There’s nothing glamorous about a night that goes too far, but real elegance shows in how we take care of each other when it matters most.
From staying close and keeping them safe to avoiding common mistakes, here’s how to offer calm, confident support until help arrives if needed.
Things you can do to help someone who has drunk too much alcohol
Do
- stay with them because there’s a risk they could choke on their own sick or stop breathing
- sit them up if they’re awake, or put them in the recovery position if they’ve passed out and check they’re breathing properly
- give them water to sip if they’re able to swallow
- keep them warm with a jacket or blanket
Don’t
- do not let them drink more alcohol
- do not give them coffee or drinks containing caffeine because this can dehydrate people with alcohol poisoning
- do not put them in a cold shower or bath because there’s a risk they could get too cold, fall or lose consciousness in the water
- do not try to make them sick
Risks start from the first drop
The WHO confirms there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. Current evidence shows no threshold below which alcohol does not increase the risk of cancer or other diseases.
Possible benefits of light or moderate drinking for heart health or diabetes do not outweigh the cancer risks.
“The risk to health starts from the first drop. The less you drink, the safer it is,”
says Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges from the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Claims of protective effects are often linked to study design and statistical methods, not to alcohol itself, adds Dr Jürgen Rehm of the WHO Advisory Council for Noncommunicable Diseases.
25.10.2025.
