Di’s word on that killer drug…..Alcohol
Tuesday, 4 April 2006.
Originally from express article 1 March 2006
By Di from Auckland Community Alcohol and Drug Services (CADS).
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| It's not the drinking. It's how we're drinking... |
The truth is that alcohol, by far, is our most widely used and abused mind-altering drug. It's therefore not surprising that alcohol is the drug that causes the most harm in New Zealand. According to ALAC, alcohol costs New Zealand over $70 million in hospitalisations alone. The time is right for all of us to have a look at what we’re drinking and how we're drinking.
So how much do us queer folk know about alcohol? To find out, CADS ran a ‘guess the standard drink’ competition at the Big Gay Out. Well done to all who entered – and congratulations to Kelly Baya who won the draw!
As expected some people were very knowledgeable – thank you to the woman who said – “it’s easy, you just have 2-3 drinks, 2-3 times a week, end of story” – definitely sensible… but what constitutes 'a drink'?
In short, the way to measure alcohol intake is by a ‘standard drink’ - which contains 10 grams of alcohol.
But what does that mean? It is:
- 300ml glass of (4%) beer
- 100ml glass of (12%) table wine
- 30ml nip of (40%) spirits
- 2/3rds bottle of (5%) ready to drink (e.g. vodka cruiser)
Confused???
Fortunately standard drinks are listed on all alcohol bottles/cans/casks sold in New Zealand.
It takes about one hour (more for women) for your liver to metabolise one standard drink.
The World Health Organisation states that to ensure there are no
adverse health effects from drinking alcohol, the upper recommended
limits are:
- For men – six standard drinks on any one occasion – 21 in any one week (this doesn’t mean you can drink them ALL on one night!)
- For women – four standard drinks on any one occasion – 14 in any one week (see above).
NEVER drink alcohol if you are taking GHB, GBL, 14B (slang names “liquid Ecstasy”, “Fantasy”) as it increases the chances of overdosing.
If you have concerns about your own or someone else's
drinking, or if you'd like more information, contact CADS on 845 1818 or
www.cads.org.nz or if you live
outside Auckland contact Alcohol and Drug Helpline 0800 787 797.
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