Alcohol

Do you know how many standard drinks you are consuming?

• A bottle of wine has five drinks.
• A pint of beer has one and a third drinks.
• A “fifth” (740 ml) of liquor has 17 drinks.
• Many mixed drinks, such as martinis and rum and cokes, contain two or three standard drinks.

A drink’s alcohol content can vary by the type, brand, or style of wine, beer or liquor. Find the Alcohol By Volume (ABV) percentage on the bottle to know how much you are drinking.

The more alcohol you have in one day and the more days you binge drink, the greater your risk for:

• Accidents and injuries
• Committing or being the victim of acts of violence
• High blood pressure
• Cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, breast and colon
• Depression and other mental health disorders
• Dementia
• Suicide
• Alcohol use disorder

Any amount of drinking could be harmful for:

• People who are younger than 21
  • Drinking before age 14 can increase your risk of developing alcohol use disorder.
• People who are pregnant
  • Drinking alcohol while pregnant is a risk factor for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, which are intellectual disabilities and birth defects associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol.
  • Talk with your medical provider if you have questions or concerns about drinking while pregnant.
• People who have hepatitis or other liver diseases
  • If you have hepatitis, drinking alcohol increases your risk for fibrosis, liver disease and liver cancer.
• People who have alcohol use disorder

There are various strategies you can try to avoid binge drinking:

• Take note of how much you drink, and when and where you drink more.
• Plan ahead. Set a goal for how many drinks you want to have and write it down.
• Space your drinks out over time and drink non-alcoholic drinks, such as seltzer or water, in between alcoholic drinks.
• Eat food while you are drinking.
• Participate in social activities that do not center around drinking alcohol.
• Be aware of what settings, experiences or people may trigger the urge to binge drink.

Alcohol use disorder is a health condition that can include the following symptoms:

• A strong, irresistible urge to drink.
• Experiencing days when you drank more or for a longer period of time than you had planned.
• Attempted many times to cut down or stop drinking.
• Blackouts (memory loss).
• The need to drink increasingly more alcohol to feel its effects.
• Spending a lot of time either drinking or hungover after drinking.
• Multiple situations where a person puts themselves in harm’s way while drinking or after drinking.
• Withdrawal symptoms when the effects of alcohol wear off, including nausea, sweating, tremors and anxiety, restlessness, hallucinations and seizures.
• Continued use of alcohol even when it is interfering with other aspects of life, including health, family, friends, work or school.

The severity of a person's disorder may be reflected by how many of the above symptoms they have experienced.

If you think drinking alcohol is affecting your life negatively, talk to a friend, family member, mental health professional or medical provider. One way to get started is to contact NYC Well for free, confidential support.

Treatment can mean stopping drinking or learning how to manage and moderate your drinking. You can get the following types of treatment and services for alcohol use disorder in NYC:

• Medications for alcohol use disorder, such as naltrexone and disulfriam
• Therapy and counseling, including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing
• Inpatient substance use services, including drinking cessation under the supervision of a medical professional (detox)
• Outpatient substance use services
• Peer support groups
• Community-based services, such as faith-based support and community programs