Studio Practice: OUGD603: Research Lead Brief - Alcohol Awareness

A lot of people argue that Alcohol is more dangerous than drugs. The Guardian has an article from 2010 stating it's "more harmful than heroin or crack."
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/nov/01/alcohol-more-harmful-than-heroin-crack

BBC also have a chart on how dangerous alcohol is comparable to drugs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/drugs/survey/

So why is alcohol legal if it's more harmful than illegal drugs?

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-alcohol-legal-despite-it-being-more-harmful-than-illegal-drugs

"The direct answer to this question is that the government does not decide the legal status of drugs based on scientific assessment of potential for harm."

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How many drinks a day is considered an alcoholic?

"For women, low-risk drinking is defined as no more than 3 drinks on any single day and no more than 7 drinks per week. For men, it is defined as no more than 4 drinks on any single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. NIAAA research shows that only about 2 in 100 people who drink within these limits have AUD."
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How many units to be over the limit?

"The 80mg limit allows a man of average height and weight as many as four units of alcohol, or two pints of normal-strength beer, and still remain within the law. Women can drink three units, the equivalent of a large glass of average strength wine."

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Single occasion drinking

The Chief Medical Officers' (CMO) advice for men and women who want to keep their short term health risks from single occasion drinking to a low level is to reduce them by:

Limiting the total amount of alcohol you drink on any single occasion
Drinking more slowly, drinking with food, and alternating with water
Planning ahead to avoid problems; an example of planning ahead is making sure you can get home safely or that you have people you trust with you.

The sorts of things that are more likely to happen if you do not understand and judge correctly the risks of drinking too much on a single occasion can include:

Accidents resulting in injury; causing death in some cases
Misjudging risky situations
Losing self-control (for example, engaging in unprotected sex)

Some groups of people are more likey to be affected by alcohol and should be more careful of their drinking on any one occasion. For example those people at risk of falls, on medication that may interact with alcohol or where it may exacerbate pre-existing physical and mental health problems.

If you are a regular weekly drinker and you wish to keep both your short and long term health risks from drinking low, this single occasion drinking advice is also relevant for you.

How much is 14 units of alcohol?

One unit is 10ml of pure alcohol. Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes units are a good way of telling how strong your drink is. It’s not as simple as one drink, one unit.

The new alcohol unit guidelines are equivalent to six pints of average strength beer or six 175ml glasses of average strength wine.