Risk of harm in the LONG term

Heavy episodic drinking
Heavy episodic drinking (often referred to as ‘binge’ drinking) can refer to either occasional bouts of heavy drinking by young and/or non-dependent people, or a ‘bender’ had by an alcohol-dependent person, which may last for days or weeks.
Studies have shown an increased likelihood of acute harm such as accident and injury, when drinking in this manner.

Sobering up
Sobering up, or getting the alcohol out of your body, takes time. A little bit of the alcohol (about 10%) leaves the body in breath, sweat and urine, but most is broken down by the liver.
The liver can only get rid of about one standard drink per hour. Nothing can speed this up – not even black coffee, cold showers, exercise or vomiting.
You can still be over the legal limit even a few hours after your last drink, even if you feel okay.

Blood alcohol concentration
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) means how much alcohol is in a person’s blood. A ‘breathalyser test’ measures the amount of alcohol in a person’s breath, and gives an idea of BAC. The test gives a number, such as .05. A person with a BAC level of .05 has more alcohol in their blood than someone with a level of .02. BAC is determined by how much a person drinks and how long they take to drink it.

Alcohol and driving
Alcohol is involved in around one-third of all road deaths. There are laws to limit the amount a person can drink before driving.
In Australia, the legal limit for drinking and driving for most people is .05 BAC.

In NSW the limit is zero for:
• L- and P-plate drivers
• drivers under 25, for their first three years
of driving (if starting with P-plates)
• drivers of heavy vehicles (like trucks), public passenger vehicles (like buses) and dangerous goods vehicles (like trucks carrying chemicals).
It is difficult to work out how many drinks will put a person over the legal drink driving limit.

Some people will reach a higher BAC more quickly, including:
• women
• people who are not healthy
• people with an empty stomach
• people with smaller bodies
• overweight people.

If your legal limit is .05, a good guide to keep within your limit is:
• Men – two standard drinks in the first hour and then one per hour after that.
• Women – one standard drink in the first hour and then one per hour after that.

If you drink more than this and drive, then you are breaking the law and could lose your licence, get a fine or go to prison. Any drink-driver who injures or kills someone can be sent to prison.