Drinking can be fun, let’s be honest. But too much alcohol can lead to injury, accidents, serious embarrassment and long-term health problems. Even drinking small amounts of alcohol increases your cancer risk.
Drinking can be part of a healthy lifestyle as long as you learn as much as you can about the effects of alcohol on the body
Alcohol enters your bloodstream through your stomach and small intestine. If your stomach's empty when you start drinking, the alcohol will enter your bloodstream more quickly.
It's easy to drink more than you realise. A standard drink is a can or bottle of mid-strength beer, 100ml of wine or a 30ml shot of spirits.
The amount of alcohol in your blood (blood alcohol concentration, or BAC) influences how alcohol affects you. The higher your BAC, the more at risk you are of injury or overdose.
When you binge drink (drink more than 4 drinks in 1 session) and get drunk, you're more likely to get hurt, put yourself in a dangerous situation, embarrass yourself, or even suffer alcohol poisoning.
It's against the law in Australia to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above 0.05. Learner (L) and probationary (P) drivers must have a BAC of 0.00 (that's zero!).
Very young, pregnant, planning a pregnancy, breastfeeding, on meds or feeling depressed.