Conor Fox

Overdoing it

Drink and damage | Safe drinking | Help and info

Like a drink? Overdo it occasionally? But you don't have a problem, do you? Or do you?

'Binge drinking' – drinking heavily in single sessions with breaks in-between – is particularly common among young people. But there are increasing concerns about the risks.

Drink and damage

One problem is the way people behave when they're drunk. Alcohol is a depressant drug: it depresses brain activity, beginning by switching off your inhibitions and, if you drink enough, ending by switching off your conscious brain altogether. So it makes you more likely to behave in a risky way or to have an accident. Alcohol is also well known to make some people aggressive or violent. The Department of Health reports that 1 in 6 people attending accident and emergency departments have alcohol-related injuries or problems.

VEE-TV talked to Conor Fox, 26, who has experienced drunken violence first-hand. He ended up with 36 stitches in his neck, face, head and arm after being attacked with a broken bottle inside a nightclub.

The long-term health effects of binge drinking are less well known, but there is growing evidence of the harm it can cause. Binge drinking increases the damage a given amount of alcohol does to your body – that's why the government changed the recommended safe level from a weekly to a daily measure (see Safe drinking below). In particular, there is an association between binge drinking and heart problems.

The dangers of habitual heavy drinking or alcoholism are firmly established. This sort of drinking often leads to heart, liver and stomach problems; in fact it can directly harm most parts of the body. And although alcohol is used for relaxation, heavy use can make you anxious and depressed.

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Safe drinking

The Department of Health recommends that men should drink no more than three to four units of alcohol a day, and women no more than two to three units. If you have a heavy session, you should have at least two days without alcohol to let your body recover.

One unit of alcohol is roughly equal to about half a pint (300ml) of ordinary-strength lager, beer or cider, a 25ml pub measure of spirits or a small (125ml) glass of wine.

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Help and info

If you're wondering whether or not you have a drinking problem, you could try doing Alcohol Concern's quiz. The Channel 4 Drugs site also has some useful information, including the features The Legal Drug and DIY Detox.

If you want more help and advice, contact one of the organisations listed below.

Organisations

Alcoholics Anonymous
PO Box 1
Stonebow House
Stonebow
York YO1 7NJ
Helpline: 0845 7697555 with typetalk facilities (seven days a week, 10am–10pm)
Website: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
'Twelve-step' self-help groups and support for alcohol-dependent people determined to give up. Signers available at some meetings.

Alcohol Concern
Waterbridge House
32–36 Loman Street
London SE1 0EE
Textphone/voice: 020 7928 7377
Fax: 020 7928 4644
E-mail: contact@alcoholconcern.org.uk
Website: www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
The national agency on alcohol misuse, working to reduce the incidence and costs of alcohol-related harm and to increase the range and quality of services available to people with alcohol-related problems. The website has a wide range of useful information, but Alcohol Concern does not operate a helpline or provide services for people with drinking problems.

British Deaf Association Health and Counselling Service
13 Wilson Patten Street
Warrington
Cheshire WA1 1PG
Voice: 01925 652520 (9.30am–4.30pm daily)
Textphone: 01925 652529 (9.30am–4.30pm daily and Wednesday 7–10pm)
Videophone: 01925 630169
Fax: 01925 652526
E-mail: michelles@bda.org.uk
Website: www.bda.org.uk
General advisory helpline for information and guidance. Also offers health and counselling services throughout the UK. Self-referrals accepted.

Links

4Health
www.channel4.com/health/microsites/0-9/4health/drugs/index.html
Channel 4 drugs and alcohol information.

Advice and Counselling on Alcohol and Drugs (ACAD)
www.acad.org.uk
A registered charity that offers free counselling, advice and information services to all concerned about their own or someone else's use of alcohol or drugs.

Drinkline
Textphone: 0800 027 4114
Voice: 0800 917 8282
Drinkline provides information and advice to anyone concerned about sensible drinking, including people with alcohol problems and their families, friends and carers. Callers can be put in touch with local specialist health, social care or support services.

Institute of Alcohol Studies
www.ias.org.uk
Information about alcohol and the social and health consequences of its misuse for the public and professionals. Factsheets are available for downloading.

Books

Alcohol: The World's Favorite Drug by Griffith Edwards (St Martin's Press, 2003)
Looks at alcohol's role in religion, in secular mythology, and as a medicine, a disease, a source of misery and elation, and something to be legislated for and taxed.
Buy this book

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Control Alcohol by Allen Carr (Arcturus Foulsham, 2002)
Allen Carr turns his revolutionary methods to the question of drinking and offers a startling new view of why we drink and how we can escape from the 'alcohol trap'.
Buy this book

The Effective Way to Stop Drinking by B Colclough (Penguin, 1998)
Discusses the reasons why people drink alcohol, dispels the myths involved, and offers advice on ways drinkers can change their habits and attitudes. Features a preface by Elton John.
Buy this book

Problem Drinking by Nick Heather and Ian Robertson (Oxford University Press, 1997)
Argues against the commonly accepted view that 'alcoholism' is best regarded as a disease.
Buy this book

Women and Alcohol: A private pleasure or a public problem? by Elizabeth Ettore (The Women's Press, 1997)
A book for women who think they may have a problem with alcohol; for concerned friends, partners and family, and for professionals in alcohol and related fields.
Buy this book

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