Lifestyle factor: Alcohol. Official guidelines recommend that men shouldnt regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women shouldnt regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day because of the harm this may cause.

Lifestyle factor: Alcohol

Alcohol is seen by people as a more socially acceptable drug, but that’s not to say it’s any less powerful than other drugs. Technically speaking, it's a nervous system depressant, which means it slows down your body's responses in all kinds of ways. Just enough can make you feel great, too much and you’ll have a hangover the next day. Alcohol will often exaggerate whatever mood you're in when you start drinking. It is also a relaxant so, in moderation, it can reduce feelings of anxiety and inhibitions, making you feel more sociable. It takes your body an hour to process one unit of alcohol. For most people, if you drink within the sensible limits for regular drinking, that's OK. But for some people drinking gradually gets out of control and results either in regular binge-drinking, heavy harmful drinking or alcoholism (alcohol dependence). Alcohol comes in a whole range of different drinks. Spirits usually contain a higher level of alcohol to wine or lager. While ‘Alco pops’ and ready-to-drink ‘mixers’ may not seem it, they usually contain more alcohol by volume than beer or cider. One drink too many can leave you feeling out of control – like slurring your words, losing your balance and vomiting.                                       One unit is half a pint of ordinary-strength beer, lager or cider, one small glass of table wine or a 25ml measure of spirits. Even a small (125ml) glass of wine is likely to be 1.5 units