The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), is an independent statutory authority that has the job of bringing together the best information available from worldwide medical research to advise Australians about their health choices. These new guidelines are about reducing the risks to your health from drinking alcohol. Of course, how much you drink is your choice. But we hope these guidelines will help you make an informed choice and also help health agencies guide the community in reducing health risks. 

Guideline 1: For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

Guideline 2: For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a  single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol related injury arising from that occasion.

Guideline 3: Parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and that for this age group, not drinking alcohol is especially important. And for young people 15-17 years the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible.

Guideline 4: 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.

Q. Do the guidelines define binge drinking?
A. Although binge drinking is popularly understood to mean someone going out to get drunk, the Guidelines do not define binge drinking because it means different things to differnt people and is difficult to define scientifically. Instead of the term binge drinking, the Guidelines refer to a single occasion of drinking.

Q. Are there any health benefits from consuming alcohol?
A. Recent scientific evidence suggest that any potential health benefints from consuming alcohol probably have been overestimated. Any benefits are mainly related to middle ages or older people and only occur with low-levels of alcohol intake of about half a standard drink per day, which is within the Guidelines level.  The Guidelines do not encourage people to take up drinking just to get health benefits.
 
This partial guide forms part of our extensive Wellbeing section to which you receive free access as a member of the Wentworth Advantage HR Help Desk Service.

To access the full article visit Australian Guidleines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol

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