20 Practical Tips and Tricks to reduce alcohol consumption

These tips are for habitual drinkers who want to cut down their daily intake of alcohol, not for alcoholics who are addicted to alcohol.

Regular drinkers might have started drinking as an appetiser and might have gradually increased the quantity.

A calm family atmosphere (devoid of quarrelling spouse, noisy surroundings, irritating situations etc) and good food at home are two essential things which would help you control your drinking habit.

The following tips will work only if you are desirous of reducing the alcohol intake or stopping the drinking habit gradually.

1. Keep Track of monthly expense and amount of alcohol consumed. Reduce budget to affordable levels. Quite often, only when you track the consumption by regular recording/ writing in an expense monitoring diary etc, then only you will come to know about the monstrous proportion it is reaching month by month unknowingly
2. Set time, only one time a day preferably in the late evening before dinner
3. Fix brands and don't take anything other than a set of fixed brands.
4. Don't mix beer and hot drinks
5. Reduce the peg size say 30ml or 45 ml instead of 60 ml or 90 ml. Normally the no. of drinks you take is directly related to the brains feeling of getting intoxicated. If you currently consume 180 ml a day in 2 shots of 90 ml each, you may get the same feeling if you take about 3 shots of 30 ml each.
6. Drink slowly, when you drink all on a sudden, you are consuming alcohol without realising the effect it is producing on your system
7. Avoid too much snacks along with drinks. This will reduce the realisation of getting drunk and you tend to take more. It is better to have veg salads in moderate amounts or some pickle rather than non veg snacks like meat fry, chicken lollipops etc.
8. Drink some water, atleast one glass before you start drinking. Never drink in an empty stomach, it can have disastrous effects.
9. Try to have atleast one alcohol free day per week and try to make it two or three. This can be made by some strategic decisions - like " I wont drink if the time is past 8 pm" and try to avoid starting to drink by engaging in some other activities. OR "I will not drink after dinner/food"
10. Avoid drinking in company. If you want a drink, drink it alone. You tend to drink more in company of friends.
11. Tell all that you are reducing drinks if not avoiding it.
12. Keep the drinks out of sight. Take the bottle only if you feel comfortable to have a drink. After pouring one drink, you keep the bottle in its original place and drink slowly. And by the time if your wife serves dinner, donot stop her but you start eating dinner without going for a second drink (Which is kept at a place which is not easily accessible)
13. Say to yourselves and others, "Too much Alcohol is not good"
14. Don't drink alcohol to quench thirst, If you want to take alcoholic drinks when you are thirsty, first have some plain water of juices to quench your thirst first and then go for alcoholic drinks, if required. Never order in bulk.
15. Take non alcoholic drinks between two rounds - say fresh juices, tonic  or water.
16. Fix your maximum no. of drinks, say two or three. (30 ml each)
17. Don't opt to drink when you are stressed or anxious
18. In social drinking, don't fall into competition, fix your limit say just one shot and no more. Don't try to drink more than your friend or opponent.
19. Reduce Non Veg in dinner
20. Follow some basic rules of drinking

• Never in day time, 

• Never more than a brand at a time, 

• Never with banana, 

• Never with different people/ anonymous people, 

• Never boast of your drinking capacity or experiences