Young Woman

The good news is, most of you drink responsibly. The bad news is that a significant minority of you are drinking to excess - and putting yourselves at risk in all sorts of ways.
If you're aged 18 to 24 and you enjoy a drink, that's fine. But there's a big difference between responsible drinking and drinking in a harmful way. Although no one can claim that drinking at this age has positive health benefits, sticking to the guidelines below probably won't do you any harm.
The NZ Government advises that most women can drink up to four standard drinks in one session without harming their health. But if you're pregnant or trying to conceive, you should avoid drink. Even 1 or 2 drinks can affect your baby's learning. Drinking more than that increases the risks of greater damage to your baby.
It does not matter whether it’s beer, wine, spirits or RTDs - all contain alcohol. Although this damage does not always happen when a mother drinks (which explains why some pregnant women have had the odd drink without apparent harm to their baby) it is impossible to know when harm will occur. So if you don't drink, you can be certain your baby will not have FASD (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder).
Remember to avoid alcohol completely if you are driving. And never mix alcohol with drugs, you're taking your life in your hands if you do.

Binge drinking
There's no absolute agreement on the definition of a "binge". But keeping it simple, binge-drinking is when you drink a lot more than usual on any one occasion. Remember, for most women the risk of harm begins to rise after consuming four standard drinks. Click here to find out how much you're drinking.
There's been a lot of media coverage about binge drinking recently. Here are some of the facts about young women's drinking:

• 47% of women aged 18 - 24 drank more than four standard drinks to get drunk at least once a month
• 20% drank enough to get drunk and/or have a hangover at least once a week
• 16% of young women felt they were drinking more than they were happy with

Some 18-24 year olds consider binge drinking not just normal, but actively cool. The reality is; it's neither.

Possible consequences of drinking too much include:

• Sexual risks, which can result in sexually transmitted diseases, including chlamydia and HIV, and unplanned pregnancies
• Alcoholic poisoning, leading to coma and even death.
• Increased risk of breast cancer
• Increased risk of being a victim of violence and sexual assault
• Relationship difficulties
• Headaches and hangovers

And don't forget that drinking will do nothing for your looks. To stay drop dead gorgeous, the last thing you want to do is to drop down drunk. For tips on how to enjoy yourself without overdoing it click here.