Effects of alcohol

You can be affected by alcohol from the very first drink. Alcohol intoxication (or being drunk) is when you start to show disturbance in how you think, feel, and behave. This can be mild to severe, depending on what and how much you have drunk.

Signs that can indicate that a person has had too much to drink include:

clumsiness
loss of balance or co-ordination, swaying or staggering
confusion, not hearing or responding to others
bumping into or knocking over furniture
dozing while sitting at a bar or table
spilling drinks
inappropriate sexual advances
aggression or arguing.

Alcohol misuse and abuse can lead to violence and unplanned sexual behaviour. Excessive alcohol consumption can put you in danger of becoming seriously injured due to impaired coordination and reaction times. More than one third of pedestrians killed on Queensland roads in 2016 had been drinking.

You also risk vomiting, dehydration, a hangover, or alcohol poisoning. At the very least, you could act in a way that's embarrassing or regretful.

There are 2 main patterns of drinking that pose a risk to a person's health:

excessive alcohol intake on a single occasion (often called binge drinking)
consistently high alcohol intake over time.

Short-term effects

Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down the messages going between the brain and the body, which can result in:

slowed reaction times
decreased inhibition
impaired memory, periods of memory loss or ‘blackouts’
problems with thinking and concentrating
slurred speech
blurry vision
difficulty with balancing
mood swings
slower heart rate and breathing.

Excessive drinking can result in:

injury and falls
violence
unprotected sex
accidental death.

Long-term effects

Repeated and regular high alcohol consumption can cause serious long-term health consequences, including:

liver disease
mouth, throat and oesophageal cancer
increased risk of bowel breast and liver cancer
heart and blood vessel illnesses
damage to muscles and bones
digestive disorders
alcohol dependence.

Social problems

As well as severely affecting your health, excessive alcohol consumption can result in:

family problems
financial problems
legal problems
violent behaviour
risk-taking
offensive behaviour or acts of vandalism
drink-driving, which may lead to fines, loss of licence, or imprisonment
work problems
sexual problems
accidents.

Pregnant women

Alcohol crosses the placenta to the growing baby and can affect your pregnancy.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause:

miscarriage
premature labour
small babies who get sick easily
slow growth and development
stillbirth.

Drinking alcohol during your pregnancy raises the risks of birth defects, learning difficulties and behaviour problems for your baby. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is the term used to describe the range of effects that exposure to alcohol during pregnancy can have.

Breastfeeding women

When you drink alcohol it enters your breast milk, and within 30 to 60 minutes your breast milk has the same blood alcohol level as you do.

During the first years of life, your baby’s brain is still developing at a very rapid rate. Drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can:

affect your baby’s brain development
change the smell of your breastmilk
reduce your supply of breastmilk
make your baby fussy or slow to feed
disturb your baby’s sleep patterns
make your baby drowsy
increase the risk of SIDS and fatal sleeping accidents.

If you are breastfeeding and you choose to drink alcohol, try to avoid alcohol in the first month after your baby is born, until breastfeeding is well-established.

After the first month:

limit alcohol intake to no more than 2 standard drinks a day
wait 2-3 hours before breastfeeding after you have drunk alcohol
consider expressing milk in advance.

Help and support

If you are concerned about your own or someone else's alcohol use and would like further information or help, contact one of the available addiction support services.

More information

Last updated:: 17 November 2017

Skip links and keyboard navigation