Regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health.

The recommended weekly limit of 14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.

New evidence around the health harms from regular drinking have emerged in recent years.

There's now a better understanding of the link between drinking and some illnesses, including a range of cancers.

The previously held position that some level of alcohol was good for the heart has been revised.

It's now thought that the evidence on a protective effect from moderate drinking is less strong than previously thought.

Low-risk drinking advice
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:

men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
If you're pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.

No 'safe' drinking level
If you drink less than 14 units a week, this is considered low-risk drinking.

It's called "low risk" rather than "safe" because there's no safe drinking level.

The type of illnesses you can develop after 10 to 20 years of regularly drinking more than 14 units a week include:

cancers of the mouth, throat and breast
stroke
heart disease
liver disease
brain damage
damage to the nervous system
There's also evidence that regular drinking at high-risk levels can make your mental health worse.

Research has found strong links between alcohol misuse and self-harming, including suicide.

The effects of alcohol on your health will depend on how much you drink. The less you drink, the lower the health risks.

Read about alcohol units to work out how much alcohol there is in your drinks.

'Single session' drinking
Drinking too much too quickly on any single occasion can increase your risk of:

accidents resulting in injury, causing death in some cases
misjudging risky situations
losing self-control, like having unprotected sex or getting involved in violence
To reduce your health risks on any single session:

limit how much you drink
drink more slowly
drink with food
alternate with water or non-alcoholic drinks

Tips on cutting down
If you regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week, try these simple tips to help you cut down.

14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.

Simple tips for cutting down
Make a plan
Before you start drinking, set a limit on how much you're going to drink.

Set a budget
Only take a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol.

Let them know
If you let your friends and family know you're cutting down and it's important to you, you could get support from them.

Take it a day at a time
Cut back a little each day. That way, every day you do is a success.

Make it a smaller one
You can still enjoy a drink, but go for smaller sizes. Try bottled beer instead of pints, or a small glass of wine instead of a large one.

Have a lower-strength drink
Cut down the alcohol by swapping strong beers or wines for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %). You'll find this information on the bottle.

Stay hydrated
Have a glass of water before you have alcohol and alternate alcoholic drinks with water or other non-alcoholic drinks.

Take a break
Have several drink-free days each week.

Benefits of cutting down
The immediate effects of cutting down include:

feeling better in the mornings
being less tired during the day
better looking skin
feeling more energetic
better weight management
Long-term benefits include:

Mood
There's a strong link between heavy drinking and depression, and hangovers often make you feel anxious and low. If you already feel anxious or sad, drinking can make this worse, so cutting down may put you in a better mood generally.

Sleep
Drinking can affect your sleep. Although it can help some people fall asleep quickly, it can disrupt your sleep patterns and stop you sleeping deeply. So cutting down on alcohol should help you feel more rested when you wake up.

Behaviour
Drinking can affect your judgement and behaviour. You may behave irrationally or aggressively when you're drunk. Memory loss can be a problem during drinking and in the long term for regular heavy drinkers.

Heart
Long-term heavy drinking can lead to your heart becoming enlarged. This is a serious condition that can't be completely reversed, but stopping drinking can stop it getting worse.

Immune system
Regular drinking can affect your body’s ability to fight infections. Heavy drinkers tend to catch more infectious diseases.

Calories in alcohol
Did you know a standard glass of wine can contain as many calories as a piece of chocolate, and a pint of lager has about the same number of calories as a packet of crisps? So, if you're trying to lose weight you need to think about what you are drinking as well as what you are eating.

Drinking 4 bottles of wine a month adds up to a yearly consumption of around 27,000kcal, which is equivalent to eating 48 Big Macs per year. Drinking 5 pints of lager each week adds up to 44,200kcal over a year, equivalent to eating 221 doughnuts.

Liquid calories
calories in common drinks:

Drink Calories (kcal) Estimated food equivalent

standard 175ml glass of 12% wine 133kcal 3 Jaffa Cake biscuits
pint of 5% strength beer 239kcal 1 standard size Mars Bar
50ml glass of 17% cream liqueur 153kcal 1 standard size Wagon Wheel
standard 330ml bottle of 4% alcopop 172kcal 2 chocolate digestive biscuits
double measure (50ml) of 17.5% fortified wine 77kcal 10 jelly babies
double measure (50ml) of 40% gin 95kcal 1 standard size Milky Bar

Weight gain
Wine, beer, cider, spirits and many more of our favourite drinks are made from natural starch and sugar. Fermentation (and distillation for certain drinks) is used to produce the alcohol content.

This is why alcohol contains lots of calories – 7 calories per gram, which is almost as many as a gram of fat. Plus, additional calories can be in added mixer drinks, such as cola or tonic water.

Regularly drinking more than the NHS recommends can have a noticeable impact on your waistline and cause less obvious, but more serious, health problems.

Tips to avoid weight gain:

Men and women are advised to not regularly drink more than 14 units a week.

Alternate an alcoholic drink with a glass of water – this will help to prevent you becoming dehydrated.
Do not drink on an empty stomach. If you do reach for snacks while drinking, choose a healthier option.
Drinking in rounds can mean you end up drinking more than you intended. Instead, drink at your own pace.
Try cutting down with a friend, as you'll be more likely to stick to it with moral support.
Eat a healthy dinner before you start drinking so you're not tempted to go for less healthy options later in the evening.
Pace yourself by taking small sips.
Avoid "binge drinking" – it's not advisable to "save up" your units to splurge at the weekend.
If you're drinking white wine, why not add a splash of soda water to help the same number of units last longer?

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