Alcohol support
Alcohol support
Manage your alcohol consumption and access help.
Help for alcohol misuse
- NHS treatment and recovery service
Telephone: 01670 798 200 - alcohol laws in the UK: Drinkaware
- Alcoholics Anonymous offers help to anyone who is suffering from or has experienced alcoholism
Support for under 18's
Use the SORTED service online.
Telephone: 01670 536 400
Helpful information
Find out if your drinking is affecting your health:
Guidelines on alcohol consumption
Drinking above recommended levels can have a serious risk to your health. The following government guidelines are suggested to reduce risks.
Adults
- shouldn't drink more than 14 units per week, spread throughout the week
- try to have a few alcohol-free days (see below for unit information)
Young people (Under 18)
Being alcohol free is the safest option.
Pregnant women, or those planning a pregnancy
- avoid alcohol to minimise risks to the baby.
- drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby, the more you drink the greater the risk
The risk of harm to the baby is likely to be low if a woman has drunk only small amounts of alcohol before she knew she was pregnant or during pregnancy.
Unit amounts
Examples of unit amounts, measured by Alcohol by Volume (ABV) are:
| Type of drink | Number of alcohol units |
|---|---|
| one 25ml measure of spirits | 1 unit |
| one 330ml alcopop (5% ABV) | 1.5 units |
| one pint of regular beer, lager or cider | 2 units |
| one pint of 'premium' or 'strong' beer, lager of cider | 3 units |
| one large 250ml glass of wine (12% ABV) | 3 units |
More unit information on NHS Livewell pages.
Information for professionals
Access more information and e-learning modules on the NHS website.
Tell us what you think of this page
Your feedback on the content can help us improve the website.
Provide Feedback open_in_new