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Many East Asian people have impaired production of alcohol dehydrogenase and they process alcohol more slowly, as do people of all ethnicities taking certain drugs that interfere with these enzymes; aspirin is one of them (which is especially worth noting if you are taking aspirin on a plane to help thin your blood while flying), as well as certain medications for stomach ulcers including, it is thought, ranitidine and cimetidine.

LUNCHTIME DRINKING

We make fewer alcohol-breaking enzymes during the day, which explains why having a drink at lunchtime has more effect on us than when we imbibe at 8pm, at which point production is at its peak. Research also shows that when you are tired, one drink can act like two. Hormonal changes experienced by women pre-menstrually have a similar effect. The enzymes break down the alcohol into a substance more toxic than alcohol itself (acetaldehyde) and this is eventually converted into fats, carbon dioxide and water. These fats tend to be deposited near the liver, which is possibly why heavy drinkers develop a beer belly.

DRINKING AND YOUR LIVER

Chronic drinkers who exceed the daily safe upper limits are likely to be severely taxing the alcohol-breaking enzymes in the liver. When this happens fats tend to accumulate in the small blood vessels around liver cells, which then begin to die, a process which, among other changes to liver cells, leads to cirrhosis, the potentially fatal liver disease. Deaths from alcohol induced chronic liver disease have increased 450 per cent since 1970.

Because one of the liver’s roles is to filter toxins, this ability is compromised when cirrhosis occurs so that toxins build up and trigger symptoms of jaundice, when the skin takes on a distinctly yellow tinge. But it is not only the liver that suffers. Excess alcohol can lead to higher incidences of oesophageal cancer — 75 per cent of people with this cancer have been identified as heavy drinkers, which is someone who usually drinks six units or more a day.

People drinking more than four units a day have also been linked to having a ninefold increase in the risk of mouth cancer; a statistic that rises if you smoke as well. Women who drink regularly have also been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.

THE BENEFITS OF A FEW STIFF DRINKS

Sainsbury’s launched a red wine yesterday (Red Heart, £4.99), high in antioxidants, that the supermarket claims is good for your heart. And there may be something in this. Moderate drinkers, regardless of the source of the alcohol, have been found to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Certainly resveratrol, a super-nutrient found in the skin of grapes, appears to have strong antioxidant effects in our bodies. Studies indicate that it may be capable of helping to stop “bad” LDL cholesterol and blood platelets from clumping together, reducing the risk of furred arteries and so the risk of heart disease and stroke. Pinot noir grapes have especially high levels of resveratrol, and grapes grown in areas that provide warmth and some moisture, such as Chilean valleys, Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, also have some of the best levels of this antioxidant. Other super-nutrients in wine also have antioxidant effects, helping to improve levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and relaxing blood vessels by increasing the local release of nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure.

NEVER AGAIN

Why is it that, having woken up feeling wretched from the night before and swearing that we will never drink again, we find ourselves saying: “Thanks, I’d love one,” when offered a quick drink that evening? This, says Alcohol Concern, may not be an indication that you are dependent on alcohol; it may just be a reflection of the way you react to the social surroundings in which you find yourself. In other words, had you gone straight home and not popped in to a pub with friends, or if the people you were with all having soft drinks, you would have not had an alcoholic drink.

If you needed a drink to prevent alcohol withdrawal, you may be addicted.

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