Alcohol Quick Quiz

Take the Alcohol Quick Quiz and find out if your drinking could be affecting your health. Be honest!

	0	1	2	3	4
How often do you have alcohol or a drink containing alcohol?	Never	Monthly or less	2 - 4 times a month	2 -3 times a week	4 or more times a week
How many standard drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day while you are drinking?	1 or 2	3 or 4	5 or 6	7 or 8	10 or more
How often do you have six or more standard drinks on one occasion?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
How often during the last year have you found that you were unable to stop drinking once you had started?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
How often during the last year have you failed to do what was expected of you because of your drinking and its side effects?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
How often during the last year have you needed an alcoholic drink in the morning to get yourself going after a drinking session the day before?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
How often during the last year have you had a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
How often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?	Never	Less than monthly	Monthly	Weekly	Daily or almost daily
Has a relative/friend/doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?	No		Yes, but not in the past year		Yes, during the past year
Have you or someone else been injured as a result of your drinking?	Never		Yes, but not in the past year		Yes, during the past year

What does my score mean?

Scores 0 - 7 indicate low risk, 8 - 15 indicate increasing risk, and 16 + indicate higher risk.

Lower Risk Drinking

Drinking consistently within these limits is called lower risk rather than safe, because drinking is never completely safe.

Remember, drinking at this level is still too much if you are driving, operating machinery or are about to go swimming, running or playing sports. If you are pregnant, it is recommended that you don't drink alcohol. If you choose to drink when pregnant or trying for a baby then don't drink more than 1 - 2 units, once or twice a week.

What do I need to do?

For those of us who do drink, this is the right category to be in. You don't need to take any action, just carry on being aware of what you drink - it's easy to move up the risk categories without really noticing.

Increasing Risk Drinking

You might be surprised to know that drinking at this level increases the risk of damaging your health.

Akcohol affects all parts and systems of the body and it plays a role in more than 60 different medical conditions.

If you drink at increasing risk levels, then: Men are up to 2.5 times as likely to get cancer of the mouth or throat and women are up to 1.7 times more likely; Women are 1.2 times more likely to get breast cancer; Men are twice as likely to develop liver cirrhosis and women 1.7 times as likely; Men are 1.8 times as likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure) and women are 1.3 times as likely.

At this level you may already be having problems like: Feeling tired; Feeling depressed; Gaining extra weight; Memory loss; Sleeping poorly; Sexual problems; Arguments or problems with family and friends; High blood pressure.

What do I need to do?

You should try to think of ways to reduce your drinking by using some of the advice in this booklet. Often just a few small changes can make a big difference to your health, and, just by being aware of how much you are drinking, you will be on the right road to a healthier lifestyle.

If you feel like you can't reduce your drinking on your own, please call Alcohol Service Knowsley (ASK) on 0151 330 4410 for some free, friendly and informal advice. They can support you without judging you or making you feel uncomfortable.

Higher Risk Drinking

If you are drinking at this level, compared with increasing risk drinking you are at an even higher risk of damaging your health. All parts of the body can be affected by the alcohol you are drinking, and it plays a role in more than sixty medical conditions.

If you drink at higher risk levels:

You are up to 5.5 times more likely to get cancer of the mouth or throat
You are 3.5 times more likely to get liver cancer
you have around 2-4 times the risk of high blood pressure
You are more than twice as likely to suffer from an irreguar heart beat
Women are 1.5 times more likely to get breast cancer

At this level you may be having problems like:

Feeling tired
Feeling depressed
Gaining extra weight
Memory loss
Sleeping poorly
Arguments or problems with family or friends
Sexual problems
High blood pressure

What I need to do?

The good news is that its never too late to make a change to your drinking, so we recommend that you start now. Contact Alcohol Service Knowsley (ASK) on 0151 330 4110. ASK offer free, friendly and informal advice and will support you without judging you or making you feel uncomfortable.

Medical Warning

If you have physical symptoms (like shaking, sweating, or feelings of anxiety until you have had your first drink of the day), you will need medical advice and support before stopping drinking completely. It can be dangerous to stop without help. Call ASK on 0151 330 4110 for more information.