Alcohol is a depressant - it appears to be a stimulant because the first parts of the brain which it depresses are those parts which cause constraint in our behaviour.

Alcohol has a similar effect on the body in whatever form it is consumed. Those who believe that they will be less intoxicated because they do not 'mix drinks' are quite wrong; the only consideration is the amount of alcohol consumed.

Fizzy drinks (e.g.: champagne, sparkling wine or carbonated drinks) will take effect more quickly than still drinks because the alcohol contained in them gets into the bloodstream more quickly.

Alcohol will take effect more quickly if consumed on an empty stomach rather than after a meal.

The effect of alcohol on the body depends on its concentration in the blood - the same amount will affect lighter people more than heavy people because it becomes more concentrated in their bloodstream.

The same amount of alcohol will affect women faster than men (even if they are of the same body size) because men have a higher water content in the body which causes the alcohol to become more dilute.

Children and young people who are still developing will become intoxicated on smaller amounts of alcohol than adults. This is partly because their bodies are smaller and the alcohol becomes more concentrated in the body but also because they are not familiar with the effects of alcohol.

According to Government Guidelines;-
  a healthy adult male can drink up to three to four units
  a healthy adult female can drink up to two to three units
per day without harming their health.

An important exception to the above is pregnancy; the government advises pregnant women to consume no more than one to two units once or twice a week.

It has not been established whether there is any 'safe' level at which children and young people can consumealcohol.

The units cannot be 'saved up' for the weekend or any other occassion.

'Binge drinking', drinking a lot in one go, is very dangerous and is associated with most of the problems accompanying the drinking of alcohol.