Make it Memorable - Young Adults
Make it memorable with DrinkSense
Creating positive memories and feeling great about your night is what DrinkSense is all about. Good friends, great laughs and a little DrinkSense will make your night memorable.
Hanging out with friends on a patio on a hot summer night or catching the game on a big screen on a cold winter evening can sometimes be more fun with a drink. If you choose to drink on occasions like these, try mixing some DrinkSense into your night. After all, what really makes the night fun is your friends, the laughs you share and the memories you create – not how much you drink.
Building a balanced lifestyle
If you choose to drink alcohol, building a balanced lifestyle that includes non-drinking days during the week and following Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health is a proven way to do it. Best of all, this approach will leave you feeling healthy and energized.
You can find more information about Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health here.
Binge drinking | Excessive drinking
You’ve probably heard about binge and excessive drinking but has anyone ever explained what those terms mean?
Aside from the obvious explanation of “drinking too much”, binge drinking means having, on one occasion, four or more standard drinks (for men) and three or more standard drinks (for women).
Whether you think of this as simply having too much alcohol in one sitting or as getting drunk, the end result is that when you binge drink or drink excessively, you risk doing something you’ll regret, or potentially causing harm to yourself and others.
You may already know that binge and excessive drinking can affect the body and mind. For details on how you can be affected, check out this interactive graphic.
How to create great memories
Want to be in charge of when you drink and how much? Check out this DrinkSense tool for some ideas on how to pass up a drink when others might be encouraging you to have one.
Knowing what a standard drink is can help you track how much alcohol you're consuming or serving. It also helps with following Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Take our Home Bartending Challenge and see how your pouring skills measure up.
Energy drinks and alcohol
Some people think mixing energy drinks and alcohol will help reverse the effects of alcohol. Research shows that's not true. What really happens is the caffeine in the energy drink hides the effect of the alcohol, making you think you drank less than you really did. Find out why that's risky.
Alcohol poisoning | What to do
When people drink to the point they are confused or can’t respond, they are beyond being drunk – they are suffering from alcohol poisoning. At this point, they can’t look after themselves so you might need to help them out. In these situations it is important that you never leave an individual in this condition alone, not even to sleep it off.
If you think someone may have alcohol poisoning, call 911 immediately to get medical help – this one act can save a life.
If you’re around someone who is drunk and still able to respond and be understood, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Try to make sure the person doesn’t drink any more alcohol. Offer water or other non-alcoholic drinks.
- Try to keep the person sitting up – reflexes and coordination decrease with alcohol intake. Speak clearly and without yelling.
- Stay with someone who is vomiting.
- Lay a drunk person down on their side. A person who vomits while laying on their back or stomach could choke or breathe vomit into their lungs.
- If possible, avoid giving the person coffee or other stimulants. These drinks won’t sober them up and they can cause more problems.
- Making a person vomit can be harmful because they can choke.
- A cold shower or throwing cold water on the person doesn’t help. The shock of temperature could send them into physical shock.
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