Alcohol and health: Alcohol Combinations
Given the tendency of certain individuals to combine alcohol with tobacco, drugs or energy drinks and the increasing popularity of pre-mixed alcoholic beverages, Éduc’alcool believes it essential to provide Quebecers with the inside story on a hot topic these days: alcohol combinations.
In its publication Alcohol Combinations, the organization warns against mixing alcohol with drugs or tobacco—two substances whose consumption is already ill-advised. Mixing alcohol with sedatives should be avoided at all costs. People should also be extremely vigilant about combining alcohol with coffee or energy drinks or drinking while gambling. In fact, Éduc’alcool states that the only substance that mixes well with alcohol is food, adding that this combination may even be beneficial to one’s health.
Until now, no credible resource has existed on alcohol combinations. This, the seventh report in our Alcohol and Health series, addresses the need to provide Quebecers with information on all aspects of this increasingly widespread practice.
From green to purple
Éduc’alcool has developed a colour code system to help Quebecers understand the four levels of caution to use when combining alcohol with other substances.
A green light signifies the only happy combination—alcohol and food. Food is the single substance that has a beneficial effect on human health when combined with alcohol. Because food slows the passage of alcohol from the stomach to the intestine, it also slows the absorption process, thus reducing the person’s blood alcohol content.
An orange light designates all combinations where a high degree of caution should be exercised. This category includes the combination of alcohol with coffee, energy drinks or gambling. Young people are a particular focus of this category, as they are more likely than adults to take risks and behave dangerously when consuming alcohol. Éduc’alcool stresses that mixing alcohol with energy drinks is particularly dangerous. Because drinkers do not feel the effects of intoxication when combining alcohol with energy drinks, the normal self-regulating mechanisms associated with drinking are no longer operational, which often results in more alcohol being consumed. For its part, the combination of alcohol and gambling increases the risk of gambling inappropriately, i.e. pathologically.
A red light applies to the mixing of alcohol with tobacco, medications or street drugs. In all cases, consumers should stay away from these combinations or at the very least exercise extreme caution. For many people, alcohol and tobacco are a natural combination, but smoking can trigger the desire to consume more alcohol. One of the great dangers of combining alcohol and drugs is that the effects are impossible to predict. The risks are many, and mixing should therefore be avoided. Éduc’alcool also stresses that it is best to simply to refrain from consuming alcohol when taking medications.
A purple light signifies combinations that carry a severe risk. Of all combinations, the most dangerous are those that involve mixing alcohol, which is a sedative, with another sedative (e.g. PCP or ketamine). This type of combination can severely depress the central nervous system, with consequences ranging from confusion to unconsciousness to death.
The overall conclusion of this publication on the effects of combining alcohol with other substances or activities is that under any circumstances, when it comes to drinking, moderation is always in good taste.
Publication availability
Alcohol Combinations is available for downloading from the Educ’alcool Web site, or it can be ordered free of charge by calling Éduc’alcool at 1-888-ALCOOL1. It is also available in hospitals, CLSCs and SAQ outlets.
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