Intoxication increases the risk of a range of alcohol-related harms
Intoxication often leads to acute effects including violence, unintentional injuries and self-harm, but also longer terms harms such as long-term health conditions and social problems.
Skills and inhibitions decrease with more amount of alcohol is consumed on a single occasion. This often leads to a greater risk of injury during, or immediately, after the drinking occasion.
In 2019/20, among those who drank in the past year in New Zealand:
- 14.6% consumed 6 or more drinks on one occasion at least weekly
- 27.5% consumed 6 or more drinks on one occasion at least monthly
- 25.7% were classified as hazardous drinkers.
Drinking four standard drinks on a single occasion more than doubles the relative risk of an injury in the six hours afterwards, and the relative risk rises even more rapidly when more than four standard drinks are consumed on a single occasion.