• Excitement- Senses start to become more dulled and fine motor skills are affected via poor coordination, slow reactions timing and drowsiness. At this stage individual may experience impaired judgement and erratic behaviour
• Confusion- Fine motor skills are now dramatically affected as speech is slurred, difficulty walking and impaired vision. Pain may also be dulled and emotions may be exaggerated
• Stupor- At this stage the individual will be unable to walk or stand by themselves or unconsciousness is a possibility as well as vomiting
• Coma- This is a very serious stage in which the individual will be unconscious with shallow breathing, low pulse and body temperature. At this stage it can even become fatal
• Death- the final stage will result in death to to respiratory arrest

How To Cut Back On Alcohol

• Drink alcohol free beers or wines instead or try a non alcoholic cocktail better known as "mocktail" when out for dinner
• Cut back together- get a group of friends or family to cut down with you- January is a great time for this and is known as Sober January for many
• Set a goal- maybe use the money you save from cutting down on alcohol to buy something you have wished for as a reward or cut down a set amount each week, month etc
• Go for alcohol free nights out- don't let alcohol determine your social life- go on a night out to the town alcohol free and dance the night away with no hangover fear the next day

THE FACTS

• Alcohol is a causal factor in over 60 medical diseases including liver, breast, mouth, throat and stomach cancer

• It is recommended that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day and women should not drink more than 2-3 units a day

• ABV is a measurement of the amount of pure alcohol in the form of a percentage of the total volume of the drink, you can find these of bottles, cans of alcohol written as "vol"

• It is estimated in the UK over 7.5 million people are unaware of the damage alcohol could be causing them

• In 2012-2013 there were over 1 million hospital admission related to alcohol consumption, alcohol now costs the NHS 3.5 billion per year

• Heavy alcohol consumption can significantly increase the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes

We hope this more serious blog topic this week has highlighted and given helpful advice on how and why you should cut back on alcohol. Alcohol can be a great tool to help celebrate special occasions, relax after a busy day etc but when it is when it begins to affect your daily life it becomes a problem.