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Why it’s a bad idea to mix alcohol with some medications

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jasmine-lee-1507733">Jasmine Lee</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kellie-charles-1309061">Kellie Charles</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tina-hinton-329706">Tina Hinton</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Anyone who has drunk alcohol will be familiar with how easily it can lower your social inhibitions and let you do things you wouldn’t normally do.</p> <p>But you may not be aware that mixing certain medicines with alcohol can increase the effects and put you at risk.</p> <p>When you mix alcohol with medicines, whether prescription or over-the-counter, the medicines can increase the effects of the alcohol or the alcohol can increase the side-effects of the drug. Sometimes it can also result in all new side-effects.</p> <h2>How alcohol and medicines interact</h2> <p>The chemicals in your brain maintain a delicate balance between excitation and inhibition. Too much excitation can lead to <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324330">convulsions</a>. Too much inhibition and you will experience effects like sedation and depression.</p> <p><iframe id="JCh01" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/JCh01/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>Alcohol works by increasing the amount of inhibition in the brain. You might recognise this as a sense of relaxation and a lowering of social inhibitions when you’ve had a couple of alcoholic drinks.</p> <p>With even more alcohol, you will notice you can’t coordinate your muscles as well, you might slur your speech, become dizzy, forget things that have happened, and even fall asleep.</p> <p>Medications can interact with alcohol to <a href="https://awspntest.apa.org/record/2022-33281-033">produce different or increased effects</a>. Alcohol can interfere with the way a medicine works in the body, or it can interfere with the way a medicine is absorbed from the stomach. If your medicine has similar side-effects as being drunk, those <a href="https://www.drugs.com/article/medications-and-alcohol.html#:%7E:text=Additive%20effects%20of%20alcohol%20and,of%20drug%20in%20the%20bloodstream.">effects can be compounded</a>.</p> <p>Not all the side-effects need to be alcohol-like. Mixing alcohol with the ADHD medicine ritalin, for example, can <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/ritalin-and-alcohol#side-effects">increase the drug’s effect on the heart</a>, increasing your heart rate and the risk of a heart attack.</p> <p>Combining alcohol with ibuprofen can lead to a higher risk of stomach upsets and stomach bleeds.</p> <p>Alcohol can increase the break-down of certain medicines, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763421005121?via%3Dihub">opioids, cannabis, seizures, and even ritalin</a>. This can make the medicine less effective. Alcohol can also alter the pathway of how a medicine is broken down, potentially creating toxic chemicals that can cause serious liver complications. This is a particular problem with <a href="https://australianprescriber.tg.org.au/articles/alcohol-and-paracetamol.html">paracetamol</a>.</p> <p>At its worst, the consequences of mixing alcohol and medicines can be fatal. Combining a medicine that acts on the brain with alcohol may make driving a car or operating heavy machinery difficult and lead to a serious accident.</p> <h2>Who is at most risk?</h2> <p>The effects of mixing alcohol and medicine are not the same for everyone. Those most at risk of an interaction are older people, women and people with a smaller body size.</p> <p>Older people do not break down medicines as quickly as younger people, and are often on <a href="https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/healthcare-variation/fourth-atlas-2021/medicines-use-older-people/61-polypharmacy-75-years-and-over#:%7E:text=is%20this%20important%3F-,Polypharmacy%20is%20when%20people%20are%20using%20five%20or%20more%20medicines,take%20five%20or%20more%20medicines.">more than one medication</a>.</p> <p>Older people also are more sensitive to the effects of medications acting on the brain and will experience more side-effects, such as dizziness and falls.</p> <p>Women and people with smaller body size tend to have a higher blood alcohol concentration when they consume the same amount of alcohol as someone larger. This is because there is less water in their bodies that can mix with the alcohol.</p> <h2>What drugs can’t you mix with alcohol?</h2> <p>You’ll know if you can’t take alcohol because there will be a prominent warning on the box. Your pharmacist should also counsel you on your medicine when you pick up your script.</p> <p>The most common <a href="https://adf.org.au/insights/prescription-meds-alcohol/">alcohol-interacting prescription medicines</a> are benzodiazepines (for anxiety, insomnia, or seizures), opioids for pain, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and some antibiotics, like metronidazole and tinidazole.</p> <p>It’s not just prescription medicines that shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol. Some over-the-counter medicines that you shouldn’t combine with alcohol include medicines for sleeping, travel sickness, cold and flu, allergy, and pain.</p> <p>Next time you pick up a medicine from your pharmacist or buy one from the local supermarket, check the packaging and ask for advice about whether you can consume alcohol while taking it.</p> <p>If you do want to drink alcohol while being on medication, discuss it with your doctor or pharmacist first.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223293/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839"><em>Nial Wheate</em></a><em>, Associate Professor of the School of Pharmacy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jasmine-lee-1507733">Jasmine Lee</a>, Pharmacist and PhD Candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kellie-charles-1309061">Kellie Charles</a>, Associate Professor in Pharmacology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tina-hinton-329706">Tina Hinton</a>, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-a-bad-idea-to-mix-alcohol-with-some-medications-223293">original article</a>.</em></p>

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What happens to your liver when you quit alcohol

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ashwin-dhanda-1359529">Ashwin Dhanda</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-plymouth-717">University of Plymouth</a></em></p> <p>According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to humans. He chained Prometheus up and set an eagle to feast on his liver. Each night, the liver grew back and each day, the eagle returned for his feast. In reality, can a liver really grow back?</p> <p>The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body. It is needed for hundreds of bodily processes, including breaking down toxins such as alcohol. As it is the first organ to “see” alcohol that has been drunk, it is not surprising that it is the most susceptible to alcohol’s effects. However, other organs, including the brain and heart, can also be damaged by long-term heavy alcohol use.</p> <p>As a liver specialist, I meet people with alcohol-related liver disease every day. It is a <a href="https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/liver-conditions/alcohol-related-liver-disease/">spectrum of disease</a> ranging from laying down of fat in the liver (fatty liver) to scar formation (cirrhosis) and it usually doesn’t cause any symptoms until the very late stages of damage.</p> <p>At first, alcohol makes the liver fatty. This fat causes the liver to become inflamed. In response, it tries to heal itself, producing scar tissue. If this carries on unchecked, the whole liver can become a mesh of scars with small islands of “good” liver in between – cirrhosis.</p> <p>In the late stages of cirrhosis, when the liver fails, people can turn yellow (jaundice), swell with fluid and become sleepy and confused. This is serious and can be fatal.</p> <p>Most people who regularly drink more than the recommended limit of 14 units of alcohol per week (about six pints of normal strength beer [4% ABV] or about six average [175ml] glasses of wine [14% ABV]) will have a fatty liver. Long-term and heavy alcohol use increases the risk of developing <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-related-liver-disease-arld/">scarring and cirrhosis</a>.</p> <h2>Good news</h2> <p>Fortunately, there is good news. In people with fatty liver, after only two to three weeks of giving up alcohol, the liver can heal and looks and functions <a href="https://arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/volume/41/1/natural-recovery-liver-and-other-organs-after-chronic-alcohol-use">as good as new</a>.</p> <p>In people with liver inflammation or mild scarring, even within seven days of giving up alcohol, there are noticeable reductions in liver <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1659">fat, inflammation and scarring</a>. Stopping alcohol use for several months lets the liver heal and return to normal.</p> <p>In heavy drinkers with more severe scarring or liver failure, giving up alcohol for several years reduces their chance of <a href="https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(22)01113-2/fulltext">worsening liver failure and death</a>. However, people who drink heavily can be physically dependent on alcohol and stopping suddenly can cause alcohol withdrawal.</p> <p>In its mild form, it causes shaking and sweating. But if severe, it can cause hallucinations, fits and even death. Going “cold turkey” is never recommended for heavy drinkers, who should seek medical advice about how to safely give up alcohol.</p> <h2>Other benefits</h2> <p>Giving up drinking also has positive effects on <a href="https://alcoholchange.org.uk/blog/benefits-of-dry-january-and-when-you-can-expect-to-see-them">sleep, brain function and blood pressure</a>.</p> <p>Avoiding alcohol for long periods also reduces the risk of several types of <a href="https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer">cancer</a> (including liver, pancreas and colon) and the risk of <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/effects-of-alcohol-on-your-heart">heart disease and stroke</a>.</p> <p>However, alcohol is not the only cause of ill health. Giving it up has many health benefits, but it is not a panacea. It should be seen as part of a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular physical exercise.</p> <p>So, to answer the question posed by the myth of Prometheus, the liver has an amazing power to repair itself after it has been damaged. But it cannot grow back as new if it was already severely scarred.</p> <p>If you stop drinking and only have a fatty liver, it can quickly turn back to normal. If you had a scarred liver (cirrhosis) to start with, stopping alcohol will allow some healing and improved function but can’t undo all the damage that has already been done.</p> <p>If you want to look after your liver, drink in moderation and have two to three alcohol-free days each week. That way, you won’t have to rely on the liver’s magical self-healing power to stay healthy.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220490/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ashwin-dhanda-1359529"><em>Ashwin Dhanda</em></a><em>, Associate Professor of Hepatology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-plymouth-717">University of Plymouth</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-to-your-liver-when-you-quit-alcohol-220490">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Christmas drinks anyone? Why alcohol before bedtime leaves you awake at 3am, desperate for sleep

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-gupta-347235">Charlotte Gupta</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-irwin-249481">Chris Irwin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/grace-vincent-1484516">Grace Vincent</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/saman-khalesi-366871">Saman Khalesi</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p>You’ve come home after a long day at work, you have dinner, put the kids to bed, and then you have your usual nightcap before drifting off to sleep. Or, perhaps you’re at the pub for the work Christmas party, and you think you’ll just have one more drink before heading home.</p> <p>That last drink might help you fall asleep easily. But your nightcap can also wreck a good night’s sleep. How could it do both?</p> <p>Here’s what’s going on in your body when you drink alcohol just before bedtime. And if you want to drink at the Christmas party, we have some tips on how to protect your sleep.</p> <h2>What happens to my body when I drink?</h2> <p>Soon after you drink, alcohol enters your bloodstream and travels to your brain.</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1998.tb03695.x">There</a>, it affects chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2700603/">slows down communication</a> between nerve cells.</p> <p>Certain <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4040959/">regions of the brain</a> are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. When alcohol interacts with cells in these regions, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826822/">overall effect</a> leads to those characteristic feelings of relaxation, lowered inhibitions, slurred speech, and may induce feelings of drowsiness and lethargy.</p> <p>Alcohol can also have immediate effects on the heart and circulatory system. Blood vessels widen, resulting in a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11906-021-01160-7">drop in blood pressure</a>, which can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded.</p> <h2>What happens soon after a nightcap?</h2> <p>Drinking alcohol before sleeping is like flipping a switch. At first, alcohol has a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826822/">sedative effect</a> and you will probably feel <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23347102/">more relaxed</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62227-0#:%7E:text=In%20this%20large%2C%20population%20based,sleep%20(cross%20sectional%20analyses).">drift off easily</a>.</p> <p>At this point, you still have a high level of alcohol in your blood. But don’t be fooled. As your body <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5821259/">processes the alcohol</a>, and the night goes on, alcohol actually <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.12621">disrupts your sleep</a>.</p> <h2>And later that night?</h2> <p>As your body processes the alcohol and your blood alcohol level drops, your brain rebounds from the drowsiness you would have felt earlier in the night.</p> <p>This disturbs your sleep, and can wake you up <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1300/J465v26n01_01">multiple times</a>, particularly in the second half of the night. You may also have vivid and stressful <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5821259/">dreams</a>.</p> <p>This sleep disruption is mainly to the deep, “rapid eye movement” or REM sleep.</p> <p>This type of sleep plays an important role in regulating your emotions and for your cognitive function. So not getting enough explains why you wake up feeling pretty lousy and groggy.</p> <p>Drinking alcohol before bedtime also tends to mean you <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775419/?source=post_page---------------------------">sleep less overall</a>, meaning important rest and recharge time is cut short.</p> <p>There are also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31234199/">long-term impacts</a> of alcohol on sleep. Moderate and heavy drinkers consistently have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleepadvances/article/3/1/zpac023/6632721">poor sleep quality</a> and more <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62227-0#:%7E:text=In%20this%20large%2C%20population%20based,sleep%20(cross%20sectional%20analyses).">sleep disturbances</a> over time.</p> <h2>How about the Christmas party then?</h2> <p>If you plan to drink this holiday season, here are some tips to minimise the effect of alcohol on your sleep:</p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>swap every other drink</strong>. Try swapping every second drink for a non-alcoholic drink. The more alcohol you drink, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/44/1/zsaa135/5871424?casa_token=okbJAuf8TXUAAAAA:ye_q-DACToxvj8H3IVaiKrjNkDhHZnl-LKJdds3iteaKyzJFuHUzitlRv45DqxNO-FraDRAlQMV53z8">the more</a> sleep disruption you can expect. Reducing how much you drink in any one sitting can minimise the effect on your sleep</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>avoid drinking alcohol close to bedtime</strong>. If you give your body a chance to process the alcohol before you go to sleep, your sleep will be less disrupted</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>eat while you drink</strong>. Drinking on an empty stomach is going to worsen the effects of alcohol as the alcohol will be absorbed <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2006.00588.x?casa_token=TQiCqcbasYAAAAAA:GbEvnTT82aB3_sPfmJLOQXIV3ivjnbZdIoP2_XZBa8IDZ0YLaPxNfE6DMHLgH7obnpA22VDsM4vyGZV4dQ">faster</a>. So try to eat something while you’re drinking</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>ditch the espresso martinis and other caffeinated drinks</strong>. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079207000937?casa_token=NJsobF-C-vwAAAAA:opzPjrglPdZTwXEo7rHil5vm0a1K3KmXw9vp0Het-eRHZEWbfRAA40vgicU3Z5kC8x7uEJF39C8">Caffeine</a> can make it hard to get to sleep, and hard to stay asleep</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>be careful if you have sleep apnoea</strong>. People who have sleep apnoea (when their upper airway is repeatedly blocked during sleep) can be even more impacted by drinking alcohol. That’s because alcohol can act as a muscle relaxant, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/5/4/318/2753287">leading to</a> more snoring, and lower oxygen levels in the blood. If you have sleep apnoea, limiting how much alcohol you drink is the best way to avoid these effects</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>drink plenty of water</strong>. Staying hydrated will help you <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/42/2/zsy210/5155420">sleep better</a> and will hopefully stave off the worst of tomorrow’s hangover.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216834/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> </li> </ul> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-gupta-347235">Charlotte Gupta</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-irwin-249481">Chris Irwin</a>, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences &amp; Social Work, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/grace-vincent-1484516">Grace Vincent</a>, Senior Lecturer, Appleton Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/saman-khalesi-366871">Saman Khalesi</a>, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-drinks-anyone-why-alcohol-before-bedtime-leaves-you-awake-at-3am-desperate-for-sleep-216834">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Drinking alcohol this Christmas and New Year? These medicines really don’t mix

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>A glass or two of champagne with Christmas lunch. A cool crisp beer at the beach. Some cheeky cocktails with friends to see in the New Year. There seem to be so many occasions to unwind with an alcoholic drink this summer.</p> <p>But if you’re taking certain medications while drinking alcohol, this can affect your body in a number of ways. Drinking alcohol with some medicines means they may not work so well. With others, you risk a life-threatening overdose.</p> <p>Here’s what you need to know if you’re taking medication over summer and plan to drink.</p> <h2>Why is this a big deal?</h2> <p>After you take a medicine, it travels to the stomach. From there, your body shuttles it to the liver where the drug is metabolised and broken down before it goes into your blood stream. Every medicine you take is provided at a dose that takes into account the amount of metabolism that occurs in the liver.</p> <p>When you drink alcohol, this is also broken down in the liver, and it can affect how much of the drug is metabolised.</p> <p>Some medicines are metabolised <em>more</em>, which can mean not enough reaches your blood stream to be effective.</p> <p>Some medicines are metabolised <em>less</em>. This means you get a much higher dose than intended, which could lead to an overdose. The effects of alcohol (such as sleepiness) can act in addition to similar effects of a medicine.</p> <p>Whether or not you will have an interaction, and what interaction you have, depends on many factors. These include the medicine you are taking, the dose, how much alcohol you drink, your age, genes, sex and overall health.</p> <p>Women, older people and people with liver issues are more likely to have a drug interaction with alcohol.</p> <h2>Which medicines don’t mix well with alcohol?</h2> <p>Many medicines interact with alcohol regardless of whether they are prescribed by your doctor or bought over the counter, such as <a href="https://www.drugs.com/article/herbal-supplements-alcohol.html">herbal medicines</a>.</p> <p><strong>1. Medicines + alcohol = drowsiness, coma, death</strong></p> <p>Drinking alcohol and taking a medicine that depresses the <a href="https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/depressants/">central nervous system</a> to reduce arousal and stimulation can have additive effects. Together, these can make you extra drowsy, slow your breathing and heart rate and, in extreme cases, lead to coma and death. These effects are more likely if you use more than one of this type of medicine.</p> <p>Medicines to look out for include those for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain (except <a href="https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/alcohol-and-paracetamol">paracetamol</a>), sleep disturbances (such as insomnia), allergies, and colds and flu. It’s best not to drink alcohol with these medicines, or to keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.</p> <p><strong>2. Medicines + alcohol = more effects</strong></p> <p>Mixing alcohol with some medicines increases the effect of those medicines.</p> <p>One example is with the sleeping tablet zolpidem, which is <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/product-recalls/zolpidem-stilnox">not to be taken with alcohol</a>. Rare, but serious, side effects are strange behaviour while asleep, such as sleep-eating, sleep-driving or sleep-walking, which are more likely with alcohol.</p> <p><strong>3. Medicines + craft beer or home brew = high blood pressure</strong></p> <p>Some types of medicines only interact with some types of alcohol.</p> <p>Examples include some medicines for depression, such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine and moclobemide, the antibiotic linezolid, the Parkinson’s drug selegiline, and the cancer drug procarbazine.</p> <p>These so-called <a href="https://www.mydr.com.au/medicine/monoamine-oxidase-inhibitors-maois-for-depression/">monoamine oxidase inhibitors</a> <a href="https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/145802/oncol_maoi.pdf">only interact with</a> some types of boutique and artisan beers, beers with visible sediment, Belgian, Korean, European and African beers, and home-made beers and wine.</p> <p>These types of alcohol contain high levels of tyramine, a naturally occurring substance usually broken down by your body that doesn’t ordinarily cause any harm.</p> <p>However, monoamine oxidase inhibitors prevent your body from breaking down tyramine. This increases levels in your body and can cause your blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels.</p> <p><strong>4. Medicines + alcohol = effects even after you stop drinking</strong></p> <p>Other medicines interact because they affect the way your body breaks down alcohol.</p> <p>If you drink alcohol while using such medicines you may you feel nauseous, vomit, become flushed in the face and neck, feel breathless or dizzy, your heart may beat faster than usual, or your blood pressure may drop.</p> <p>This can occur even after you stop treatment, then drink alcohol. For example, if you are taking metronidazole you should avoid alcohol both while using the medicine and for at least 24 hours after you stop taking it.</p> <p>An example of where alcohol changes the amount of the medicine or related substances in the body is acitretin. This medication is used to treat skin conditions such as severe psoriasis and to prevent skin cancer in people who have had an organ transplant.</p> <p>When you take acitretin, it changes into another substance – <a href="https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/picmi/picmirepository.nsf/pdf?OpenAgent&amp;id=CP-2017-CMI-02034-1&amp;d=20221221172310101">etretinate</a> – before it is removed from your body. Alcohol increases the amount of etretinate in your body.</p> <p>This is especially important as etretinate can cause birth defects. To prevent this, if you are a woman of child-bearing age you should avoid alcohol while using the medicine and for two months after you stop taking it.</p> <h2>Myths about alcohol and medicines</h2> <p><strong>Alcohol and birth control</strong></p> <p>One of the most common myths about medicines and alcohol is that you can’t drink while using <a href="https://youly.com.au/blog/sexual-reproductive-health/does-alcohol-make-the-pill-less-effective/">the contraceptive pill</a>.</p> <p>It is generally safe to use alcohol with the pill as it <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/birth-control-and-alcohol#:%7E:text=There's%20a%20bit%20of%20good,a%20less%20effective%20birth%20control.">doesn’t directly affect</a> how well birth control works.</p> <p>But the pill is most effective when taken at the same time each day. If you’re drinking heavily, you’re more likely to forget to do this the next day.</p> <p>Alcohol can also make some people nauseous and vomit. If you vomit within three hours of taking the pill, it will not work. This increases your risk of pregnancy.</p> <p>Contraceptive pills can also affect your response to alcohol as the hormones they contain can change the way your body <a href="https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/birth-control">removes alcohol</a>. This means you can get drunk faster, and stay drunk for longer, than you normally would.</p> <p><strong>Alcohol and antibiotics</strong></p> <p>Then there’s the myth about not mixing alcohol with any <a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-you-cant-mix-antibiotics-with-alcohol-4407">antibiotics</a>. This only applies to <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/medicines/medicinal-product/aht,21161/metronidazole">metronidazole</a> and <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/medicines/brand/amt,1011571000168100/linezolid-apo">linezolid</a>.</p> <p>Otherwise, it is generally safe to use alcohol with antibiotics, as alcohol does not affect how well they work.</p> <p>But if you can, it is best to avoid alcohol while taking antibiotics. Antibiotics and alcohol have similar side effects, such as an upset stomach, dizziness and drowsiness. Using the two together means you are more likely to have these side effects. Alcohol can also reduce your energy and increase how long it takes for you to recover.</p> <h2>Where can I go for advice?</h2> <p>If you plan on drinking alcohol these holidays and are concerned about any interaction with your medicines, don’t just stop taking your medicines.</p> <p>Your pharmacist can advise you on whether it is safe for you to drink based on the medicines you are taking, and if not, provide advice on alternatives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196646/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839"><em>Nial Wheate</em></a><em>, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, Associate Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drinking-alcohol-this-christmas-and-new-year-these-medicines-really-dont-mix-196646">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

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5 reasons why climate change may see more of us turn to alcohol and other drugs

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-louise-berry-8608">Helen Louise Berry</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/francis-vergunst-230743">Francis Vergunst</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-oslo-934">University of Oslo</a></em></p> <p>Climate change will affect every aspect of our <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01859-7/fulltext">health and wellbeing</a>. But its potential harms go beyond the body’s ability to handle extreme heat, important as this is.</p> <p>Extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, storms and wildfires, are becoming more frequent and severe. These affect our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36165756/">mental health</a> in a multitude of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">ways</a>.</p> <p>Coping with climate change can be overwhelming. Sometimes, the best someone can do is to seek refuge in alcohol, tobacco, over-the-counter and prescription drugs, or other psychoactive substances. This is understandable, but dangerous, and can have serious consequences.</p> <p>We outline <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17456916221132739">five ways</a> climate change could increase the risk of harmful substance use.</p> <h2>1. Mental health is harmed</h2> <p>Perhaps the most obvious way climate change can be linked to harmful substance use is by damaging mental health. This <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12448">increases the risk</a> of new or worsened substance use.</p> <p>People with a mental disorder are <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/psychiatry/2018/5697103/">at high risk</a> of also having a <a href="https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-11-25#:%7E:text=Prevalence%20of%20comorbidity%20in%20epidemiological%20studies&amp;text=Among%20subjects%20with%20an%20alcohol,a%20comorbid%20SUD%20%5B39%5D.">substance-use disorder</a>. This often precedes their mental health problems. Climate change-related increases in the number and nature of extreme events, in turn, are escalating risks to mental health.</p> <p>For example, extreme heat is linked to increased <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27727320/">distress</a> across the whole population. In extreme heat, more people go to the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2789481">emergency department</a> for psychiatric problems, including for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720338249">alcohol</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-023-00346-1">substance use</a> generally. This is even true for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720325572">a single very hot day</a>.</p> <p>Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/mja13.10307">other mental health</a> problems are <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00367/full">common</a> at the time of extreme weather events and can persist for months, even years afterwards, especially if people are exposed to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116266/">multiple events</a>. This can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101235/">increase</a> the likelihood of using substances as a way to cope.</p> <h2>2. Worry increases</h2> <p>With <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-december-2022/">increasing public awareness</a> of how climate change is endangering wellbeing, people are <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/worriesaboutclimatechangegreatbritain/septembertooctober2022#:%7E:text=The%20level%20of%20worry%20about,lives%20right%20now%20(29%25).">increasingly worried</a> about what will happen if it remains unchecked.</p> <p>Worrying isn’t the same as meeting the criteria for a mental disorder. But <a href="https://www.undp.org/publications/peoples-climate-vote">surveys</a> show climate change generates complex emotional responses, <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext">especially in children</a>. As well as feelings of worry, there is anxiety, fear, guilt, anger, grief and helplessness.</p> <p>Some <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2904966/">emotional states</a>, such as <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1909888116">sadness</a>, are linked with long-term tobacco use and also make substance use <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16011392/">relapse</a> more likely.</p> <h2>3. Physical injuries hurt us in many ways</h2> <p>Physical injuries caused by extreme weather events – such as smoke inhalation, burns and flood-related cuts and infections – increase the risk of harmful substance use. That’s partly because they <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20033251/">increase</a> the risk of psychological distress. If injuries cause long-term illness or disability, consequent feelings of hopelessness and depression can dispose some people to self-medicate with alcohol or other drugs.</p> <p>Substance use itself can also generate long-term physiological harm, disabilities or other chronic health problems. These are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952999609001655">linked with</a> higher rates of harmful substance use.</p> <h2>4. Our day-to-day lives change</h2> <p>A single catastrophic event, such as a storm or flood, can devastate lives overnight and change the way we live. So, too, can the more subtle changes in climate and day-to-day weather. Both can disrupt behaviour and routines in ways that risk new or worsened substance use, for example, using stimulants to cope with fatigue.</p> <p>Take, for example, hotter temperatures, which disrupt <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00209-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2590332222002093%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">sleep</a>, undermine <a href="https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/2/400">academic performance</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0097">reduce physical activity</a>, and promote <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00173-5/fulltext">hostile language</a> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/climate-change-and-human-behavior/F64471FA47B8A6F5524E7DDDDE571D57">violent behaviour</a>.</p> <h2>5. It destabilises communities</h2> <p>Finally, climate change is destabilising the socioeconomic, natural, built and geopolitical <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">systems</a> on which human wellbeing – <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-and-health-ipcc-reports-emerging-risks-emerging-consensus-24213">indeed survival</a> – depends.</p> <p>Damaged infrastructure, agricultural losses, school closures, homelessness and displacement are significant <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">sources of psychosocial distress</a> that prompt acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) stress responses.</p> <p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1441.030">Stress</a>, in turn, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130100917">increase</a> the risk of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002130100917">harmful substance use</a> and make people more likely to relapse.</p> <h2>Why are we so concerned?</h2> <p>Substance-use disorders are economically and socially <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(18)30337-7/fulltext">very costly</a>. Risky substance use that doesn’t meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis <a href="https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/srhreports/health/health/32/">can also harm</a>.</p> <p>Aside from its direct physical harm, harmful substance use disrupts <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3843305/">education</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234116/">employment</a>. It increases the risk of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6676144/">accidents</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09595230600944479">crime</a>, and it undermines social relationships, intimate <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795906/#:%7E:text=Results%20indicated%20that%20alcohol%20use,drinkers%20with%20low%20relationship%20satisfaction.">partnerships</a> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/abs/longitudinal-relations-between-parental-drinking-problems-family-functioning-and-child-adjustment/CE508589A9E799FD6DC9E23DF364FB8F">family functioning</a>.</p> <h2>Politicians take note</h2> <p>As we head towards the <a href="https://www.cop28.com">COP28 global climate talks</a> in Dubai, climate change is set to hit the headlines once more. Politicians know climate change is undermining human health and wellbeing. It’s well past time to insist they act.</p> <p>As we have seen for populations as a whole, there are multiple possible ways for climate change to cause a rise in harmful substance use. This means multidimensional <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">prevention strategies</a> are needed. As well as addressing climate change more broadly, we need strategies including:</p> <ul> <li> <p>supporting vulnerable individuals, especially <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21677026211040787">young people</a>, and marginalised commmunities, who are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">hit hardest</a> by extreme weather-related events</p> </li> <li> <p>focusing health-related policies more on broadscale health promotion, for example, healthier eating, active transport and community-led mental health support</p> </li> <li> <p>investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, such as heat-proofing buildings and greening cities, to prevent more of the destabilising effects and stress we know contributes to mental health problems and harmful substance use.</p> </li> </ul> <p>There is now <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129912">no credible pathway</a> to avoiding dangerous climate change. However, if <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/01/12/climate-protests-tracking-growing-unrest-pub-88778#:%7E:text=These%20are%20just%20a%20few,even%20more%20numerous%20and%20influential.">increasing rates</a> of climate protests are anything to go by, the world may finally be ready for radical change – and perhaps for reduced harmful substance use.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217894/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-louise-berry-8608">Helen Louise Berry</a>, Honorary Professor, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/francis-vergunst-230743">Francis Vergunst</a>, Associate Professor, Psychosocial Difficulties, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-oslo-934">University of Oslo</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-why-climate-change-may-see-more-of-us-turn-to-alcohol-and-other-drugs-217894">original article</a>.</em></p>

Mind

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Adele called herself a ‘borderline alcoholic’. But is that a real thing?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicole-lee-81635">Nicole Lee</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a></em></p> <p>British singer-songwriter Adele says she has quit drinking, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/18/adele-says-she-has-quit-drinking-after-being-a-borderline-alcoholic">describing herself</a> as a “borderline alcoholic” when she was in her 20s.</p> <p>She joins a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-young-people-drinking-less-than-their-parents-generation-did-172225">growing number of people</a> who are trying to quit or reduce their drinking.</p> <p>But what does “borderline alcoholic” mean and is it a real thing?</p> <h2>It’s not all-or-nothing any more</h2> <p>In the <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-alcoholics-anonymous-actually-work-179665">early days</a> of alcohol treatment, people used to think of problems with alcohol as all-or-nothing. They used to believe there was something different about people who had problems with alcohol and those who didn’t. That’s how the idea of the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-really-such-a-thing-as-an-addictive-personality-184137">addictive personality</a>” came about.</p> <p>But now we think of drinking on a continuum. It goes from not drinking at all to dependent drinking. And people can move up and down that continuum at different points in their lives. The old saying “once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” doesn’t apply any more.</p> <h2>How much is it OK to drink?</h2> <p>The Australian national alcohol <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-advice/alcohol">guidelines</a> say healthy men and women should drink no more than ten <a href="https://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/resources-and-tools/standard-drink-tool">standard drinks</a> a week and no more than four a day. So that’s about two to three drinks three to four times a week. <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/alcohol-consumption/latest-release">Most Australians</a> drink within these guidelines.</p> <p>If you drink over those guidelines you are more likely to experience a number of long- and short-term <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-guidelines-reduce-health-risks-drinking-alcohol">problems</a> including alcohol dependence, cancers, diabetes and heart disease. The risk of problems increases the more you drink and the more frequently you drink.</p> <p>About 25% of Australians drink at <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/national-drug-strategy-household-survey-2019/data">risky levels</a> and around 6% drink at such high levels that they would probably be dependent. Daily drinking is associated with dependence.</p> <h2>So when is someone an alcoholic or a borderline alcoholic?</h2> <p>The term “alcoholic” is rarely used by health professionals any more. It can make people believe there is nothing they can do about the problems they might be experiencing. Historically, that’s what the early treatment providers believed in the 1930s and that <a href="https://theconversation.com/alcohol-problems-arent-for-life-and-aa-isnt-the-only-option-8-things-film-and-tv-get-wrong-about-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-180946">myth has continued</a>. But some people find identifying as an “alcoholic” helpful to maintain their goal of quitting drinking.</p> <p>Health professionals have never used the term “borderline alcoholic”. But in describing herself that way Adele is really saying alcohol is having too much of a negative impact on her life, and like many others has decided to do something positive about it by taking a break.</p> <h2>Which terms do we use now?</h2> <p>Now, we tend to talk about “dependence” on a continuum from mild to moderate to severe. We also talk about the range of problems other than dependence that people can experience, which also lie on a continuum.</p> <p>The threshold for whether someone is a problem or dependent drinker is not just how much they drink (although that is important), but also how severe the alcohol-related problems are.</p> <p>Problems with alcohol don’t always correlate with consumption. Some people can drink a moderate amount and have a lot of problems and others can drink a lot and appear not to have many negative consequences.</p> <h2>I’m worried about my drinking. What next?</h2> <p>If you are wondering if you are drinking too much you can <a href="https://hellosundaymorning.org/nib_alcohol_self-assessment/">check online</a> with a free and anonymous assessment.</p> <p>Signs you may have a <a href="https://alcoholtreatmentguidelines.com.au/resources/appendix-3-diagnostic-criteria-for-alcohol-dependence">problem with alcohol</a> include:</p> <ul> <li> <p>having trouble stopping once you start drinking</p> </li> <li> <p>wanting or trying to cut back but slipping up frequently</p> </li> <li> <p>spending a lot of time drinking or recovering from drinking</p> </li> <li> <p>having cravings to drink alcohol, such as if you come home from work and reach straight for a drink</p> </li> <li> <p>dropping the ball at work, study or home because you’ve been drinking, such as not being able to do your work because you’re hungover</p> </li> <li> <p>continuing to drink alcohol even though you know it’s causing problems with your health, friends, work or relationships</p> </li> <li> <p>giving up or reducing social and work activities to drink instead</p> </li> <li> <p>drinking when it’s not safe, such as before driving or swimming.</p> </li> </ul> <p>If you find you aren’t getting the same effects from alcohol as you used to or you need more and more alcohol to get the same effect, you have probably developed a dependence.</p> <p>Sometimes people who are very dependent can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop – strong cravings, nausea, sweating, agitation and anxiety.</p> <p>The more of these signs you have, the more likely you are to be dependent on alcohol.</p> <p>If you have any of these signs, taking a break from alcohol for a few months or longer can help. If you find that’s too hard, you can try sticking within the Australian alcohol guidelines by reducing the number of drinks per occasion and increasing your drink-free days.</p> <h2>There’s help</h2> <p>Sometimes when people experience some of these problems they need a bit of help to keep them on track. You can talk to your GP who can refer you to a psychologist or treatment service. Or you can try self-help options such as the Hello Sunday Morning’s <a href="https://hellosundaymorning.org/daybreak/">Daybreak app</a> (a community of people supporting each other to change their relationship with alcohol). If your problems are more severe, you can try something like <a href="https://smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au">SMART Recovery</a> (evidence-based group support for alcohol and other drug problems).</p> <hr /> <p><em>If you are worried about your own or someone else’s alcohol or other drug use, you can contact the National Alcohol and other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015 for free, confidential advice.</em><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215987/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicole-lee-81635"><em>Nicole Lee</em></a><em>, Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/adele-called-herself-a-borderline-alcoholic-but-is-that-a-real-thing-215987">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

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A drink each day or just on the weekends? Here’s why alcohol-free days are important

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-lee-490875">Megan Lee</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-roberts-1456408">Emily Roberts</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a></em></p> <p>In recent years, drinkers have become more aware of the health dangers of drinking alcohol, from disease to risky behaviour and poorer wellbeing. Events like the just-finished <a href="https://www.dryjuly.com/">Dry July</a>, <a href="https://febfast.org.au/">Febfast</a> and <a href="https://hellosundaymorning.org/2020/01/15/10-practical-tips-for-staying-af-alcohol-free/">Hello Sunday Morning</a> – when people voluntarily abstain from alcohol for periods of time – are growing in popularity and raise awareness about the risks involved in overindulgence.</p> <p>Many people extend these alcohol-free periods throughout the year by incorporating alcohol-free days into their weekly routines, while still enjoying a drink on the weekends.</p> <p>But does drinking the same amount spread over the week versus just on the weekends, make any difference health-wise?</p> <h2>How much is too much?</h2> <p>Australian alcohol <a href="https://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/alcohol-and-your-health/alcohol-guidelines#:%7E:text=Alcohol%20guideline%20for%20adults,standard%20drinks%20on%20any%20day">guidelines</a> and the <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health">World Health Organization</a> state there is no safe level of alcohol use. For adults who do drink, the guidelines recommend a maximum of four drinks in one sitting or ten in a week. (A zero-alcohol approach is recommended for under-18s and during pregnancy.)</p> <p>For some, this may not sound like much at all. One in four Australians exceed the recommendation of no more than four drinks in one session with men <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/contents/drug-types/alcohol">more likely</a> to do so than women. This amount <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/binge-drinking">can result</a> in alcohol poisoning, damage to brain cells and a higher likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours leading to violence, accidents and unprotected sex.</p> <h2>But what about a wine each night?</h2> <p>Even abiding by the Australian alcohol guidelines and drinking in moderation – one or <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/how-alcohol-affects-your-health#short-term-effects">two drinks each day</a> over the week – can be risky. Possible health outcomes of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/moderate-drinking.htm">moderated drinking</a> include increased risk of cancer, liver and heart disease, alcohol use disorder, and an increase in the symptoms of anxiety and depression.</p> <p>Everyone processes alcohol at a different rate depending on age, gender, body shape and size. However, for most people, alcohol can still be <a href="https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/how-long-alcohol-stay-system/">detected</a> in the blood 12 hours after consumption. When the body is constantly processing the toxins in alcohol, it can lead to a chronic state of inflammation which is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.13886?casa_token=dxIr4RolhC4AAAAA%3Acy6BTsnPHzJoIpbf2Ow_JQhMOcb3fLPc3LPs_0OwiCi_4P3sAJTeWYgmE9YujD7Ev25bA_I757DeDLk">linked to</a> physical and mental health risks.</p> <p>There are several biological mechanisms associated with alcohol’s impact on the brain. Alcohol destroys the fine balance of the bacteria in the gut microbiome, which has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152169181730118X?casa_token=zwAVYFxdTdcAAAAA:ku6TCQ-fl1btAYqie_ydg2GpHeLGnYy3QdUn_SDhV7EWtXfuLrolAO5TpI5DtFLM7Ngz9JgKYoGX">linked</a> to brain health.</p> <p>Alcohol consumption disrupts the function of the amygdala – a part of the brain important for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/amygdala">processing and regulating emotion</a>, including our fear response. When this is impaired we are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811910015405?casa_token=RmqcP2vnA5oAAAAA:GW3POct2CQA6Kv8zqE9GaEfsvwLY200NNpf3Qk1k31xE8ZhR5MWau-D0Wj7gWnV7ZiohfKNASHEY">less likely</a> to pay attention to our fears and more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour.</p> <p>Areas involved in <a href="https://www.jsad.com/doi/abs/10.15288/jsa.1990.51.114">language production and comprehension</a> are also affected by alcohol, with too much leading to slurred speech and the inability to comprehend communication from others. When drinking dulls frontal lobe brain function, it can can lead to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.15023#add15023-bib-0092">changes in personality</a> for some people. <a href="https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/interrupted-memories-alcohol-induced-blackouts">Blackouts</a> can occur from the influence of alcohol on the hippocampus.</p> <h2>So, no drinking then?</h2> <p>While sobriety may be the answer for optimal health, depriving ourselves of the things we enjoy can also lead to negative mental health and a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-2766-x#:%7E:text=Deprived%20lower%20and%20increased%20risk,wine%20across%20all%20drinker%20categories">higher likelihood</a> we will binge in the future. This is why alcohol-free days are becoming so popular, to balance health risks while also giving us the chance to enjoy social activities.</p> <p>Including alcohol-free days in your routine can <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-022-00603-x">give the body</a> a chance to rehydrate, detoxify and repair itself from the toxic properties of alcohol. Detoxification can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32391879/">lead to</a> improved liver function and sleep quality, less water retention and easier weight control, clearer thinking, improved memory, more energy, clearer skin, a strengthened immune system and decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression.</p> <p>Alcohol-free days can also create a domino effect by encouraging <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938410000259">other healthy behaviours</a> like eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, improved sleep patterns and getting up early to exercise.</p> <h2>6 tips for better drinking balance</h2> <p>If you’re looking to incorporate more alcohol-free days into your routine you could try to</p> <ol> <li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772724622000142">set realistic goals</a>. Clarify how many and what days will be your alcohol-free days, mark them on a calendar and set reminders on your phone</li> <li>plan <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/2884">alcohol-free activities</a> and find alcohol alternatives. List all the activities you like that do not include drinking and plan to do these at the times of the day you would normally drink</li> <li><a href="https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits-summary">make alcohol “invisible”</a>. Keeping beer out of the fridge and wine and spirits in closed cupboards keeps them from the forefront of your mind</li> <li>seek support and encouragement from your <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2528837696?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;fromopenview=true">partner and/or family</a></li> <li>incorporate stress management techniques like meditation and <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2675715755?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;fromopenview=true">mindfulness</a>. Observe how you feel on alcohol-free days and note positive changes in your physical and mental wellbeing</li> <li>reflect on your progress. Acknowledge and celebrate each alcohol-free day. Allow yourself non-alcoholic rewards for achieving your goals.</li> </ol> <p>Finally, it’s important to know everyone slips up now and then. Practice self-forgiveness if you do have a drink on a planned alcohol-free day and don’t give up. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210193/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-lee-490875">Megan Lee</a>, Senior Teaching Fellow, Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-roberts-1456408">Emily Roberts</a>, PhD Candidate, Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-drink-each-day-or-just-on-the-weekends-heres-why-alcohol-free-days-are-important-210193">original article</a>.</em></p>

Food & Wine

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5 ways alcohol can sabotage your weight loss goals, according to an obesity doctor

<p><strong>Alcohol and weight loss </strong></p> <p>“Hey Siri, can I still lose weight if I drink alcohol?” Goodness, we only wish the answer was that simple. Research is mixed (no pun intended) on whether alcohol can lead to weight gain. That’s because weight is complex – and some people notice a shift on the scale when they consume alcohol, while others don’t.</p> <p>As a doctor who specialises in the science of weight, I can say what we do know is that many of these alcoholic drinks are energy-dense (meaning high in kilojoules) and provide little to no nutrition, which may put a damper on your weight loss efforts. Here are five major reasons alcohol can impede you weight loss efforts.</p> <p><strong>Your body views alcohol as a toxin</strong></p> <p>Your body metabolises and eliminates alcohol from the body with the help of two enzymes: Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). When you imbibe, these two work together to break apart the alcohol molecules, producing a toxic substance, acetaldehyde, then acetate, so that your body can get rid of it – and fast.</p> <p>Here’s why that matters when you’re trying to lose weight. Since your body prioritises alcohol digestion, it puts digestion of other nutrients (like fat, carbs, and protein) on the back burner. In other words, your body might put off metabolising fat and carbs when it’s busy breaking down alcohol. Over time and repeated patterns, this could lead to increased fat storage and weight gain.</p> <p><strong>Alcohol can cause inflammation</strong></p> <p>Alcohol can impair the functions of the gut, liver, and other organs – interfering with the immune system and causing systemic inflammation. Alcohol consumption stimulates a cascade of inflammatory responses, one of which is the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. And research has shown that persistently high levels of cortisol are associated with obesity. That’s why it’s best for people with obesity, who are already at an increased risk of inflammation, to limit or avoid alcohol.</p> <p><strong>Alcohol affects sleep - and sleep impacts weight </strong></p> <p>It may seem like that nightcap helps you fall asleep, but alcohol can actually disrupt how well you snooze. One study, which looked at participants’ heart rates and ability to relax during sleep, showed that even small amounts (0.25 grams per kilogram or less) of alcohol decreased those markers of quality of sleep by 9.3%.</p> <p>And the more you drink, the worse you sleep – the same study linked moderate drinking to a 24% decrease in sleep quality, and heavy drinking to a 39.2% decrease in sleep quality.</p> <p>You may think a few nights of low-quality shut-eye is harmless, but research has shown that just one to three nights of poor sleep can lead to insulin resistance. Over time, that could put you at risk of obesity.</p> <p><strong>Alcohol is often full of sneaky of sneaky kilojoules and sugar</strong></p> <p>Many mixed drinks, tasty as they might be, contain added kilojoules and sugar on top of the naturally occurring sugars and kilojoules in alcohol.</p> <p>Even a so-called “lower-kilojoule” option, like a vodka tonic, can have as many kilojoules and grams of sugar as a serving of ice cream. Before you know it, your 30ml serving of vodka just jumped from 280 kilojoules to 700 kilojoules when you add 200ml of tonic. Have a few of those, and you’re looking at upwards of 2000 or more kilojoules on liquid alone – kilojoules that don’t provide your body with the best nutrition.</p> <p>Let’s compare these 2000 kilojoules in a few vodka tonics to a 2000-kilojoule meal of salmon, brown rice, and steamed veggies. The drinks are empty kilojoules, whereas the meal has fat, fibre and protein to keep you fuller and satisfied for longer – a win-win while trying to lose weight – while also providing high-quality nourishment.</p> <p><strong>Drinking impacts food choices</strong></p> <p>Have you ever noticed after drinking alcohol, you get a sudden hankering for a fast food run or pizza delivery? That’s because alcohol can impair decision-making and lead to impulse decisions when it comes to food – and research suggests it may even stimulate the appetite. Those who drink alcohol with a meal also tend to eat more – 30% more, according to one study.</p> <p>While alcohol won’t impact everyone’s weight the same way, it’s best to be mindful of how much you drink when trying to lose weight. Consider skipping it altogether or aim for moderation. Just know that even if you follow the limit for moderate drinking as recommended in the Australian Alcohol Guidelines by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) —no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day – it still adds up over time. Several studies have shown that the risk of obesity is roughly two times higher in adults who consume alcohol than in those who don’t.</p> <p>Considering mocktails (non-alcoholic beverages) are popping up on more and more bar menus these days, rest assured your after-work social hour will still be filled with cheers. Just be sure to opt for a lower-kilojoule option, such as soda water with a squeeze of fresh lime or a craft mocktail with half the amount of simple syrup.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/diet/5-ways-alcohol-can-sabotage-your-weight-loss-goals-according-to-an-obesity-doctor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Body

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Explainer: why, exactly, is alcohol bad for us long-term?

<p>What, exactly, makes alcohol unhealthy?</p> <p>After a big night, the answer to this might seem obvious – or perhaps more disturbingly, not obvious at all. But even in moderation, alcohol carries longer-term health risks too.</p> <p>So what are they, and why do they happen? Cosmos investigates.</p> <h2>Why is alcohol bad for you long-term?</h2> <p>The biggest culprit is a substance called acetaldehyde.</p> <p>Alcohol – or strictly speaking, ethanol – doesn’t stay that way in the body for long. The body metabolises it and turns it into a few different compounds, mostly acetaldehyde.</p> <p>As well as causing a lot of the symptoms you’d experience during a hangover, like headaches, nausea, and facial flushing, acetaldehyde is a carcinogen.</p> <p>“Acetaldehyde is highly reactive and extremely toxic,” says Dr Leon Booth, a research fellow at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney.</p> <p>“It binds to different proteins, or to DNA, and it can impair enzyme and cell functions.</p> <p>“Essentially, because it’s so reactive, it increases the risk of cell mutations and therefore increases the risk of a cancer developing.”</p> <p>Globally, around 4% of cancers can be attributed to alcohol. The Lancet estimates that in 2020, there were 741,300 new cancers around the world that came from alcohol consumption.</p> <p>“A lot of them are in the digestive tract, which kind of intuitively makes sense, because that’s where the alcohol is coming into contact with the body,” says Booth.</p> <p>“So there’s an increased risk of cancer in the throat, mouth, oesophagus, liver, in the colon and for females, quite an increased risk for breast cancer.”</p> <p>One study estimates that a bottle of wine per week is roughly the equivalent of smoking 10 cigarettes per week for women, or five cigarettes per week for men.</p> <p>Acetaldehyde doesn’t stay in your body forever: an enzyme called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, or ALDH, turns it into largely harmless acetic acid, and then eventually on to carbon dioxide and water.</p> <p>But here’s where genetics can play a role in your susceptibility too: some people have a genetic mutation that makes their ALDH enzymes less effective.</p> <p>This gene is particularly common among people of East Asian descent, which is why some East Asian people flush red after only a small drink. Unfortunately, there’s evidence that people with this gene are also more susceptible to cancer.</p> <p>“In studies of Asian populations, they seem to have a much greater risk of getting cancer from alcohol,” says Booth.</p> <p>While cancer and acetaldehyde draw the most attention, alcohol can have other long-term effects too – like high blood pressure and increased risk of strokes.</p> <p>“If you drink heavily and consistently, you get scarring in the liver – cirrhosis, which is also linked to an increased risk of cancers in the liver,” says Booth.</p> <p>Alcohol can also interfere with hormones, causing poorer sleep or – once again – a higher risk of cancer.</p> <p>It’s also linked to mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, but Booth says this can be a “chicken-and-egg situation”.</p> <p>“There’s a lot of literature to suggest that people with mental health issues drink to help cope. But unfortunately, it tends to make things worse.”</p> <p>All in all, not a great wrap. Is there any good news?</p> <h2>Isn’t low or moderate drinking a little bit good for you?</h2> <p>We’ve all seen – and Cosmos has published – headlines about low and moderate drinkers (around 10 or fewer standard drinks per week) doing better in some health metrics, particularly heart disease.</p> <p>Does this really mean that regular low-moderate drinking might be better than not drinking at all?</p> <p>“Long story short, I think the jury’s probably still out on that one,” says Booth.</p> <p>The trick is that a lot of non-drinkers avoid alcohol for health reasons. This is called the “sick quitter” effect.</p> <p>If you develop a health condition, or discover you’re at an increased risk of something like heart disease, often one of the first things a doctor will recommend is that you stop drinking.</p> <p>“What that means is, sometimes when you do these big population studies, the people who don’t drink alcohol can look less healthy than the people who do drink alcohol,” says Booth.</p> <p>While many of these studies have tried to control for the sick quitter effect, and still produced some compelling evidence that low or moderate drinking helps, other studies have found the opposite.</p> <p>“My overall opinion would be that it’s just a bit too early to know, and to really understand that relationship,” says Booth.</p> <p>“And even in those studies, once you get beyond that moderate consumption, alcohol does seem to be really detrimental to cardiovascular health.”</p> <p>So, for now – other than the benefit you get from spending a night at the pub in good company – you probably can’t claim alcohol’s improving your health. We’re as sorry about this as you are.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/explainer-alcohol-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Body

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Alcohol marketing has crossed borders and entered the metaverse – how do we regulate the new digital risk?

<p>The World Health Organization’s newly <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240046504" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released report</a> on regulating cross-border alcohol marketing raises the alarm for countries like Australia and New Zealand, given their light touch towards alcohol advertising.</p> <p>Alcohol is widely consumed in Australasia but there is ongoing tension over how much restraint, if any, should be placed on the marketing of these products.</p> <p>Australia and New Zealand are at the unrestrained end of the marketing continuum. Both countries rely on industry-led policy in the form of voluntary codes – an approach identified as insufficient by the WHO report.</p> <p><strong>What is cross-border alcohol marketing?</strong></p> <p>Alcohol marketing, created and disseminated in one country and spread across borders into others, is commonly used by multinational corporations striving to increase sales and normalise alcohol as an everyday product. Much of this advertising is taking place in the digital media sphere.</p> <p>The increased use of these media platforms by alcohol corporations allows them access to cheap advertising opportunities. For as <a href="https://au.reset.tech/uploads/resettechaustralia_profiling-children-for-advertising-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">little as US$2</a>, an advertising campaign based in Australia could reach a thousand young people profiled as interested in alcohol, for example.</p> <p>Marketing across digital media has also increased the impact of those messages.</p> <p>Brands interact with users on social media platforms, encouraging the posting, sharing and liking of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33573719/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">branded images and messages</a>. Higher user engagement is associated with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32079562/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more drinking</a>.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464113/original/file-20220518-21284-beeqsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="AB InBev logo behind a smartphone also showing the logo" /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">Multinational corporations like AB InBev have been quick to embrace digital platforms as a new way to advertise alcohol products.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/in-this-photo-illustration-an-ab-inbev-logo-is-seen-on-a-news-photo/1234971135?adppopup=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Targeting the individual</strong></p> <p>The increased power of these advertisements reflects the effectiveness of “personalised marketing”. Companies can now target individuals and “look alike” audiences.</p> <p>This approach is made possible thanks to the enormous amount of data collected as we interact together, purchase products and indicate our interests and passions through our clicks and likes.</p> <p>This data is extremely valuable to marketers and alcohol corporations. It gives them insight into the best time of day, the best brand of alcohol and the best type of marketing message to send our way.</p> <p>All groups across society are vulnerable to being bombarded by messages encouraging the purchase and consumption of alcohol.</p> <p>Digital advertising can target everyone: teenagers looking for brands which exemplify their identity; young adults, the heaviest “occasion drinkers” in Australia and New Zealand, some of whom are developing drinking habits that may be hard to change in later life; and adults of all ages who wish to reduce their consumption, often for health reasons.</p> <p>Digital media has become an all-encompassing marketing environment in which the “buy” button – with home delivery and often no checks on age or intoxication – provides a seamless marketing and distribution system.</p> <p>In New Zealand, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dar.13222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online sales</a> increased significantly during the COVID-19 lockdowns, particularly among heavier drinkers.</p> <p><strong>Entering the metaverse</strong></p> <p>The alcohol industry is now showing its initiative by entering the emerging <a href="https://www.ypulse.com/article/2022/02/03/metaverse-mansions-more-tiktok-how-brands-are-marketing-for-this-years-super-bowl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">metaverse</a>. To understand the metaverse, <a href="https://thedecisionlab.com/insights/technology/brave-new-world-how-the-metaverse-may-shape-our-psychology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to one commentator</a>, you should</p> <blockquote> <p>take today’s social media, add a splash of sophisticated 3D, fold in a plethora of options for entertainment and gaming, garnish it all with data-driven personalisation, and you are all set to take away your order of a supersized social media network, the metaverse.</p> </blockquote> <p>In terms of marketing, this provides a new opportunity. The biometric data essential to a virtual reality experience is also available to develop “<a href="https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol23/iss1/1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biometric psychographics</a>”, allowing for the even greater personalisation of advertising.</p> <p>Virtual alcohol brands created and used by avatars in the metaverse support the development of brand allegiance in real life, and virtual reality will transform e-commerce experiences and increase the power of sponsorship.</p> <p>AB InBev, the largest global alcohol corporation, was an early adopter of the metaverse. One of its brands, <a href="https://sifted.eu/articles/metaverse-brands-nft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stella Artois</a>, is sponsoring the Australian Zed Run platform on which virtual horses can be raced, bred and traded. The Zed Run platform experienced 1,000% growth in early 2021.</p> <figure class="align-center "><em><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464116/original/file-20220518-23-f6cjil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Two people stand in front of a screen with a digital image of a horse." /></em><figcaption><em><span class="caption">Digital horse racing game Zed Run has exploded in popularity, with alcohol companies using the digital platform to reach a new audience.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/performers-tyra-cartledge-and-kendall-drury-takes-part-in-a-news-photo/1329475903?adppopup=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Regulating to reduce alcohol harm</strong></p> <p>The digital world is extremely dynamic. It is also opaque to most policy makers and public health practitioners. It is telling that there is no reference to the metaverse as a cross-border alcohol marketing opportunity in the WHO report.</p> <p>There is an urgent need for debate regarding how policy makers should better understand the risks involved with the targeted marketing of hazardous products such as alcohol.</p> <p>The WHO report outlines various partial and unsuccessful approaches to regulating marketing in the digital media.</p> <p>Attempts, such as <a href="https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/303690/Alcohol_marketing_on_social_media_sites_in_Finland_and_Sweden_2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finland’s</a> regulation of user-shared branded material, have failed because they did not interfere with the basic architecture of the social media platforms, which is predicated on engagement via sharing and liking.</p> <p>The most successful examples offered by the WHO report have been countries like Norway, which have imposed a complete ban on alcohol marketing including in the digital media.</p> <p>The report emphasises the need for surveillance and enforcement, suggesting ways in which alcohol companies could be penalised for marketing breaches.</p> <p>The support provided by international agreements such as the <a href="https://fctc.who.int/who-fctc/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Framework Convention on Tobacco Control</a> is identified as a possible template for future discussions.</p> <p>The response to tobacco marketing provides a good and largely effective model for officials and policy makers. That said, the public health goal for alcohol is not equivalent to the smokefree goal. Advocates are not trying to eliminate alcohol altogether.</p> <p>However, there are parallel arguments in favour of creating a healthier media environment through regulation to prevent the promotion of alcohol products via increasingly sophisticated technological and psychological tools.</p> <p>These products are significant causes of reduced well-being, and this marketing increases consumption and therefore harm. The messages of the WHO report are timely and should be heeded.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183334/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sally-casswell-862029" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sally Casswell</a>, Professor of public health policy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/massey-university-806" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Massey University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/alcohol-marketing-has-crossed-borders-and-entered-the-metaverse-how-do-we-regulate-the-new-digital-risk-183334" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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Regular daily alcohol intake could be best for the heart

<p>Giving up the booze – even temporarily – results in an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), a review of six long-term studies has found.</p> <p><a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1123-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a paper</a> published in the journal BMC Medicine, researchers led by Dara O’Neill from University College London in the UK found that variations in moderate alcohol intake heightened the likelihood of heart disease. Lifelong non-drinkers and people who gave up drinking permanently also showed higher incidences of CHD than those who maintained regular moderate alcohol intake.</p> <p>The study reviewed six longitudinal alcohol drinking studies, five from the UK and one from France, involving a total of 35,132 people. Over an approximate 10-year period, 4.9% of participants experienced a CHD event, some of them fatal.</p> <p>Analysing the figures, O’Neill and colleagues found that the lowest risk of coronary illness occurred in “consistently moderate drinkers”, defined as males who consumed up to 168 grams of ethanol, and women who consumed up to 112 grams, each week.</p> <p>A half-pint of beer, single glass of wine or single shot of spirits was estimated to contain eight grams of ethanol.</p> <p>People who drank alcohol, but at levels that varied over time between none and too much, experienced “a significantly greater risk” of CHD. Increased risk was also detected among people who gave up alcohol, and among those who were lifelong abstainers. In the latter category, however, the boost applied only to women.</p> <p>Perhaps surprisingly, no evidence of increased CHD risk was found among heavy drinkers – but the researchers suggest this result should be regarded as potentially suspect.</p> <p>“Given that heavy drinkers are known to be under sampled in population level surveys, interpretation of the absence of effect amongst heavy drinkers in the current study should be done very cautiously, particularly in light of the known wider health impact of heavy alcohol intake levels,” says O’Neill.</p> <p>The researchers also caution that the elevated CHD risk among inconsistent moderate tipplers might not relate directly to alcohol intake itself. Instead, it may reflect other factors, such as periods of illness or life stress, which result in a change to drinking patterns.</p> <p>“When we split the sample by age, we found that the elevated risk of incident CHD amongst inconsistently moderate drinkers was observed in participants aged over 55, but not those aged below,” notes O’Neill.</p> <p>“It may be that the older group experienced lifestyle changes, such as retirement, which are known to co-occur with increases in alcohol intake and that these could have played a role in the differing risk.”</p> <p>The study was observational in nature, so offers no insight into cause and effect. However, the researchers suggest that the results imply that many current public health messages around alcohol consumption – particularly those that encourage an annual month of sobriety – may be off target.</p> <p>“This finding suggests that policies and interventions specifically encouraging consistency in adherence to lower-risk drinking guidelines could have public health benefits in reducing the population burden of CHD,” they conclude.</p> <p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/regular-daily-alcohol-intake-is-best-for-heart-health-study-finds/">Cosmos Magazine</a>. </p>

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Mum outraged after nine-year-old daughter given alcohol at a sleepover

<p dir="ltr">A British mum has taken to the internet to vent her frustrations after her daughter was given alcohol at a sleepover without her permission.</p> <p dir="ltr">Susan wrote on the Netmums forum about a birthday sleepover her nine-year-old daughter attended for a friend’s 10th birthday. She wrote, "My daughter attended a 10th birthday sleepover with five girls (mix of nine and 10 year old's) from school. I'm very friendly with all the mums. They had a great time and my daughter came back exhausted but in good spirits.</p> <p dir="ltr">“During the day she told me bits and bobs of what they got up to and it all sounded lovely until she mentioned that she tried a snowball (Advocaat and lemonade) and I'm furious.</p> <p dir="ltr">"At home she's had the odd sip of bucks fizz (champagne and orange juice) with me and my husband, but the mum has given my child (and other children) some alcohol without my permission. Worst of all my daughter thought it was her fault and got [very] upset."</p> <p dir="ltr">The post attracted a lot of attention, with most commenters agreeing that Susan was right to be angry, with some even calling it child abuse and urging her to call the police or child protective services. One commenter wrote, "I agree that this was not on at all! At the very least, if she was planning on letting them try the snowball she should have checked with the parents first that it was OK."</p> <p dir="ltr">Another mum shared her own experience in a similar situation, saying, "I'd also be absolutely livid. I've been there with my 14-year-old daughter. If there's alcohol involved the parents' permission should be obtained. I'd not be letting my child near that house again as trust would be completely shattered."</p> <p dir="ltr">Others said they couldn’t see the issue as she had given her daughter alcohol in her own home, with one commenter saying, "I think if she is allowed a bucks fizz at home then a little snowball is not really that bad? You need to talk to your daughter about drinking alcohol and what is allowed and what isn't.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In the UK, it is against the law to give children alcohol at home if they are under the age of five. That means that on private premises like homes, children aged five to 16 are allowed to consume alcohol, although<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/alcohol-and-the-law/the-law-on-alcohol-and-under-18s" target="_blank">Drinkaware</a><span> </span>and the Chief Medical Officers advise against it.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: hobo_018</em></p>

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Alcohol does not help with arthritis

<div> <div class="copy"> <p>Previous studies indicating that alcohol consumption may lessen the pain and inconvenience of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are victims of flawed interpretation, the authors of a new paper assert.</p> <p>Writing in the <a rel="noopener" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21514658" target="_blank">journal</a> Arthritis Care &amp; Research, researchers led by Joshua Baker of the University of Pennsylvania, US, examined the records of 16,762 RA patients and concluded that any link between alcohol and disease management was more illusory than real.</p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although results are by no means unanimous, in the past few years there have been <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20667949" target="_blank">enough studies</a> published indicating that moderate boozing makes life easier for RA sufferers for the idea to have taken root as common wisdom.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking at the progression of RA over time, and the influence of factors such as other illnesses, Baker and colleagues conclude that the apparent positive link between alcohol and quality of life can be explained as the result of “reverse causation” – that is, previous studies have confused cause with effect.</span></p> <p>Analysing a total of 121,280 observations made within the cohort, the researchers found that as RA became more severe patients were likely to give up, rather than maintain or increase, alcohol consumption.</p> <p>Similarly, a host of other factors also meant some RA sufferers were more likely to give up the booze, while others were unlikely to start.</p> <p>“Greater discontinuation and less initiation were observed with greater disease activity, older age, female sex, non-white race, obesity, greater comorbidity, low quality of life, low educational level, low income, and work disability,” they write.</p> <p>In addition, they note, alcohol consumption is often not a static matter, but changes according to time, age and circumstance. A problem in analysis arises, therefore, if initial estimates are not updated.</p> <p>“If severely affected individuals are more likely to discontinue alcohol use over time, studies that consider alcohol use at a fixed point in time, perhaps at enrolment in a disease registry, are likely to identify a protective association of alcohol use when one, in fact, does not exist,” the researchers write.</p> <p>The new analysis paints a very different picture to the one often presented as beyond question.</p> <p>Rather than turn to alcohol for therapeutic relief when RA becomes severe, the study found that “higher disease activity is associated with subsequent discontinuation of alcohol use and a lower likelihood of initiating use”.</p> <p>“In this study,” the authors conclude, “active use and recent changes in alcohol use were not found to be associated with disease activity or death when considering confounding factors, suggesting no clear benefit of moderate alcohol consumption in RA.”</p> <em>Image credit: Shutterstock       <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=24514&amp;title=Alcohol+does+not+help+with+arthritis" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication -->          </em></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/contrary-to-folklore-alcohol-does-not-help-with-rheumatoid-arthritis/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Andrew Masterson.</em></p> </div> </div>

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Genetic link between alcoholism and Alzheimer’s risk discovered

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scientists have found a genetic overlap between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25392-y" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> published in </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature Communications</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the researchers identified several genes associated with alcoholism, including two previously linked to neurodegenerative disorders.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">First of its kind study using multi-omics approach identifies large list of candidate genes associated with alcohol use disorder - study shows potential genetic link between <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alcoholism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#alcoholism</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Alzheimers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Alzheimers</a> disease, &amp; other neurodegenerative disorders <a href="https://t.co/kzautcL6DN">https://t.co/kzautcL6DN</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/genetics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#genetics</a> <a href="https://t.co/nUNbvYf2L8">pic.twitter.com/nUNbvYf2L8</a></p> — Mount Sinai Genetics (@SinaiGenetics) <a href="https://twitter.com/SinaiGenetics/status/1428699409475309571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Several of these genes are also associated with neurodegenerative disorders - an intriguing connection because of alcohol’s ability to prematurely age the brain,” David Goldman, a neurogenetics researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Scientist</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The scientists compared the genetic data of about 700,000 families involved in the NIAAA’s </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/major-initiatives/collaborative-studies-genetics-alcoholism-coga-study" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (COGA), as well as data from the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/approved-research/alcohol-consumption-and-brain-health" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">UK Biobank</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, against analyses of adult and foetal brains to determine which genes were silenced or expressed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the study did identify many genes associated with alcohol use, the team focused on the two genes linked to neurodegenerative disorders: </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">MAPT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> produces a protein that controls the activity of immune cells, while </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">MAPT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> produces a protein found throughout the nervous system called tau.</span></p> <p><strong><em>SPI1</em> linked to Alzheimer’s</strong></p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13024-018-0277-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Previous research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has shown that </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> influenced the likelihood of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease, with some theorising that it influences the activity of microglia, immune cells that are found in the brain.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-019-0384-y" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from two years ago, Manav Kapoor, a neuroscientist and geneticist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the new paper’s first author, and his team found evidence that people with AUD might have an overactive immune system - and this new paper could help explain their previous findings.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The new study also found an association between the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene and both heavy drinking and a diagnosis of AUD.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though alcoholism is already associated with immune dysfunction, the team found that expression of the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene was higher in some foetal brains.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kapoor says this finding suggests that those genetically predisposed to AUD and heavy drinking are also predisposed to developing an overactive immune system.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If this is the case, when people with particular versions of the gene drink heavily, Kapoor suggests that their immune systems could become overactivated and cause brain immune cells to alter connections between neurons.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kapoor bases this theory on a previous </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://stke.sciencemag.org/content/13/650/eaba5754" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in mice that found that binge drinking activated brain immune cells, which selectively pruned certain synapses and caused the animals to display anxiety-like behaviours.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The activation of these brain immune cells could result in the pruning of connections to neurons that produce dopamine - the chemical behind the “reward” feeling we get after drinking alcohol.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a result, people with certain versions of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPI1</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> who start drinking regularly would “have to drink more and more to get the same level of reward”, Kapoor says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And their immune system will get more activated”, pruning more synapses.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It will become a vicious cycle,” Kapoor says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">MAPT</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the gene isn’t associated with AUD, but is associated with consuming more drinks per week.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The tau protein it produces is thought to play a major role in neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia, and supranuclear palsy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, it is still unclear how tau may factor into the consumption of alcohol.</span></p> <p><strong>Why this matters</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Joel Gelernter, a geneticist and neurobiologist at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, says the study is “a really necessary step in unravelling the biology of alcohol intake and alcohol use disorder”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kapoor says this work could benefit people in a few ways.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, he believes that drugs currently in development to treat neurodegenerative disorders could be repurposed to help people in reducing or stopping drinking.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Second, it could be a way of reducing a person’s risk for neurodegenerative disorders.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If we can identify some group of people that are more at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, we can ask them to reduce their drinking,” he says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That might be beneficial to them.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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Mum shamed for putting "alcohol-free" vodka in child's lunchbox

<p>What's the difference between an alcohol-free bubbly drink and a soft drink? Although they sound the same, there is a world of a difference - as one NZ mum and gym director has discovered.</p> <p>After putting cans of zero alcohol Pals (a vodka seltzer) in her kids' lunchboxes, the mum shared a photo to Instagram with the caption: "perfect addition to school lunches too."</p> <p>While the drinks are free from alcohol the post caused a bit of a stir, especially on Twitter where a screenshot was shared.</p> <p>"I'm already imagining young kids grabbing the wrong Pals from the fridge for an after school drink ... very irresponsible marketing. And not from Pals," one person wrote.</p> <p>"Wow putting a non alcoholic drink in a school lunch! How irresponsible," another commented.</p> <p>When the<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/mum-criticised-for-putting-zero-per-cent-alcohol-pals-in-childrens-lunchboxes/FG7IHR3MEPFBFACYPRT5MUURSE/" target="_blank">NZ Herald</a><span> </span>contacted the mum for comment she claimed that the post had been a "gag."</p> <p>"Just like I have the personal rights to pop down to the booze shop and purchase a zero per cent Heineken and put it into my kids lunch boxes. For a gag," she explained.</p> <p>"A lot of my content is appealing to the general population and our clients who can have a laugh, not those who have the capacity to spin something completely out of context and actually think I sent my kids to pre-school and school with a Pal in their lunch boxes."</p> <p>Alcohol-free beverages are becoming quite popular amongst a wife group of people, from pregnant and breastfeeding mums to non-drinkers to people who just want to cut down on their consumption.</p> <p>But there are still some misconceptions about them and how they differ from soft drink.</p> <p>Irene Falcone is the founder of Australia's first physical alc-free bottle shop,<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://sansdrinks.com.au/" target="_blank">Sans Drinks</a>.</p> <p>"Alc-free drinks are not soft drinks – they taste and smell just like alcohol," she says. "They have the same rules and regulations as alcohol."</p>

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ALDI shopper causes $180k in damages after smashing alcohol

<p>Footage of a woman going rampant and causing severe damage to an ALDI store by smashing bottles of alcohol has caused great concern among customers. </p> <p>The video was recorded at a supermarket in Stevenage, UK, on Wednesday (local time) afternoon.</p> <p>Footage shows the woman wearing a hoodie and a backpack removing bottles of alcohol off the shelves with her arms.</p> <p>She then slips in the mess she created and falls to the ground.</p> <p>“Oh god, she’s not right,” a man is heard saying off-camera.</p> <p>The woman quickly gets back up and starts her tirade of breaking more bottles.</p> <p>The man off camera notices the woman has cut her hand and it’s covered in blood, while another person reveals the police won’t arrive for a while.</p> <p>“I’ve never seen anything like this,” someone is heard saying.</p> <p>A man who was waiting in the check-out line asked the woman to “calm down” and the woman threw a bottle of booze at his leg.</p> <p>The store manager estimated the damages to cost approximately $AUD180,270 when taking into account the loss of stock and revenue due to being forced to close the store to clean.</p> <p>According to The Comment, police officers arrived at the scene at around 2.30 pm and arrested the woman, who was taken to hospital and treated for her injuries.</p> <p>Image credit: <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/entertainment/viral-weird/woman-smashes-500-bottles-of-alcohol-in-five-minutes-during-bizarre-aldi-rampage-c-1662545" target="_blank">7NEWS</a></p>

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Virologist claims drinking alcohol can protect against the coronavirus

<p>A critically acclaimed German virologist has claimed drinking whisky can aid in warding off the COVID-19 infection.</p> <p>Dr Juergen Rissland, who is the head doctor at the Institute for Virology at Saarland University Hospital in Germany, has gone against advice from the World Health Organisation that explicitly states drinking alcohol does not protect a person in any way from testing positive for COVID-19 and can in fact be dangerous.</p> <p>While speaking on the show <em>Health Issues</em>, Dr Rissland answered a question from one audience member who wanted to know if it was a good idea to drink alcohol to kill any viruses he has possible swallowed.</p> <p>“Yes, of course, that’s true,” the expert replied. “And the higher the percentage of alcohol, the better it is.</p> <p>“For example, if you are a whisky lover, then that certainly isn’t a bad idea.</p> <p>“But of course you need to bear in mind that you can’t do that every 15 minutes, that is something else to consider.”</p> <p>The presenter interrupted to say “Are we really advising our viewers to drink high-proof alcohol?”</p> <p>Dr Rissland continued by saying, “I would say it can’t do any harm although we need to remember that it’s not a guaranteed cure for the problem.”</p> <p>The health professional later defended his claims and made it clear the virus was susceptible to alcohol due to it having a fatty coating.</p>

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Amazon driver refuses to deliver alcohol to 92-year-old woman without ID

<p><span>An Amazon driver refused to deliver liquor to a 92-year-old UK woman after she failed to show her ID.</span></p> <p><span>Louise Wilkinson was expecting a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream sherry from her grandson Carl Johnston as a holiday present, <em><a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/31/amazon-driver-refuses-to-deliver-booze-to-92-year-old-granny-without-id/">The Sun</a> </em>reported.</span></p> <p><span>However, the grandmother of four was left surprised after the Amazon delivery driver arrived at her County Durham home and asked for her ID. She failed to produce a passport or driver’s licence, and the bottle was taken away despite her insistence that she was of legal age.</span></p> <p><span>“I can understand that if you are lucky enough to look around 18 you should have to show ID,” Johnston said. “But my grandma is 92.”</span></p> <p><span>A second attempt to deliver the item was again unsuccessful after the widow tried to use a bus pass as identification. “A bus pass isn’t on Amazon’s list of accepted identifications,” said Johnston.</span></p> <p><span>The accepted forms of identification are military ID cards, a biometric immigration document or a photographic identity card bearing a national Proof of Age Standard Scheme (PASS) holograms.</span></p> <p><span>Johnston questioned why the online marketplace’s drivers could not “just accept a visual check if you are clearly over 18”.</span></p> <p><span>The grandson said he plans to purchase another bottle and deliver it himself.</span></p>

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Why alcohol is no excuse for bad behaviour

<p>Many of us know that feeling of waking up, headache in tow, struggling to remember what we said and did after that extra drink the night before. And then suddenly, the memories vividly resurface.</p> <p>Alcohol disinhibits us, making us say and do things that we’d otherwise keep under wraps. People will often drink to gain “Dutch courage” in a demanding situation. Many of us can understand the appeal of having a drink before a blind date or a social event – it can help to calm our nerves and cultivate confidence. That’s because alcohol has a depressant effect which makes us feel more relaxed.</p> <p>Of course, alcohol’s effects aren’t all positive. We’ve all adopted nicknames for the characters that we become after a few drinks. Maybe you’re the “happy drunk”, or perhaps you’ve built a reputation for being the “aggressive drunk” who takes everything the wrong way after a pint.</p> <p>The relationship between alcohol and antisocial behaviour is well documented – both anecdotally and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953600003300">in research</a>. Plenty of arguments and fights stem from someone having had one too many. Scientists believe we behave like this when drunk because we misinterpret social situations and lose our sense of empathy. In essence, once we start slurring words and stumbling, our ability to understand or share the emotions of others goes out the door, too.</p> <p><strong>Own your drunken decisions</strong></p> <p>If someone has done something wrong while under the influence of alcohol, we tend to give them a “get out of jail free card”, rather than <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167283093016">hold them accountable for their actions</a>. We also extend these excuses to ourselves.</p> <p>But in our research, we’ve attempted to paint a clearer picture of how drinking alcohol, empathy, and moral behaviour are related. In turns out that while consuming alcohol might affect our empathy, making us respond inappropriately to other people’s emotions and reactions, this doesn’t necessarily change our moral standards, or the principles we use to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.</p> <p>In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s00213-019-05314-z?shared_access_token=oYcskAVkhizN4C3QUE4omfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY79mqcJ6CjoCtvwzAVeRDcdkIwptPJ8MNB6w-8ulA0FnoD-WhCD-4_TH7WH0TQd01S0dsgyHXR2Tm5uoR-kkuvhFl06oVfAEMRLFDbqacExIg%3D%3D">recent experiment</a>, we gave participants shots of vodka and then measured their empathy and their moral decisions. We presented images showing various people expressing emotions to our participants. After having a higher dose of vodka, people began to respond inappropriately to these emotional displays, reporting that they felt positively about sad faces and negatively about happy faces. The more intoxicated people were, the more impaired their empathy became – having a few drinks weakened people’s abilities to understand and share the emotions of others.</p> <p>But did this then have an effect on their morality?</p> <p>We had people tell us what they thought they would do in moral dilemmas and then also looked at what they actually did in a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164374">simulation of a moral dilemma in Virtual Reality</a>. Consider what you might do in one of these situations:</p> <blockquote> <p>A runaway trolley is heading down some rail tracks towards five construction workers who can’t hear it approaching. You’re standing on a footbridge in between the approaching trolley and the workers. In front of you, is standing a very large stranger. If you push this stranger onto the tracks below, their large bulk will stop the trolley. This one person will be killed but the five construction workers will be saved. Would you do it?</p> </blockquote> <p>While alcohol might have impaired the empathy of our participants, it didn’t have an effect on how they judged these moral situations or how they acted in them. If someone chose to push the person off the footbridge in order to save more lives while sober, they did the same thing when drunk. If people refused to sacrifice the person’s life in the same situation because they believed that killing was wrong regardless of the consequences, they also did the same when drunk.</p> <p>It turns out that while we might believe that alcohol changes our personalities, it <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2167702616689780">doesn’t</a>. You’re still the same person after a drink – your existing sense of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-019-05314-z">morality left intact</a>. So while alcohol might affect how we interpret and understand the emotions of other people, we can’t blame our immoral behaviours on alcohol.</p> <p>Drunken you has the same moral compass. And so you are responsible for your moral and immoral actions, whether you’ve had a few drinks or not.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122298/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em>Written by <span>Kathryn Francis, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Bradford</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/alcohol-really-is-no-excuse-for-bad-behaviour-research-reveals-youre-still-the-same-person-after-a-drink-122298" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>.</em></p>

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