Expert Tips To Keep Boozing At Bay

Looking forward to teetotaling in 2019? Use these expert tips to keep boozing at bay.

- Joe Manning and Ashley Oerman

You probably think your drinking is pretty moderate...ish—a glass or two of red after a long day, a few cocktails to pre-game a first date, a series of tequila shots after an awkward Tinder meetup leaves you begging the bartender for some liquid aid. Here’s the deal though: all this tippling can add up, and these common behaviours—especially that last one—might be a red flag for high-risk drinking, defined as downing four or more boozy bevs per day. More truth: the number of women doing this type of imbibing has soared in recent years. Meanwhile, the number of 25- to 34-year-olds dying from alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver jumped an average of 10.5 percent annually between 2009 and 2016—the most of any age-group, according to the scientific medical journal The BMJ.