How is the audit tool scored?

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What does my score on the AUDIT mean?

The alcohol audit is a tool that has been developed by the World Health Organisation as a simple way to pick up the early signs of hazardous and harmful drinking and to identify mild dependence.

This test can’t find out about your medical problems and it cannot say for certain if alcohol use is harming your health. What it can do is say how likely you are to be a problem drinker. There are four categories and you will find your score in one of them. Don’t forget, you may not be drinking now, but that doesn’t mean that there will not be risks if you do start to drink. The effects of alcohol when you start drinking again are likely to be greater than before.

The minimum that you can score is 0 and the maximum is 40.

You have scored between 0-7 . This means that you are likely to be a Low risk drinker.

Your feedback

  1. Your drinking looks like it is low risk.
  2. If you are pregnant or have medical problems you need to seek medical advice.
  3. Your score is similar to about 75% of UK adults.

Recommendations

  1. Learn about how many units there are in your drinks
  2. Avoid risky drinking.
  3. If you are a woman, avoid regularly drinking more than 2-3 units a day, and more than 6 units on any one day.
  4. If you are a man, avoid regularly drinking more than 3-4 units a day, and more than 8 units on any one day.
  5. Try to have at least two drink-free days a week.
  6. Try to cut down your drinking perhaps using some of these self-help tools.
  7. You should be able to avoid problems.
  8. You should avoid risky drinking.
  9. If you are pregnant or have medical problems avoid alcohol.
  10. If you do want some advice, look at our tips for cutting down. You can do this test at any time.

You have scored between 8-15. This means that you are likely to be an ‘Increasing risk’ or ‘hazardous’ drinker.

Your feedback

  1. You are at increased risk of harming your health as a result of drinking.
  2. This is similar to the idea of risky behaviour. For example, smoking 20 cigarettes a day may not be accompanied by any present or actual harm, but we know that it is ‘hazardous’.
  3. If you are regularly drinking at a level that places you at increasing risk and you might already have experienced problems like feeling tired or depressed, gaining extra weight, memory loss while drinking, sleeping poorly and sexual difficulties.
  4. If you are in this category, you are drinking hazardously, however you may not be seeking treatment for an alcohol problem, even though you may realise that your drinking is putting you at risk.
  5. You therefore have a very important decision to make and should consider cutting down your drinking.
  6. You may find these self-help tools helpful.

Recommendations

  1. Learn about how many units there are in your drink and how to calculate your own units.
  2. Avoid risky drinking.
  3. If you are a woman, avoid regularly drinking more than 2-3 units a day, and more than 6 units on any one day.
  4. If you are a man, avoid regularly drinking more than 3-4 units a day, and more than 8 units on any one day.
  5. Try to have at least two drink-free days a week.
  6. Your score indicates that you are drinking more than recommended levels, so you need to cut down.

You have scored between 16-19 which means that you are at Higher risk and are drinking harmfully.

Your feedback

  1. You are at high risk. Your drinking appears to be harmful.
  2. It is likely that your physical and mental health is suffering because of your drinking.
  3. You may have experienced problems at home or at work.
  4. If you are drinking in the morning it is a sign you may have a more serious problem with alcohol than your score shows.
  5. You probably need some additional help and support and we can provide this.

Recommendations

  1. Learn about how many units there are in your drink and how to calculate your own intake.
  2. Avoid risky drinking.
  3. If you are a woman, avoid regularly drinking more than 2-3 units a day, and more than 6 units on any one day.
  4. If you are a man, avoid regularly drinking more than 3-4 units a day, and more than 8 units on any one day.
  5. Try to have at least two drink-free days a week, but you may need some medical support before you try to do this. We can help you with this.
  6. You are drinking more than recommended levels and so you need to cut down. You may need some support do this. We can help you.
  7. Many people who drink as much as you find it hard to control their drinking.
  8. It may be best to cut down and then stop completely for a while.
  9. If you have found this difficult, it might be time to get professional help.
  10. You could come to us for help with your drinking. Our services are confidential and free.
  11. You can find a list of England-wide services on http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/ or by looking in your local telephone directory.
  12. You could look at http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/ for general advice.

If you score over 20 it is highly likely that you are a dependent drinker. We can support you to deal with this and can talk you through your options, please contact us.