Brief Intervention in Primary Health Care

Abstract

Alcohol-related consequences and harms are concentrated among heavy drinkers and drinking constitutes a health risk for these persons. Heavy drinking frequently leads to alcohol dependency and to a multitude of other medical, psychological and social problems. On the basis of the AUDIT questionnaire the proportion of heavy drinkers in Lahti were 18 for men and 4 per cent for women (see Table 11.7). Drinking has been considered to be the cause of a significant amount of long-term health problems when the consumption exceeds 18.5 litres in a year among men and 12.5 litres among women. Heavy drinking during one session is also risky: especially when alcohol consumption causes 1 per ml blood alcohol content during a single drinking session, the risk for acute health problems is highly elevated (Sillanaukee et al. 1992).