Smoking, drugs & alcohol
We know that drinking too much alcohol, using illicit drugs and smoking can cause damage to our health and may even lead to death.
The use of excessive alcohol, illicit drugs and smoking is not recommended for anyone, whether or not you have diabetes. However for people with diabetes, smoking, illicit drugs or too much alcohol can also result in poorer blood glucose control which can lead to serious damage.
Alcohol and diabetes
- Drinking alcohol can be safe if done responsibly and most people with diabetes can still enjoy socialising with alcohol. However, drinking alcohol can increase the risk of hypoglycaemia if you are taking certain medications or insulin, so it is best to discuss drinking alcohol with your diabetes health care team.
- Alcohol is high in energy (kilojoules or calories). Too much can make you put on weight.This is an important issue for people with type 2 diabetes trying to lose weight
- Low carbohydrate beers contain just as much alcohol as regular beer – they are not necessarily lower in kilojoules and can impact your diabetes as much as regular beers
- Too much alcohol can increase the risk of developing diabetes complications by increasing the triglyceride level (blood fats) in your blood and increasing your blood pressure
- If you are taking insulin or certain diabetes tablets, you are at risk of alcohol-related hypoglycaemia (‘hypos’) which can be dangerous. The hypos from alcohol can occur many hours after drinking
- It is important to inform your friends that you have diabetes when going to a party or night clubbing. This is in case something goes wrong or if you have a severe hypo that may leave you unconscious. Many times people having a hypo have been mistakenly thought to be drunk! This can be very dangerous.