If you are having an operation / surgery, you should not drink alcohol for at least 24 hours before.

The recommended maximum amounts for both men and women is less than 14 units per week, with no more than 3-4 units on any single day. A unit is around half a pint of medium strength beer, a small 125ml glass of wine, or a 25ml measure of spirits.

Next steps

If you want to reduce the alcohol you drink the following tips may help:

• Make a plan and before you start drinking, set a limit on how much you’re going to drink and stick to it
• Set a budget and only take a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol
• Try alcohol-free drinks or a mocktail
• Learn about mindful drinking at Club Soda
• Have a smaller drink
• Swap strong beers or wines for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %)
• Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or a soft drink
• Have several alcohol-free days each week
• Cut back a little each day and consider every day you do a success
• Let your friends and family know you’re cutting down and let them know this is important to you so they can support you

If you’re aiming to cut down your drinking, a good thing to do is to keep a note of what you drink and when.

On a daily basis, make a note of:

• the alcoholic drinks you’ve had
• what time you had them
• where you were
• how many units you drank – use the Scottish Government’s alcohol unit calculator to work this out

If you think you’d find information about goal setting and long-term change helpful, go to our Next Steps page.