Also known as booze, drink, goon, juice, liquor, piss, plonk, bevvies, nip, sauce, grog, charge
Alcohol is a depressant drug. The alcohol in drinks is called ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and is made when yeast ferments sugar. It is the most commonly used drug in Australia.
Effects depend on the person (age, weight, size, health and tolerance), as well as how much you drink, how quickly, and if you drink with other drugs or medications. As the alcohol wears off, you may experience “hangover” effects which can last one to 2 days.
Short-term effects, desired and undesired, may include…
Long-term effects may include…
Drinking alcohol is never completely safe. To reduce health risks, healthy people should drink no more than 10 standard drinks of alcohol per week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. To prevent harm, children and people aged under 18, and women who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding should not drink any alcohol.
What is a standard drink?
A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol. Check labels on bottles or packs to find out the number of standard drinks it contains. Standard drink amounts differ depending on the type of drink, as shown below:
If you choose to drink, the following will help reduce risk:
Before: take a friend with you, set a limit on how much you’ll drink, have a meal and plan how to get home (to avoid drink driving).
During: keep track of how much you drink, go slow, pace yourself, eat food, stay active – dance, play pool or talk with friends, drink low to mid-strength alcohol and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
Avoid: drinking before going out (avoid “pre-loading”), participating in “shouts” or drinking games, eating salty snacks that make you thirsty, leaving your drinks unattended, letting others top up your drinks and drinking too much in one session “binging”.
The liver breaks down alcohol in your body, usually at a rate of about one standard drink per hour. Remember, you can still be unsafe to drive in the morning after a night of heavy drinking.
It may be a problem if you agree with any of these statements:
In an emergency, call an ambulance: 000
Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Family Drug Support: 1300 368 186
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
Alcohol & Drug Information Service: 1800 177 833
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| 01 | Case Worker - Rockhampton |
| 02 | Case Worker - Maryborough |
| 03 | Clinical Worker - Moranbah |
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