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Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant as many people think. Alcohol slows down activity in the central nervous system, which means it slows down the messages going between the brain and the body. Depressants affect concentration and coordination, impairing a person's speech, movement and judgement.
There are two main patterns of drinking that pose a risk to a person's health:
Low-risk drinking is a level of alcohol intake that minimises health and safety risks.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol recommend low-risk drinking levels.
In 2008 the national drinking guidelines were reviewed. The new NHMRC Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (released March 2009) provides specific advice for healthy adults (aged 18 years and over) to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime, for men and women to reduce the risk of injury on a single drinking occasion, for children and young people under 18 years of age, and for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Guideline 1: Reducing the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime
The lifetime risk of harm from drinking alcohol increases with the amount consumed.
For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
Guideline 2: Reducing the risk of injury on a single occasion of drinking
On a single occasion of drinking, the risk of alcohol-related injury increases with the amount consumed.
For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.
Guideline 3: Children and young people under 18 years of age
For children and young people under 18 years of age, not drinking alcohol is the safest option.
A. Parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and that for this age group, not drinking alcohol is especially important.
B. For young people aged 15-17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible.
Guideline 4: Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Maternal alcohol consumption can harm the developing fetus or breastfeeding baby.
A. For women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option.
B. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking is the safest option.
A standard drink is a measure of the amount of alcohol in a drink. One standard drink equals 10grams of alcohol.
One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of the container size or type of alcoholic drink. To help consumers know how much they are drinking, alcohol beverages are labelled with the standard drink information.
For further information about the new Australian Alcohol Guidelines and standard drinks
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