Alcohol abuse

Alcohol abuse in Covid Level 2

Alcohol abuse

About Alcohol Abuse

Regularly drinking alcohol too often (alcohol abuse), or drinking excessive amount of alcohol in a short time (binge drinking) can seriously harm your health and relationships.


Research shows that alcohol abuse and binge drinking increases your risk of early death, conditions such as heart and liver disease, and disability. It also has serious consequences for your financial well being.

How much is too much?

According to the US National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

Moderate drinking means:
Up to one drink a day for women Up to two drinks a day for men

Heavy drinking means:More than three drinks a day for women More than four drinks a day for men

Moderate drinking doesn’t mean you’re drinking safely. Drinking moderately every day still poses a great risk to your health, behaviour and relationships and it increases your risk for alcohol-use disorder.

As a general rule: The more alcohol you consume and the longer you keep doing it, the greater your level of risk.

What counts as a drink?

Don’t fall into a trap of thinking a glass of any size counts as a drink. For working out your alcohol use, a ‘drink’ is a unit of alcohol.There’s a huge difference between a pint and a bottle of beer. The kind of alcohol, its alcohol percentage and the volume all work together when you work out what counts as one drink.

These all count as one drink:

  • A regular beer (355 ml) – 5% alcohol
  • A malt liquor (235 – 265 ml) – 7% alcohol
  • A glass of table wine (145 ml) – 12% alcohol
  • A glass of fortified wine, like sherry or port (89 – 120 ml) – 17% alcohol
  • A double tot of brandy or cognac (45 ml) – 40% alcohol

What is binge drinking?

‘Binge drinking’ means drinking a lot of alcohol in a single session, usually five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women.Even though it takes place on a single occasion, binge drinking is a form of heavy drinking and is just as bad for you as other forms of alcohol abuse.

Published by SACoronavirus.co.za

Treatment & Support options

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ALPHA offers a Free Assessment to determine which treatment option is best suited for you. We assess your unique situation to point you to the most effective solutions for your specific needs.

This is a great place to Start, and it would be best for you to Book a Session to discuss the specifics.  We are offering a FREE 20 Minute session to determine the best solutions for your specific needs.

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