Responsible consumption
To lessen risks to your health and safety, the National Health and Research Council recommends the following levels for safe consumption:
- For healthy men and women, drinking no more then 2 standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
- For healthy men and women, drinking no more than 4 standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arsing from that occasion.
- Parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking. Not drinking alcohol at this age, is especially important.
- For young people aged 15-17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking as long as possible.
- For women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option.
- For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking is the safest option.
They also note:
- Drinkers under the age of 15 years are much more likely than older drinkers to undertake risky or antisocial behaviour connected with their drinking.
- Risky behaviour is more likely among drinkers aged 15-17 years than older drinkers; if drinking does occur in this age group, it should be at a low risk level and in a safe environment, supervised by adults.
- Alcohol may adversely affect brain development and lead to alcohol-related problems in later life.