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A small amount of alcohol doesn't do much harm, and in fact is probably good for the health of some groups of people. Read on to find out how much is too much, and who can gain from the health benefits of alcohol.

What are the benefits of alcohol?

It seems that men over 40 and women who have gone through the menopause who drink a small amount of alcohol fairly regularly, gain some protection against coronary heart disease and tend to live longer.

Younger people don't have so much risk of coronary heart disease so don't gain any health benefits from alcohol.

If you drink too much alcohol the harms outweigh the benefits. You probably only need to drink one unit of alcohol a day to get the health benefits.

How can alcohol damage your health?

Drinking too much on a regular basis can damage your health (and other people's health) in various ways. It can cause the following problems

high blood pressure ( can cause strokes and heart attacks)
liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver (potentially fatal)
cancer of the mouth and throat
brain and nerve damage
poor sleep
depression
problems with work, relationships and the law
accidents

How much is too much?

Men who regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day are at increasing risk of damaging their health the more they drink.

Women have a different make up that makes them more susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol. Women who drink more than 2-3 units a day are at increasing risk of damage to their health.

Binge drinking (drinking lots in one session) is also harmful. It also makes sense to avoid drinking on one or two days a week to give your liver a rest.

How much is a unit of alcohol?

More and more drinks are being labelled with the number of units they contain.

These are some examples of the number of units in different drinks.

A glass of wine at 11% to 12% contains 1.5 to 2 units
A bottle of wine at 11% to 12% contains 8 to 9 units
A pub measure of sherry, port, madeira or vermouth contains 1 unit

A half pint of ordinary strength beer (3.5%) contains 1 unit
A 440 ml can of 4%-5% beer contains 2 units
A 440 ml can of 8%-9% beer contains 4-4.5 units

A 25ml pub measure of spirits contains 1 unit and a bottle of spirits about 30 units
A 200ml Alco pop bottle at 13.5% contains 2.7 units

Use our alcohol calculator to find out how many units of alcohol you drink

Who is at special risk from drinking?

Pregnant women may harm their unborn baby in various ways, such as affecting the baby's growth and development. See "choosing your parents" on this site for more information. It is safer to drink no more than one to two units a week and to avoid getting drunk.

Some medications don't mix well with alcohol. Check the information leaflet with the medication or ask our dispenser.

Some people find it particularly difficult to control their drinking and it is better if these people don't drink any alcohol at all.

How can I tell if my drinking is becoming a problem?

Take the following test and add up the score

How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?	never = 0 monthly or less = 0.5 two to four times a month = 1.0 two to three times a week = 1.5 four or more times a week = 2.0
How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?	1 or 2 = 0 3 or 4 = 0.5 5 or 6 = 1.0 7 to 9 = 1.5 10 or more = 2.0
Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?	No = 0 Yes = 1.0
Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?	No = 0 Yes = 1.0
Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hang-over?	No = 0 Yes = 1.0

If your score is 2.5 or more you may be having a problem with your drinking, and if your score is 4.0 you almost certainly have a problem and may be alcohol dependent. We will be very happy to see you and help you to sort things out.

This is the "five-shot" questionnaire from a research paper by K Seppa, J Lepisto, and P Sillanaukee of the University of Tampere, Finland.

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Safer Drinking