For healthy men and women who drink, the Australian Alcohol Guidelines advise to have no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day and no more than 10 standard drinks in a week to reduce your risk of cancer, other alcohol-related diseases and injury.
But it is important to know that these Guidelines do not remove your risk entirely.
Healthy adults who drink according to this Guideline have less than a 1 in 100 chance of dying from a disease or injury caused by alcohol, but not zero.
A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol.
That guideline has been produced by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). It provides information about the health risks from alcohol, and is based on the best available, current medical evidence.
The NHMRC has three additional guidelines, learn about them below:
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines advise that children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption for anyone under the age of 18.
Here’s what the evidence tells us:
Children and young people under 18 are more sensitive to alcohol, which can affect their brain development. The human brain develops until around 25 years of age.
Alcohol increases risk-taking behaviour and can lead to unsafe sex, car accidents, injuries and assaults.
Alcohol can make existing mental health concerns worse over time, and contribute to the development of mental health concerns.
Research has shown that early alcohol use is more likely to lead to problems with alcohol later in life.
It’s important to do what we can to keep children and young people healthy and safe. Find out some strategies for talking with children and young people about alcohol.
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines advise that if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you should not drink any alcohol. This is because any alcohol you drink passes directly to your developing baby and can damage their brain, body, and organs.
No safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been found, which is why the moment you start trying is the moment to stop drinking alcohol.
The Guideline for when pregnant or planning a pregnancy is based on this evidence:
At every stage of pregnancy, any alcohol consumed passes directly to the developing baby. This can increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and babies being born prematurely, small for gestational age, or with low birth weight.
In early pregnancy, alcohol can disrupt the development of cells that go on to form the placenta, reducing its effectiveness and increasing the risk of other placental problems.
Alcohol consumed at any stage of pregnancy passes directly to the developing baby’s brain, which can lead to FASD, a lifelong disability. People with FASD can experience challenges including physical and emotional developmental delay, impaired speech and language development, learning problems and difficulty controlling behaviour.
There is no identified safe time to drink alcohol throughout pregnancy. While all organs and systems can be affected, the baby’s brain is the organ most severely damaged by alcohol.
Other body parts develop at different points during pregnancy, and exposure to alcohol at these critical times can damage systems and organs such as sight, hearing, lung and heart functions.
Most people don’t know the moment they become pregnant. So, if you’re planning a pregnancy, it is important to stop drinking alcohol as soon as you start trying.
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines advise that if you are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for your baby.
This Guideline for breastfeeding is based on the following evidence:
If you drink alcohol, it enters your breastmilk from your blood. While there is alcohol in your blood, it is also in your breastmilk.
Even small amounts of alcohol can disrupt your baby’s sleep and make feeding more difficult due to reductions in milk supply and the flow of milk.
Infant brains, which continue to develop after birth, are more vulnerable to alcohol than adult brains.
Research has found alcohol in breastmilk has been linked to reduced verbal IQ, lower cognitive ability, and slowed growth.
When breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for the health of your baby. If you do drink alcohol, there are strategies you can use to ensure your baby does not drink breastmilk containing alcohol.
Some people are at greater risk of alcohol-caused disease or injury:
Drinking alcohol can impact brain development – and a human brain still develops until around 25 years of age. Young people are at increased risk of alcohol-related harms, both in the short and long term.
People older than 60 years should take extra caution, as their bodies are less capable of processing alcohol. They are also more likely to have a chronic condition, which can negatively interact with alcohol.
People with a family history of an alcohol use disorder may have a higher risk of developing an alcohol use disorder themselves.
People who take certain kinds of medicine or use illicit drugs can be at risk of side effects by also consuming alcohol.
For people with health conditions, such as liver disease, hepatitis B and C, epilepsy, obesity or mental health conditions, alcohol can make their conditions worse.
Men are more at risk than women of short-term alcohol-related harms, including road accidents, falls and violence.
Women are more affected by alcohol than men. Women who drink at high-risk levels are at greater risk of alcohol-related diseases compared to men who drink at the same levels.
Would you like to know more about the Australian Alcohol Guidelines and the evidence behind them?
More information
To find a local GP, you can call 1800 022 222 or visit healthdirect.gov.au. To find a local psychologist, visit psychology.org.au/find-a-psychologist. If you need other support to reduce your drinking, you can contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
Will you join the community taking action on alcohol?
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FARE acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters on which we operate throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the continuing connection to country of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
©2021 FARE
Privacy Statement
T&C
