Staying Safe

Alcohol

and

water

don't mix

Our friends and whānau deserve to know we’re safe in and around the water. Understanding the risks associated with drinking alcohol is an important first step to keeping yourself and others safe.

Alcohol not only impairs your judgement, but also significantly slows your reflexes – a dangerous, and potentially deadly combination when we're in, on, or around water.

The Effects of Alcohol

Alcohol and other drugs can affect people in different ways. But alcohol is a depressant, slowing down your brain and nervous system to impact your ability to process what’s going on around you.
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This means consuming alcohol and other drugs can result in:

Impaired judgement ⚠️

• Reducing your inhibitions (stop signals) which may cause you to take unnecessary risks while overestimating your ability
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• Alcohol and other drugs impair your ability to identify and manage dangerous situations
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Lack of coordination and reaction time ⚠️

• Alcohol and other drugs impact your sight, sound, and touch, and slows your reaction time.
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• These impacts can make it harder for you to climb or swim out of trouble and can be the difference between life and death if the water conditions change suddenly.

Inability to control temperature ⚠️

• Overheating may result from dehydration or being unaware of sun exposure
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• Hypothermia could also result as alcohol ‘numbs’ your body by dilating blood vessels, meaning you don’t feel the cold and decide to stay in the water for longer.

AVOID ALCOHOL AROUND WATER

Suggestions to help keep you safe.

AVOID HARM: Alcohol Healthwatch recommends not drinking until after being in or around the water – whether you’re at the beach or river, on a boat, or in a pool.
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If you are planning to consume alcohol around a body of water, ensure all water-based activity is finished before consuming alcohol
PLAN AHEAD: If getting in the water or doing any kind of activity in or on the water, it is safest to totally avoid alcohol
SUPPORT OTHERS: Support the people around us to not drink alcohol in and around the water
PLAN YOUR WAY HOME: If you have been drinking alcohol, don’t walk home near water. You might fall in.
Look out for your friends, make sure they get home safely.
SOBER SKIPPER: If you're in charge of a powered craft, keep you and your loved ones safe by not consuming alcohol
KEEP LITTLE ONES SAFE: Stay sober around our children and tamariki to keep them safe around the water

Studies and reference materials – alcohol related drowning and injury

Driscoll TR, Harrison JA, Steenkamp M. Review of the role of alcohol in drowningassociated with recreational aquatic activity. Injury prevention. 2004 Apr1;10(2):107-13.

View Study

Warner M, Smith GS, Langley JD. Drowning and alcohol in New Zealand: what do thecoroner's files tell us?. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health.2000 Aug;24(4):387-90.

View Study

Carey RN, Crawford G, Jancey J, Lam T, Nimmo L, Trapp G, Pollard C, Hooper P, LeavyJE. Young people's alcohol use in and around water: A scoping review of theliterature. Drug and alcohol review. 2024 May;43(4):874-96

View Study

Peden AE, Franklin RC, Clemens T. Exploring the burden of fatal drowning and datacharacteristics in three high income countries: Australia, Canada and NewZealand. BMC public health. 2019 Dec;19:1-2

View Study

Croft JL, Button C. Interacting factors associated with adult male drowning in NewZealand. PLoS One. 2015 Jun 17;10(6):e0130545

View Study

The Effects of Alcohol

Impaired judgement ⚠️

Lack of coordination and reaction time ⚠️

Inability to control temperature ⚠️

Suggestions to help keep you safe.

There is no safe limit of alcohol consumption

Studies and reference materials – alcohol related drowning and injury