As told to Laura Potter. Photograph Stocksy
Drink more than four ‘standard’ alcoholic drinks in a session and your risk of having an accident increases. Regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day and there are long-term consequences – including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer. The government guidelines not to consume more than 14 units of alcohol each week, and not to ‘save them up’ for 1-2 days, are sensible. But many of us drink to feel the effects of alcohol, and at two units, we won’t be reaching the point of intoxication we feel satisfied with. It’s important to recognise that.
Rather than black-and-white messages, we should make it clear that how much of a risk it is really depends on who you are, where you are and how much you’re drinking. Four large (250ml) glasses of wine would be enough to get most people pretty drunk. If you drank that much over six hours in a safe environment with good friends, and you do that five times a year, that’s very different to going to a pub in a dodgy part of town at 9pm, drinking four large glasses of wine in two hours, then getting the night bus home.
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