Alcohol Lingo
The NHS classifies alcohol misuse under four terms:
- Hazardous
- Harmful
- Dependent
- Binge drinking
Hazardous Drinkers:
Exceeds the weekly alcohol limit of 21 units for men and 14 units for women.
This type of drinker often reports:
- Being involved in an accident
- Becoming involved in an argument or fight
- Taking part in risky behaviour
Harmful Drinkers:
Exceeds the weekly alcohol limit of 21 units for men and 14 units for women.
Experience health problems directly related to alcohol misuse such as:
- Depression
- An alcohol-related accident, such as a head injury
- Acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
Many of the health problems that occur as a result of harmful drinking do not cause any symptoms until they are in the serious stages and include high blood pressure, mouth cancer, bowel cancer and heart disease.
Harmful drinking is also linked to social problems such as difficulties with your partner, family and friends or at work or college.
Dependent Drinking:
Alcohol is both physically and psychologically addictive.
On stopping drinking, this type of drinker can suffer withdrawal symptoms such as:
- Hand tremors (“the shakes”)
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Visual hallucinations (seeing things that are not actually real)
- Seizures (fits) in the most serious cases
Dependent drinkers have also been linked to self-harm, suicide and psychosis.
Binge Drinking:
Those consuming 8 units in a day for men and 6 units for women.
Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk. Researchers define binge drinking as consuming 8 or more units in a single session for men and 6 or more for women. However, this definition does not apply to everyone because the tolerance and the speed of drinking in a session varies from person to person.
Click here for advice on how to spot the early indicators
