Drinking responsibly

Short-term

Short-term impacts of drinking alcohol include:

• impaired judgement
• mood changes
• blackouts
• blurred or double vision
• slurred and confused speech
• dehydration
• nausea and vomiting
• alcohol poisoning.

Short-term effects of drinking alcohol on your body

Long-term

Long-term impacts of drinking alcohol include:

• addiction
• mental health problems
• cancer
• stroke
• liver problems
• reduced fertility
• fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Long-term effects of drinking alcohol on your body

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy and while breastfeeding can also cause lifelong complications for pēpi.

Smoking, alcohol, and drugs when you are pregnant

Cutting down is not easy. But you are not alone. There are lots of ways you can start making changes now, such as:

• knowing what a standard drink is
• setting yourself a limit and sticking to it when you do drink
• drinking non-alcoholic drinks before and in between alcoholic drinks
• having your first drink after you start to eat
• avoiding buying rounds in large groups
• switching to lower-alcohol beers or wines
• avoiding drinking alone
• planning other activities or tasks at times when you would normally drink
• going for a walk or a workout instead of drinking when bored or stressed.

Medicines and alcohol

A standard drink is used to show how much alcohol is in a drink, regardless of the percentage.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, a standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol.

Every can, bottle, or cask of alcohol must have a label that tells you how many standard drinks are inside it. This number depends on the strength or percentage of the drink and the amount in your glass.

Understanding standard drinks is helpful because:

• counting glasses on their own is not the easiest way to measure how much you have had to drink
• one common serving of alcohol at a bar is often more than one standard drink
• looking at labels and counting standard drinks can help you monitor how much you have been drinking.
• many healthcare organisations use standard drinks when providing guidance on low-risk drinking.

What a standard drink is

A standard drink is a measure of the amount of alcohol, not the amount of liquid you are drinking. It is the alcohol content that is most important to track.

A standard drink is:

• 100ml pour of 12.5% wine
• 330ml can of 4% beer
• 30ml pour of 42% spirits.

The straight up guide to standard drinks — Health Promotion

To reduce your risk of injury, do not drink more than:

• 4 standard drinks at a time for women
• 5 standard drinks at a time for men.

Lower-risk is not 'no risk'. These limits can be a helpful guide, but all bodies are different based on:

• your rate of drinking
• body type or genetics
• existing health problems
• medication
• sensitivity to alcohol
• age
• how much you have eaten.

Do not drink if:

• you are pregnant, planning to get pregnant or breastfeeding
• you are under 15 years old
• you are on medication that interacts with alcohol
• you have a condition made worse by drinking alcohol
• you feel unwell, depressed, tired or cold, as alcohol could make things worse
• you are about to operate machinery or a vehicle or do anything that is risky or requires skill.