Lesson video

Welcome to RSHE lesson.

My name's Mr. Duffy and today we're going to be looking at limiting alcohol intake.

Now this lesson does cover issues about alcohol.

If this is a sensitive topic to you, we recommend checking with a trusted adult before starting or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

Like I said I'm Mr. Duffy, I'm really glad you joined me today.

So hopefully you did really well on your intro quiz.

We're going to recap binge drinking.

We're going to look at managing moderate drinking and the benefits of limited alcohol consumption.

And then you'll do an exit quiz at the end.

So let's take a look at some key words then.

Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.

Alcohol poisoning, this is a serious and sometimes deadly consequence of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.

So for this lesson you are going to need an exercise book or a paper 'cause you will need to write some things down.

In which case you will need a pen or a pencil.

So let's take a look at the law briefly then.

So alcohol consumption in the UK is governed by strict laws.

For more information, please refer to the UK government website.

It is against the law: To sell alcohol to someone under 18 anywhere.

For an adult to buy or attempt to buy alcohol on behalf of under 18.

For someone under 18 to buy alcohol, attempt to buy alcohol, or to be sold alcohol.

For someone under 18 to drink alcohol in a licenced premises except where the child is 16 or 17 years old and accompanied by an adult.

In this case, it is legal for them to drink but not buy beer, wine, or side with cider with a table meal.

For an adult to buy alcohol for someone under 18 for consumption on licenced premises, except as above and to give children alcohol if they are under five.

So what is binge drinking? Pause the video, write down your ideas and I'll see you in a second.

So binge drinking is, as defined by the NHS as drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.

The definition used by the office of national statistics for binge drinking is having eight units in a single session for men and six units for women.

So drinking too much or too quickly causes what we call, risky behaviour.

The sorts of things more likely to happen when people drink too much or too quickly in a single session.

This can include things like injury or misjudging risky situations or losing self-control.

So someone's got drunk, they've lost inhibitions and do something silly that could cause them harm.

So what does the term unit mean when discussing alcohol consumption? Write down your ideas.

I'll see you in a second.

So units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink.

1 unit equals 10 ml, millilitres or 8 grammes of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can consume within an hour.

This means that within an hour, there should be in theory little or no alcohol left in the blood of an adult although this can vary from person to person.

So let's play a little game then, guess the number of units? what we do is pause the screen and write down how many units you think are in a pint of strong beer, 5.

2% strong beer, large glass of wine, a 300 mil bottle of lager and 125 mil Prosecco.

Write down how many units you think are in each.

I'll see you in a second.

So there we have it.

There's 3 units in that large glass of beer, 3 in the large glass of wine, 1.

7 units in a 300 mil bottle of beer and 1.

5 units in 125 mil of Prosecco.

So if you were to have the same amount of Prosecco as the beer, you would actually be happy.

3 units, it was quite a lot that in Prosecco, it's surprising.

So to keep the health risks from alcohol to a low level, what are the recommended number of units for a man and a woman? Pause the video and I'll see you in a second.

So for many women it's advised, NHS recommended number of units they don't have more than 14 units in a week on a regular basis.

14 units is equivalent to six pints of average strength beer or 10 small glasses of low strength wine.

So let's meet John then.

So Johnny is 15 years old.

He's the class clown, shows off at school and appears confident.

However, this behaviour masks some difficulties at home.

You and John are out socialising at the park.

John takes out a crate of strong lager from his bag and suggests you drink them all to get drunk.

What are your concerns? What we're going to do, pause the video and I'll see you in a second.

So my concern is.

there are a number of concerns obviously.

The first thing is an 15 years old and you are suddenly jammed in this situation.

It would be breaking the law.

Drinking alcohol to get drunk, about drinking any alcohol under the age of 18 is against the law and as a result if yourself and John were to continue drinking then you will be breaking the law.

Now that, I think that's the major concern and the biggest concern though is the fact that you are breaking the law, the other concern and it really is hard, isn't it? You know, yourself and John, the friends and it's really hard that sort peer pressure.

And in that situation to say, no, you know it's wrong, you know you're breaking the law, you know that John shouldn't have any alcohol on him at all, you know that if you were to be stopped or searched by the police and the police saw you you could end up in a little bit of trouble.

But that sort of peer pressure is really, really difficult, isn't it? You know, friends together, it's hard to say, no, I suppose to some extent.

But that's where sort of that trust comes into it.

You can choose to walk away.

You know, the friendship isn't going to break down with you walking away.

Walk away.

Explain to John, no, it's against the law.

We shouldn't be doing this.

You know, hopefully the friendship is that strong that actually John would be able to take some advice.

You know, you, you, you're not might be in a position to lecture him about drinking and alcohol but you can certainly say, well, we're under age.

It's not a good idea.

I don't think we should do it.

And I think you perfectly, perfectly respectable and respected to do that as his friend.

As I said, you can choose to walk away and then speak to a trusted adult.

If friends are pressurising you into doing certain things or to behave in a certain way, and especially if you've said no.

So what are the benefits then of limited alcohol consumption.

Pause the video, write down your ideas.

I'll see you in a second.

The first thing is you're going to get a good night's sleep.

Those people who limit their alcohol consumption, they're going to get a nice night's sleep.

Cause they're not drinking under the influence of excessive alcohol or alcohol in the system which can disturb your sleeping.

They going to have brighter skin.

They're going to look healthier.

They're going to look a little bit fitter.

They're going to have more time and energy because they're not tired because they've got a good night's sleep.

Alcohol, as I said, disturbs people's sleep.

Tossing and turning and not really getting into that deep sleeping pattern.

Which means they're going to wake up lethargic, tired, feeling a bit iffy.

Somebody who's limited their alcohol consumption will have plenty of energy.

Cuting back on alcohol can also have some positive effects on the way you look and feel often within just a few days.

While that person may enjoy them, you'll be reducing your long-term risks as well.

And some serious illnesses such as cancer, liver disease, heart disease, alcohol related brain disease.

All these long-term effects by just reducing the amount of units, somebody drinks.

Now there is loads of help and advice on this topic.

And these are some of the websites and some of the people that are out there that can help families, individuals with people whether it is directly impacting them whether they are addicted to drugs or alcohol themselves or that a family member is addicted to alcohol and drugs.

And these sorts of places are available to them.

So if you do want more advice on these topics please visit maybe one of these websites or Talk Frank.

So really hope you've enjoyed the lesson today.

And I would really like to see your work on Twitter.

So if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Twitter tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

I've been Mr. Duffy, I really hope you've enjoyed your lesson today and I really hope you've learned something and I'll see you soon.

Goodbye.