What are the harms associated with drinking to intoxication?

Drinking to intoxication can put you into situations that might be dangerous, embarrassing, or which you may later regret. Every time you drink, you are at risk of causing harm to yourself or others. Risky and/or high risk drinking can result in both short and long-term harms, including:

Short-term harms

The risks associated with short-term harm can include immediate health and social problems, such as:

• injuries from violence (as a perpetrator, a victim, or a witness);
• pedestrian and road accidents (death/severe injury);
• drowning;
• trauma related admissions to hospital emergency departments;
• alcohol poisoning;
• social and personal consequences such as the impact on families and social embarrassment;
• loss of valuable items ie phone or wallet; and
• having unprotected sex and placing yourself at greater risk of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and/or an unwanted pregnancy.

Long-term harms

Risky and high risk drinking during early adulthood may also have serious longer-term consequences, including:

• social problems, such as spending more time drinking than pursuing other interests;
• brain damage, including the inability to learn and remember things;
• depression and suicidal thoughts;
• the development of chronic disease, including some cancers and heart disease;
• cirrhosis of the liver; and
• dependence on alcohol.

Levels of risk

The 2009 Australian Alcohol Guidelines (AAGs) provide a framework for categorising low risk, risky and high risk drinking for both short and long-term harm.

The level of risk associated with drinking both in the short term and the long term depends on a variety of factors. But generally:

• Low risk levels define a level of drinking at which there is a minimal risk of harm.
• Risky levels are those at which the risk of harm is significantly increased beyond any possible benefits.
• High risk drinking levels are those at which there is substantial risk of serious harm, and above which risk continues to increase rapidly.

Guidelines at a glance

For healthy men & women:

• Drinking no more than 2 standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
• Drinking no more than 4 standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury (arising from that occasion).

More at; The Drinking Nightmare

• See also
• 5 Alcoholism Subtypes
• Dysfunctional Families
• Of Course You’re Angry, Second Edition
• Self-Help Books
• Chicken Soup for the Soul

Related Reading: