WITH the party season in full swing, it’s hard to keep track of how many standard drinks you are consuming, especially if your glass doesn’t always represent a standard drink.

In Australia, a standard drink refers to 10 grams of alcohol. On average, this is how much the human body can process in one hour. In general, one standard drink is equal to 375ml of mid-strength beer, 100ml of wine or 30ml of spirits.

While the label on most alcoholic drink containers shows the number of standard drinks in the container, once poured it’s often hard to know how many standard drinks are in the glass. There are no common glass sizes used in Australia and beverages can also vary in strength of alcohol*.

• Drink water or non-alcoholic “spacers” between drinks to keep you refreshed and hydrated.
• Eating food before or while drinking slows alcohol absorption into the bloodstream.
• Alcohol is alcohol – remember that the alcohol in a standard drink of beer, wine or spirits is the same – it’s how much you drink, not what you drink that matters.
• Avoid top ups so you can keep track of your alcohol intake.
• Think about how you’re going to get home before you leave home – take a cab or designate a driver. Never drink and drive.
• Be aware – if you accept a drink from someone you don’t know, you’ll know about as much about what’s in that drink as you do about the person who gave it to you.

And for party hosts the advice is much the same: provide food and non-alcoholic drinks, water and soft drinks should be available for those who don’t want to drink alcohol and also so your guests can pace themselves over the course of the evening.

Consider serving pre-made cocktails using a standard drinks measure, also known as a jigger. And don’t top up your guests’ glasses, it makes it more difficult to track how much they are drinking, making it harder for them to make responsible choices. Have cab phone numbers and taxi-booking apps at the ready.

More information at DrinkWise.org.au or DrinkIQ.com

*Standard Drinks Guide from the Australian Government Department of Health Website

Help for families and friends

ANYONE worried about how drinking by someone they know is affecting them or you or their families, Al-Anon offers support.

Al-Anon is for families and friends of alcoholics. If someone you know has a drinking problem, you can see what it’s doing to them – but can you see what it’s doing to you?

Choose from 12 meetings each week in the Canberra region.

Find them at al-anon.org/australia or call 6249 8866.