Terminology used in this report
| Category | Alcohol consumption in men
| Alcohol consumption in women
|
| Low risk or 'sensible' |
Up to 21 units/week | Up to 14 units/week
|
| Increasing risk or 'hazardous'
| 22-50 units/week | 15-35 units/week
|
| High risk or 'harmful' |
>50 units/week | >35 units/week
|
A unit of alcohol is defined as 8g or 10 ml of alcohol
The Government's suggested daily limits are 3-4 units
for men and 2-3 units for women but as this potentially blurs
the distinction between low risk and hazardous drinking we have
used the weekly guidelines above for consistency.
Low risk alcohol use
This refers to drinking within legal and medical
guidelines, which is not likely to result in alcohol-related problems.
Alcohol misuse
Alcohol misuse is a general term for any level of
risk, ranging from hazardous drinking to alcohol dependence.
Hazardous drinking
A pattern of drinking alcohol that increases the risk of harmful
consequences for the person. This term is used for males who regularly
consume more than 21 units per week and females who regularly
consume more than 14 units per week
Harmful drinking
A pattern of drinking alcohol that causes harm to a person's health
or wellbeing. The harm may be physical, psychological or social.
In the absence of evidence of harm, this term is used to describe
males who regularly consume more than 50 units per week and females
who regularly consume more than 35 units per week.
Binge drinking
Binge drinking refers to high intensity drinking
during a single drinking session. It is strongly associated with
intoxication or drunkenness. Binge drinking was defined in the
1995 UK government report as drinking twice the daily limit for
alcohol consumption (i.e. 8+ units for men/ 6+ for women) in one
day.
Alcohol dependence
Alcohol dependence (syndrome) is a psychobiological
condition characterized by an inner drive to consume alcohol,
continued drinking despite harm and commonly a withdrawal state
upon stopping drinking.
Alcohol use disorder
An alcohol use disorder has been defined as hazardous,
harmful or dependent drinking.[1]
1 For a more detailed discussion of terminology, see
AL 27. Back
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