Dr John Garner: Indulgence is fine, just don't let it become a habit

Published on Wednesday 5 August 2009 22:03

IT IS right that we should not be drinking every day – you need two or three alcohol-free days a week to allow a pause and not get in the habit of drinking every single day.

You should try to limit the number of units of alcohol you drink at any one time to three or four for women and four to six for men.

People should also try to stick overall in the week to 14 units for women and 21 units for men.

But what I would say is that there may be the odd occasion where you want to go above your daily limit. If that is important because it's a wedding or an important social occasion you may want to do that. But at the same time you should not go over the top and drink so much you become extremely drunk.

If on some occasions you find you are drinking seven or eight units on a single day that's not a massive problem, provided it is done rarely and you don't embarrass yourself by the quantity you are drinking.

This is not government advice, but what I would say as a practising doctor.

I would never say to someone you should never drink more than three to four units, because we do celebrate. But it should be the exception rather than the rule.

If you find you cannot limit your intake of alcohol to this kind of sensible advice then you might need to seek help.

I think the majority of people are sensible when it comes to drinking alcohol. At the same time, alcohol is now more accessible and cheaper. There is a "creep" in drinking habits and we are all drinking more than we were ten or 20 years ago.

&#149 Dr John Garner is a GP in Edinburgh.