The University is committed to active promotion of healthy lifestyles for staff and students and combating alcohol or substance abuse where it exists. The use of alcohol and drugs can be disruptive to learning and can threaten not only an individual’s well being but also their potential for positively contributing to the University and wider community.
For more information on Alcohol and your Health visit the NHS website.
If you think it’s only alcoholics and binge drinkers who are putting their health at risk, think again.
The NHS recommends:
* Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
* Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
‘Regularly’ means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
Many of those who see themselves as ‘social drinkers’ are actually at risk of developing long-term health conditions because of the amount they drink on a regular basis.
Most drinkers are unaware that regularly drinking more than is advised by the NHS can lead to a wide range of long-term health problems, including cancers, strokes and heart attacks.
More than 55% of people questioned in a YouGov poll thought that alcohol only damaged your health if you regularly get drunk or binge drink.
The 2010 survey of 2,000 adults also found that 83% believed that regularly drinking more than is advised by the NHS didn’t put their long-term health at risk.
The survey suggests there are possibly 7.5 million people who are unaware of the damage that their drinking could be causing.
Unseen damage
For a woman, simply having a large glass (250ml) of 12% wine (3 units) every day, or a man drinking two pints of 4% lager (4.6 units), can push you above the recommended limits.
Men who regularly drink more than 2 pints of strong (5.2%) lager, which is more than 6 units, every day:
* are more than three times more likely to get mouth cancer
* could be three times more likely to have a stroke
Women who regularly drink two large glasses of 13% wine (6.5 units) or more a day:
* are twice as likely to have high blood pressure
* are 50% more likely to get breast cancer
To find out if you need to cut down, take the Drinking self-assessment on the NHS website. It’ll help you assess the effects of your drinking. If it suggests that you’re drinking too much, you’ll get advice on how to cut down.
Keep tabs on your drinking with the Alcohol Tracker also from the NHS. The application calculates the units of alcohol in your drinks, and it helps you work out whether you need to cut down. You can download it for both Mac and Windows.
Because drinks come in all shapes and sizes, it can be hard to keep track of your units. The NHS also provide a Unit calculator to add them up and help you monitor your drinking levels.
If you think you’re drinking too much or want to cut down then consider the following tips:
Make a plan
Before you start drinking, set yourself a limit on how much you’re going to drink.
Set yourself a budget
Only take a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol.
On your side
If you let your friends and family know you’re cutting down and that it’s important to you, you may get their support.
Take it a day at a time
Try and cut back a little each day – then every day you do is a success.
Make it a smaller one
You can still enjoy a drink but go for smaller sizes. Try bottled beer or a small glass of wine.
Have a lower-strength drink
Cut down the alcohol by swapping a strong beers or wines for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %).
Stay hydrated
Drink a pint of water before you start drinking and avoid using alcohol to quench your thirst – have a soft drink instead.
Take a break
Have the odd day here and there each week when you don’t have a drink.
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