How bad is it to drink Vodka once a week?

opethdisciple · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:52

I'v been drinking 75% of one of these once a week on a Friday or Saturday before I go out.

I find I spend about £12 and I'm fine for the rest of the night. Just by a beer so I have something to hold etc...

However its been about one year I'v been doing this and starting to think, I hope I am not causing my self harm.

I'm only drinking once a week, and only 75% of the bottle.

Its this I' drinking, which is a £9 bottle of Vodka:

http://www.drinksupermarket.com/med...95/s/m/smirnoff_red_label_pure_vodka_35cl.jpg

NO hotlinking!

Is it fine for me to drink this once a week? It's not every week, but on average 3 times a month.

Sin_Chase · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:53

Put it this way, it's not going to be good for you.

opethdisciple · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:55

Sin_Chase said:
Put it this way, it's not going to be good for you.

I get that, but I'm not causing my self liver damage am I?

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:55

That amount of booze? That's not going to do any harm.

Raymond Lin · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:57

Binge drinking is bad, 75% in 1 sitting is just not good.

A glass of wine a day (about 2 shots) is supposed to have health benefits but drinking 75% of a 350ml bottle - like half a pint is not good for your liver.

I am no doctor though.

Ephemera · 28 Oct 2012 at 00:59

What size bottle is it and how many units does it say on the back?

I don't think it'll cause much damage at all and the fact that you're only drinking once a week should be fine. I think the limit of units a man should drink a week is around 24 so I reckon you'll be OK.

Also the established unit allowance is only a guide and has very little evidence to support it.

oldbag · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:02

I'd be worried if it was 75% every night, but I wouldn't think you'd need worry.

Castiel · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:06

Well it is recommended that you drink no more than 21 unitsaweek and no more than 4 units in one day...you are whacking down about 14 units in a few hours (followed by whatever you drink the rest of the night).....so do the maths.

Or try the calculator on the NHS website

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Alcoholcalculator.aspx

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:09

Castiel said:
Well it is recommended that you drink no more than 21 unitsaweek and no more than 4 units in one day...you are whacking down about 14 units in a few hours (followed by whatever you drink the rest of the night).....so do the maths.

Or try the calculator on the NHS website

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Alcoholcalculator.aspx

Recommended being the key there. And, the science that suggests the RDA of alcohol is flaky at best.

It's quite simple, if you're drinking 3/4 of that bottle and losing your functions then its too much. If you're drinking that, having a fine night and feeling OK and holding down a job and relationships then there's no reason to worry.

Castiel · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:11

Ahleckz said:
Recommended being the key there. And, the science that suggests the RDA of alcohol is flaky at best.

It's quite simple, if you're drinking 3/4 of that bottle and losing your functions then its too much. If you're drinking that, having a fine night and feeling OK and holding down a job and relationships then there's no reason to worry.

Drinking a bottle of vodka in a few hours is never going to be fine tbh in the long term tbh....also downing it before you go out is not exactly a social drinking habit and indicates drinking to get drunk, which is again something to be concerned about in the long term.

[FnG]magnolia · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:13

If you're genuinely concerned then speak to your Doctor. He or she can arrange liver tests and all manner of other things which will determine how much damage you have or have not done to yourself.

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:16

Castiel said:
Drinking a bottle of vodka in a few hours is never going to be fine tbh in the long term tbh....

A bottle? That could range from 5cl, 35cl, 50cl, 70cl or 100cl. I'm pretty sure drinking a 5cl bottle of vodka in a few hours isn't going to do much harm in the long term. Nor is a 35cl if it's done once a month or so.

[FnG]magnolia;23048517 said:
If you're genuinely concerned then speak to your Doctor. He or she can arrange liver tests and all manner of other things which will determine how much damage you have or have not done to yourself.

This. Everyone responds to alcohol differently. Your body is your own, speak to your doctor and get it monitored.

I'm a binge drinker (by definition, and self confessed). I also have regular LFTs. My liver is fine and has been fine for years. Each person is different and you have to make a decision based on your own desires and your own body.

He says this whilst nursing a dram.

DotA · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:18

Its when you start doing that 3, 4 or more times a week that i would be worried what you are doing.

Castiel · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:22

Ahleckz said:
A bottle? That could range from 5cl, 35cl, 50cl, 70cl or 100cl. I'm pretty sure drinking a 5cl bottle of vodka in a few hours isn't going to do much harm in the long term. Nor is a 35cl if it's done once a month or so.

He's working through 25-30cl of vodka each week, but all in a few hours. (Plus whatever else he drinks that evening, a few pints or so) and the fact that he obviously thinks he might have a problem and is counting the amount of alcohol he drinks indicates a potential drinking problem.

In any case drinking 25-30cl of vodka before going out is not really indicative of sensible or responsible social consumption of alcohol and those kind of habits are what should concern him more than how much he is currently drinking.........

Personally I'll put away a fair bit more than that, but these days not very often. The point I was making is that he is asking, so it seems he thinks he might have a problem with alcohol in the first place.

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:31

Castiel said:
He's working through 25-30cl of vodka each week, but all in a few hours. (Plus whatever else he drinks that evening, a few pints or so) and the fact that he obviously thinks he might have a problem and is counting the amount of alcohol he drinks indicates a potential drinking problem.

In any case drinking 25-30cl of vodka before going out is not really indicative of sensible or responsible social consumption of alcohol.

opethdisciple said:
I find I spend about £12 and I'm fine for the rest of the night. Just by a beer so I have something to hold etc...

So he drinks less than 35cl of vodka, gets a buzz and then goes out and nurses a pint of beer. That is what he does.

The fact that he's doing this once a week, and is taking him a few hours to do so suggests that he hasn't got a problem at all. It's not a large volume of alcohol, in the slightest.

He's basically drinking 25-30cl of alcohol during his night out. That's it. I'd wager that he's drinking quite a lot of soft drinks if he's staying out until 1/2/3am (when bars/clubs tend to shut).

If he was drinking that volume of alcohol everyday then I'd suggest being a bit more careful, but he's not. It's a weekly (if that) thing and the volumes are slim. None of us can be sure because we haven't done the tests on his body but it's fair to wager that he'll be fine because the volume that he is consuming is relatively low.

He's not asking if he has a problem. He's asking if there's a problem drinking that volume of alcohol. Two very different things.

As for sensible or responsible consumption of alcohol, who are you to determine that? There does not exist a single social rule which states how much people should drink, and it's wrong of you to claim that his drinking is not sensible or irresponsible.

Castiel · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:36

Ahleckz said:
So he drinks less than 35cl of vodka, gets a buzz and then goes out and nurses a pint of beer. That is what he does.

The fact that he's doing this once a week, and is taking him a few hours to do so suggests that he hasn't got a problem at all. It's not a large volume of alcohol, in the slightest.

He's basically drinking 25-30cl of alcohol during his night out. That's it. I'd wager that he's drinking quite a lot of soft drinks if he's staying out until 1/2/3am (when bars/clubs tend to shut).

If he was drinking that volume of alcohol everyday then I'd suggest being a bit more careful, but he's not. It's a weekly (if that) thing and the volumes are slim. None of us can be sure because we haven't done the tests on his body but it's fair to wager that he'll be fine because the volume that he is consuming is relatively low.

He's not asking if he has a problem. He's asking if there's a problem drinking that volume of alcohol. Two very different things.

As for sensible or responsible consumption of alcohol, who are you to determine that?

Simply drinking to get drunk and then going out is simply not a sensible or responsible way to consume alcohol. It isn't really about how much but the habits you get into. He is drinking three times his daily recommended amount if alcohol in a few hours or less......drinking it over the entire evening would be better......like others have said it depends on his body, his age, etc...and just how he is drinking overall, but decking 30cl of vodka in a short period before going out is not really indicative of a healthy relationship with alcohol.

And who are you to determine that binge drinking is perfectly safe? And it's not wrong for me to say so either, no more so than you saying, yeah it's fine to drink a bottle of vodka in a few hours every Saturday...... :rolleyes:

Rroff · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:40

If your drinking ~35cl of vodka within a short space of time weekly then I'd say its probably not doing you many favors - its slightly over my gut instinct of where your potentially stepping into the realm of self-harm. But everyones body is different.

EDIT: I used to do 3 nights a month on average drinking for years, most of those nights it would be ~4 double JD and coke, 2-3 single JD, misc shots and the odd beer spread over ~7pm til 2am and the coke/pepsi did far more damage to my health than the alcohol ever did.

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:48

Castiel said:
Simply drinking to get drunk and then going out is simply not a sensible or responsible way to consume alcohol. It isn't really about how much but the habits you get into.

And who are you to determine that binge drinking is perfectly safe? And it's not wrong for me to say so either, no more so than you saying, yeah it's fine to drink a bottle of vodka in a few hours every Saturday......

There's a big difference between what is medically healthy and what is socially responsible. You claimed that what he was doing wasn't socially responsible. I disagree on that.

I haven't said that binge drinking is perfectly safe. I've agreed with Magnolia and said that he should seek medical advice and see what effect it's having on him. So, Castiel, have your roll eyes back :rolleyes:

.
However, if he's drinking that amount of vodka once a week and no more then I don't actually think he's going to come to much harm.

We all have different tolerances towards alcohol, both in getting drunk and how much our body can handle. Hence why the recommend allowance of alcohol is just that, a recommendation.

This guy has asked if it's a problem. The answer is: it depends on your body.

Castiel · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:57

Ahleckz said:
There's a big difference between what is medically healthy and what is socially responsible. You claimed that what he was doing wasn't socially responsible. I disagree on that.

I haven't said that binge drinking is perfectly safe. I've agreed with Magnolia and said that he should seek medical advice and see what effect it's having on him. So, Castiel, have your roll eyes back .
However, if he's drinking that amount of vodka once a week and no more then I don't actually think he's going to come to much harm.

We all have different tolerances towards alcohol, both in getting drunk and how much our body can handle. Hence why the recommend allowance of alcohol is just that, a recommendation.

This guy has asked if it's a problem. The answer is: it depends on your body.

I never said anything about social responsibility...I said drink a bottle of vodka before going out is not indicative of social drinking....you actually said it wouldn't do him any harm.....long term you simply don't know that, it could be indicative of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, no one said it was going to kill him, only that he might want to look at how he is consuming alcohol and why. That he is asking the question indicates that he feels it might not be the best way to enjoy a drink himself....

Ahleckz · 28 Oct 2012 at 01:02

Castiel said:
I never said anything about social responsibility...I said drink a bottle of vodka before going out is not indicative of social drinking....you actually said it wouldn't do him any harm.....long term you simply don't know that, it could be indicative of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, no one said it was going to kill him, only that he might want to look at how he is consuming alcohol and why. That he is asking the question indicates that he feels it might not be the best way to enjoy a drink himself....

Your below quote states that it's not indicative of responsible social consumption. Please, tell me the difference between that and social responsible drinking. Social responsible drinking does not exist, not does responsible social consumption. It's up to the person drinking to decide what is appropriate for them.

Castiel said:
In any case drinking 25-30cl of vodka before going out is not really indicative of sensible or responsible social consumption of alcohol and those kind of habits are what should concern him more than how much he is currently drinking.........

Yes, initially I said that it wouldn't do him harm which I stand by. I also then suggested that he should seek medical advice and monitoring.