Drink
Drinking too much too often can affect your health, happiness and wellbeing.
Most people enjoy a drink – after work, at the weekend, or for birthdays, weddings or anniversaries. But if you find that drinking has become a bit of a routine, you may be putting yourself at risk.
Understanding how much you drink and what this can mean for you can help you stay in control of your drinking and stay healthier longer.
If you are worried about your drinking and want to find out how to make changes, take this quick quiz. It gives you useful information on what you can do and where you can get help and support if you need it.
Guidelines
It’s sometimes hard to remember exactly how much alcohol is in drinks, and how this can affect our health. All you need to do, if you choose to drink, is stick to the recommended guidelines.
Men and women should aim to drink no more than 2-3 units a day, which is one glass (175ml) of wine, or one pint of beer or cider.
To help you keep track of how much you drink, download the free NHS One You drinks tracker app to your phone. It helps you keep an eye on the calories in your drinks and how much you spend on alcohol too.
Cutting down
If you want to cut down, you might like to try a few tips to help you:
- If you drink every day, try to have at least two days a week when you don’t drink at all.
- When you’re out with friends, why not alternate your drinks. Try a soft drink between your usual alcoholic ones and you’ll already be cutting down by 50%.
- Order your drinks with ice – as the ice melts, the drink is diluted.
- Choose a smaller bottle of beer, a lower strength lager, or a single spirit instead of a double.
- Taking your time with a drink pays off. Your body absorbs alcohol quicker than you metabolize it.
- Eating slows down the absorption of alcohol, so you have more time to metabolise what you’re drinking.
Getting Help
If you live, work or study in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and have concerns about alcohol, try the free online and confidential identification and brief advice (IBA) tool.
The tool gives you advice about how much you drink, tips on how to cut down and stay healthy, and details of where to get help and support, if needed. You can also use the tool to make a referral for extra support if you want to.
You can also talk to someone over the phone at Via – 0300 303 4552.
If you’re under 18, visit the Royal Borough of Greenwich Young Persons Substance Misuse Service or call them on 0208 921 6907.
For information on all our support and treatment services in Greenwich, please visit the Greenwich Community Directory.
We’d like your views
The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Public Health team are currently researching home drinking habits in Greenwich.
If you’d like to help and give your views, take part in our short anonymous survey here – it only takes a minute!
Useful Links
- Kooth Free, safe and anonymous, online mental health and emotional wellbeing support for children and young people in Greenwich.
- Do you know when to stop? Quick and easy tool to help you understand how much alcohol you drink and what this means, and signposting to local support.
Downloads
- Alcohol in the workplace A guide for businesses
Helping you Live Well in Greenwich
Live Well Greenwich Line
Call FREE: 0800 470 4831