The High way code. the guide to safer, more enjoyable drug use. (alcohol)

Transcription

1 The Hgh way code the gude to safer, more enjoyable drug use (alcohol)

2 ntroducng the GDS Hgh Way Code GDS knows pleasure drves drug use, not the avodance of harm. As far as we know no gude has ever outlned the mpact of harm reducton strateges on the pleasure users obtan from drugs... untl now global drug survey Ours s a smple premse: as wth drvng, there are thngs you need to know and rules you should observe n order to get you to your destnaton safely. Beng aware of these makes you much more lkely to get to your planned destnaton n one pece and much less lkely to cause harm to anyone around you. Please share these fndngs, they really are mportant.

3 The hgh way code What s t? The frst gude to safer drug use voted for by people who take drugs. How was t was developed? GDS asked loads of people who take drugs, as well as other experts, what strateges they thought would reduce the rsk of harm when takng some commonly used drugs. As part of GDS2014, we asked people from around the world who had used those drugs n the last year to vote on these strateges. For each strategy we asked: 1. f they usually (.e. more than 50% of the tme) dd t 2. to rate how mportant t s n reducng the rsk of harm (10 beng the max reducton of rsk) 3. to tell us whether usng that strategy ncreased, decreased or had no effect on the pleasure they got from the drug. Who developed t? The guys and gals at Global Drug Survey a nce bunch of smart people who know a bt about drugs and, wth people's help everywhere, wll contnue to learn more and share what they fnd out. Anythng else? Yep follow us lke us on Facebook and check out our free apps the drnks meter ( and the app stores) and the drugs meter ( and google play store) For more nterestng nfo on drugs check out our drugs meter mnutes vdeos on the Global Drug Survey YouTube channel. For suggestons on how to mprove GDS, emal: adam@globaldrugsurvey.com copyrght of Global Drug Survey

4 How to read the Hgh way code Ths number ndcates the percentage of people who told GDS they usually follow the strategy drug name x.x% xx.x% xx.x% xx.x% Users who usually do Ths dal tells you how mportant users thought ths strategy was n reducng the rsk of harm. 00 x.x Reducng rsk from Pleasure mpact rated by users Here you can check how many users thought ths strategy ncreased, decreased or ddn t affect ther pleasure.

5 alcohol over 70,000 users Other than drnk less, don t mx your drnks (especally brown sprts and red wne) and don t take loads of stmulant drugs (or caffenated energy drnks) when you drnk, there were not many other strateges we could ask about. We wll also gve you an dea of the World Health Organsaton s gudelnes on safer drnkng. GDS suggest you try the Drnks Meter (app stores and whch lets you compare your drnkng to other people, tells you how many cheeseburgers you drank last week and also offers some useful cuttng-down strateges. Usual dose Tme to onset Tme to peak Duraton of acton 20-40* g mn 1-2 hrs 3-6 hrs *g of pure alcohol. Amount depends on the person and the drnk

6 alcohol mportance n reducng rsk mpact on alcohol-related pleasure Percentage of users who usually % 7.6 Eat before drnkng Have 2 alcohol-free days per week 84% Have 2+ week breaks % % Alternate drnks wth water Stck to safe drnkng lmts* 7 58% % Choose lower abv% drnks % Avod buyng collectve rounds *One thrd of people were unsure what ther country s safe drnkng lmts are.

7 1 Have 2 alcohol-free days per week alcohol % 57% 36% 70% Users who usually do 00 mn 7.9 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

8 1 Have 2 Alcohol-free days per week Have at least two alcohol free days per week There are a number of reasons why you mght do ths. t gves your lver a rest, t gves your body a rest, and t saves you calores and money. Puttng some boundares down helps you develop a bt of self-control. Obvously, f you re drnkng a bottle of wne the other 5 days of the week you are stll gong to run nto serous alcohol-related harm.

9 2 eat before drnkng alcohol % 41% 47% 84% Users who usually do 00 mn 7.6 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

10 2 eat before drnkng Make sure that you have food n your stomach before you start a drnkng sesson Havng food on board wll not protect you from the harm that a bnge drnkng sesson places you at. Food does not reduce alcohol absorpton, but t does slow t down, meanng you wll get drunk less quckly. Food wll provde some lnng to your stomach reducng the rsk of gastrts and throwng up.

11 3 have 2+ week breaks alcohol % 55% 33% 40% Users who usually do 00 mn 7.1 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

12 3 Have breaks of at least 2 weeks several tmes every year Gve yourself complete breaks from drnkng alcohol for at least 2 weeks each year especally after perods of heaver-than-normal drnkng Breaks from drnkng can remnd you that you don t have to drnk to have fun. You mght lose a bt of weght. t also gve you a chance to see f your drnkng s havng any effect on your physcal or mental health. f you stop and fnd that people are sayng you look better and that you feel better, then that mght be worth takng note of.

13 4 Stck to safe drnkng lmts* alcohol % 69% 15% 21% Users who usually do 00 mn 7.1 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure *One thrd of people were unsure what ther country s safe drnkng lmts are.

14 4 Stck to safe drnkng lmts Keep your drnkng to wthn your country s recommended safer drnkng lmts t seems many people ether gnore these or are just not aware of them. Avodng bnge drnkng s the most mportant thng to reduce the rsk of acute harm, whle regular excessve consumpton wll damage your lver and other organs. People who end up n Emergency Rooms, regrettng the nght before, sleepng wth someone they wsh they had not, or gettng nto fghts or arguments have almost always been drnkng loads and been stupdly drunk.

15 alcohol gudelnes Most Governments and the World Health Organzaton (WHO) have gudelnes that set out the recommended upper lmts of daly and weekly alcohol consumpton. Many stress that these are not safe drnkng gudelnes, just lmts that f followed, are assocated wth a lower rsk of longer term alcohol related harm. Because there s no standard alcohol unt (t vares from 8 g of pure alcohol n the UK to 20 g n Japan), what we wll gve you below s an average of the world s drnkng gudelnes. 1 unt = 10 g of alcohol / / 330ml can of 4% beer / 100ml of 12.5% wne / 35ml of 37.5% sprt Average daly max (range) Average weekly max (range) What s a bnge Alcohol free days X week male* 2 3 unts unts 6 unts 2 days female* 1 2 unts 5 10 unts 4 unts 2 days * Natonal gudelnes do vary so we recommend you check your own country's drnkng gudelnes.

16 so how many unts n your drnk? To work out the number of standard drnks/unts (standard drnk = 10 g pure alcohol) n what you re drnkng use ths formula: ltres x ABV% x (Amount of drnk n ltres) (Percent by volume of alcohol) (Densty of ethanol at room temperature) = unts n your drnk No safe drnkng lmts for those under 18-years-old. n many countres t s llegal to purchase alcohol (age range years). Women who are pregnant or who are tryng to get pregnant are advsed to avod drnkng alcohol; f they do choose to drnk, they should not drnk more than 1 2 unts of alcohol once or twce a week and should not get drunk.

17 5 Alternate alcoholc drnks wth water alcohol % 57% 30% 58% Users who usually do 00 mn 7 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

18 5 Alternate alcoholc drnks wth water Alternate water or non-alcoholc drnks wth alcoholc drnks Reduces dehydraton (whch s one of the major thngs that cause hangovers) and slows your alcohol consumpton down. t can also make your drnks and your money go further.

19 6 CHoose low abv% drnks alcohol % 57% 34% 55% Users who usually do 00 mn 5.9 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

20 6 Choose lower alcohol content beverages Choose beers / cders / wnes / sprts wth lower levels of alcohol by volume (%ABV) Choosng lower ABV drnks allows you to stay drnkng over the course of a sesson wthout gettng drunk very quckly. Lower ABV drnks can also help reduce your overall alcohol and calore ntake, lower the rsk of a hangover and n some countres wll be cheaper than hgher ABV drnks.

21 7 avod buyng collectve rounds alcohol % 65% 15% 33% Users who usually do 00 mn 5.6 mportance n reducng rsk 10 max mpact on alcohol-related pleasure

22 7 Avod buyng alcoholc drnks as part of rounds.e. a collecton of frends who take t n turns to buy drnks for the whole group Buyng collectve rounds can be expensve and means that you are drnkng at another person s rate not your own. We know on specal occasons rounds are attractve, but they should not be the norm.