Count a week's drinks, then discuss them briefly with a clinician
A clinician spending a few minutes reviewing your intake, explaining risk and agreeing a goal led to an average reduction of 20 g of pure alcohol weekly after a year—about half a liter of beer. Longer discussions did not add benefit. For people unable to control drinking, two medicines studied abroad helped; roughly one additional person benefited for every 12 treated.
What it takes
Free: make one daily note and raise the subject during an existing appointment.
What you may gain
Across 34 randomized trials with 15,197 people, brief intervention reduced weekly alcohol intake by 20 g at one year versus minimal or no intervention (95% CI 12–28 g less; moderate-quality evidence). Average baseline intake was 244 g/week. Brief intervention meant no more than 5 contacts totaling under 60 minutes of advice or lifestyle counseling; longer intervention added no benefit. Across 122 medication trials involving 22,803 people, acamprosate prevented one additional return to any drinking per 12 treated (95% CI 8–26). Oral naltrexone at 50 mg/day prevented one additional return to heavy drinking per 12 treated (8–26).
Context & considerations
The benefit rating is small because the measured outcome is alcohol consumption, a surrogate rather than mortality. Medication trials were mostly outside China, generally involved alcohol-dependent participants, and included psychosocial care; the numbers are additional benefits on top of that support. Chinese indications and prescribing availability depend on clinicians and product labeling; do not buy these medicines online yourself. See withdrawal precautions.
Research & references
Kaner EF, Beyer FR, Muirhead C, et al. (2018). Effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions in primary care populations. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, CD004148. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004148.pub4 ; Jonas DE, Amick HR, Feltner C, et al. (2014). Pharmacotherapy for adults with alcohol use disorders in outpatient settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 311(18), 1889–1900. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.3628