Safe drinking: 7 smart ways to manage your alcohol intake on a night out

If you’re about to down your fifth cherry vodka of the night, then here’s a steely reminder: alcohol is a drug, and it’s just as harmful as a pill. So if you’re not practising methods of safe drinking, this is your sign to start.

The reasons why people drink are boundless. It serves as a temporary remedy to mental health issues like depression and social anxiety, with the case of alcohol abuse rising through the pandemic. It’s the honoured guest in company dinners; an act of celebration on birthday outings. It’s a form of relaxation; a tasty tool to unwind.

It causes dehydration at the least, and it could kill you at the most.

In university, alcohol seems to flow to no end. Beers at fraternities, jungle juice at house parties, three dollar wines at grocery stores, and a pack of seltzers always in your fridge. It’s easily accessible, and your mother’s hawkeyes aren’t looming over you.

To have fun in an American university often means holding those red solo cups, and it’s so normalised that many students feel like it’s a rite of passage — like they have to. According to the Jed Foundation, nearly 60% of them have felt peer-pressured to drink.

With that said, here’s the full truth: you don’t need to drink to have fun. 

The highs may feel terrific, but the lows are sometimes irreversible.

The cheapest of alcohols often contain the most toxic components. Source: AFP

There’s no such thing as 100% safe drinking

A 26-year-old wrote to the Washington Post after seven years of sobriety. As a youngster, alcohol handed him this confidence he feared he didn’t have otherwise. It was almost escapism, even if he had to feel the black outs, black eyes, and naked mornings later.

It also winded him with “a night in jail and thousands of dollars in property damage” after he crashed into a stone wall bordering a garden.

The association of “alcohol” and “fun” precedes today’s generation by over 10,000 years ago — a discovery made by archaeologists when they found the traces of a beer laden festival site in neolithic southern Turkey.

Since the time of our forefathers, alcohol has ignited euphoria that sends you to the clouds; a side effect of endorphins being released. It makes people feel good. 

In fact, it’s so good that about 50% of university students binge drink despite alcohol being a toxic substance that pierces through most organs. Alcohol consumption alone is responsible for 2.6 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

That’s not to hinder you from drinking entirely, because let’s be real — once in a while, a glass of wine makes the stress go away, and we’re only human at the end of the day. 

But anything done in excessive amounts winds up a detriment to your health. Too much sugar often leads to diabetes; too much alcohol could give you a heart attack or a stroke. Getting flushed from a few drinks isn’t something to laugh off, it means you’re at higher risk of cancer.

The effects of alcohol can be harrowing, if not fatal.

In 2022, a 26-year-old Australian male died after an alcohol addiction resulted in a severe case of hepatitis or liver inflammation. 

He drank up to five litres of cask wine a day. Retailers were selling four litres of cask wine for 10 Australian dollars, which equals to about 30 drinks — it’s cheap, and it’s packed insanely high with alcohol concentration. His mother recounts his story here.

It’s impossible to stop the world from downing alcohol. But it’s also important to note that you don’t need to drink alcohol to have good fun. You can dance without the buzz, converse without the liquid courage, and drink without the alcohol. Universities often host clubs, societies, and social events, all typically sober.

Not to mention, staying in with a movie and a cup of tea is just as good as going out.

If you do choose to go out and have some tipsy fun, however, the very least you can do is maintain a sense of responsibility with safe drinking tactics.

It’s important you’re protecting yourself, and the people around you from the dangers of going overboard.

Before drinking, make sure to have a plan and set your limits. Source: AFP

Safe drinking: What to do before a night out

• Ask why are you drinking?

Before you take a sip, ask yourself why are you even drinking. Are you drinking because you are stressed? Are you drinking to fit in a certain group? Or are you drinking as a prerequisite to having fun?

Most of the time, drinking can be avoided. You do not need to cover up your feelings with alcohol, which can make it much worse. You do not need to impress a specific group of friends; just be yourself. And you definitely do not need alcohol to get the party started – you are the party.

• Have a plan

There are a number of things to consider before going out for a drink. The most important one is that you need a designated driver to take you home. You can either get a friend to help or hire an e-hailing service.

If your plans include going out with friends, you need to make sure that you do not get separated from your group and left drinking alone, which can lead to dangerous situations.

Whatever you do, always have a plan and a guaranteed safe ride home.

• Set a limit

Everybody should know their alcohol tolerance. Whether you have a high or low tolerance, you need to set a limit and stop yourself from going way past it.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, people should limit their intake to two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.

If you are binge drinking (at parties or social events), though, you should consume no more than five drinks for males and four drinks for females.

It’s a good move to aim for fewer than these — you may be less tolerant of alcohol than you think you are.

Drinking uncontrollably is not going to win your friends over. Source: AFP

Safe drinking: What to do during a night out

• Do not show off

We get it. You want to impress a crowd, so you perform a party trick to wow them into thinking you are cool. If your party trick does not involve alcohol, by all means.

However, if it does, then it is best to sit this one out and not show off. Pounding, chugging, shot-gunning, drinking games – avoid these and just drink at your own pace.

Drinking is never a race, so why try to keep up with your mates?

• Do not leave your drink unattended

Spiking a drink, whether with an extra shot or another substance, is a serious crime. Which is why you should never leave your drink unattended, even if you are among friends. Bring your drink with you everywhere you go, or get a new drink when you return to the table.

Recognising a spiked drink is helpful too. If you notice that your drink tastes different or feel sick or drowsy immediately after taking a sip, that means there is something else in your drink that you should discard quickly.

At the end of the day (party), we should all practise safe drinking. Source: AFP

Safe drinking: What to do after a night out

• Drink plenty of water

Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the body especially when you consume it in large quantities. Alcohol is a diuretic which causes your body to remove fluids and electrolytes from your blood. This is the reason why you get more drunk when you drink alcohol on an empty stomach because your blood alcohol levels will speed up.

To avoid getting a nasty hangover, drink lots of water to rehydrate and balance out the fluids loss. If you stop drinking alcohol before the end of the night and get some water in, your body can already start sorting itself out, which means you can sober up before reaching home.

• Eat a healthy meal

As your body processes alcohol, it produces lactic acid, reducing blood sugar production and resulting in fatigue, sweating, hunger, and shakiness. To counteract the drop in blood sugar, eating can help, though it will not sober you up.

Eating after a drinking session does not mean consuming everything off the Waffle House menu. It means eating clean and healthy food. Bland food like bread and crackers seem to help with nausea and low blood sugar too.