Doctors have warned that people who indulge in more than one glass of wine per night may be suffering from ‘chronic alcoholism’.
According to Sunrise, 27 per cent of Australians aged 55-64 in New South Wales consume alcohol at ‘risky levels’ and medical professionals are reportedly concerned about the Aussie ‘drinking culture’.
At least a couple of days every week should be alcohol-free with two glasses a day being the ‘upper limit’, medical professionals say.
People who indulge in more than one glass of wine a night may suffer from ‘chronic alcoholism’
‘The problem I see frequently is couples who share a bottle of wine between them every night,’ AMA NSW president Dr Brad Frankum told 7NEWS on Friday.
‘They don’t associate binge drinking with the cultured act of a glass of wine at night.’
He added that people who drink daily are at a increased risk of pancreatitis, liver disease, obesity and ‘alcoholic dementia’.
Speaking to ABC in 2017, Professor Tanya Chikritzhs, from Curtin University’s National Drug Research Institute slammed the idea that a drink at the end of a long day is good for you.
‘From the very first sip, even at very low levels of less than half a drink a day, you can experience an increased risk for a range of cancers,’ Professor Chikritzhs revealed.
She added that because alcohols is technically a carcinogen, your risk of developing cancer increases with your intake.
‘The problem I see frequently is couples who share a bottle of wine between them every night’
‘Older people are much less aware of alcohol units and how much it is safe to drink,’ said Dr Rao, a consultant old age psychiatrist King’s College London.
With plenty of older couples suddenly finding themselves with more money as children fly the nest, they often spend their newfound disposable income on alcohol.
Katherine Brown, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said that the report confirm recent data that shows substance misuse rising as the population ages.
‘It’s worrying because alcohol harm is often mistaken as being a problem for drunken teenagers on the streets,’ she said. ‘However, we know most of the harm is done…behind closed doors.
‘The accessibility of cheap supermarket drink has had a huge impact on the rise in alcohol related health problems amongst baby boomers.’
Ms Brown added that ‘much more needs to be done to address the burden’ alocholism takes on our bodies, families and health system.
Older couples and ’empty nesters’ often spend their newfound disposable income on alcohol
Sticking to the ‘no more than two standard drinks per day’ rule means that ‘your lifetime risk of death from alcohol-related disease or injury below one in 100’.
But drinkers should also be aware that most alcohol drinks equate to more than one standard drink – most full-strength beers will equate to around 1.5 standard drinks, and the average restaurant serve of red wine is 1.6.
It should also be noted that the limit is not an average – you can’t consume 10 standard drinks in a single night and then nothing the rest of the week and still ‘kid yourself you’re still within the guidelines’.