Hear from victims and medical professionals about the distressing and terrifying outcomes of drink spiking.

Men and women are being told they can drink more a day under new alcohol guidelines released today.

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends having no more than four standard drinks on any one day, up from the previous two — but it’s reduced the recommendation overall.

In a week the maximum number of recommended drinks has gone from 14 to 10.

The council says it’s actually telling people to drink less.

If you’re left scratching your heads, it’s because the old guidelines were confusing and centred around lifetime risk whereas the new guidelines use the term “reduce the risk of harm”.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment until February 24.

“We’re not telling Australians how much to drink, we’re providing advice about the health risks from drinking alcohol so that we can all make informed decisions in our daily lives,” said Professor Anne Kelso, chief executive of the council.

“This advice has been developed over the past three years using the best health evidence available.

“In 2017 there were more than 4000 alcohol-related deaths in Australia, and across 2016/17 more than 70,000 hospital admissions.”

Professor Kelso said alcohol was linked to more than 60 medical conditions, particularly numerous cancers.

“So, we all need to consider the risks when we decide how much to drink,” she said.

“We recommend that healthy men and women reduce the risk of harm by drinking no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.

“However, we are not saying that this is a level completely eliminates risk. The less you choose to drink, the lower your risk of alcohol-related harm.”

She said for some people not drinking at all was the safest option.

The council also recommends that adolescents under the age of 18 do not drink.

“There is no known ‘safe’ or ‘no-risk’ level of drinking alcohol for children and young people aged under 18 years,” Professor Kelso said.

“Alcohol can harm the way the brain develops, increase the risk of injury and other immediate harms, and increase the risk of developing alcohol-related conditions later in life.”

It also recommends to reduce the risk of harm to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.

“For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby,” Professor Kelso said.

“We need to keep in mind that while the risk of harm to the foetus is likely to be slight when the mother drinks small amounts of alcohol (less than 1 standard drink per day) there is not enough evidence to know for sure whether the foetus will be safe from harm, even at this low amount of alcohol. That is why we recommend not drinking alcohol.”

Professor Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, said the guidelines would help everyone think about their personal risk, and help them to drink responsibly.

“(The guidelines) will help me and every Chief Medical Officer in the States and Territories to provide clear messages about the risks of drinking alcohol, to ensure the health of all Australians,” he said,

“If all Australians follow these guidelines we won’t stop every alcohol-related death, but we will save thousands of lives, especially younger lives.”