1. It could kill you

Sorry to start off so strong, but if you're going to read anything on this list, it should be this. Alcohol abuse poses the greatest risk for death, illness and disability in people aged 15-49.

2. It's horrendously calorific

Made a New Year's resolution to lose a few pounds? Just quitting drinking could be enough to shift some of that stubborn weight that's been hanging around your gut. The average pint of beer contains just over 200 calories, while a regular glass of wine has about 120.

3. It will mess with your sleeping habits

While you might think you pass out quicker and get a deeper kip after you've had a drink, boozy beverages actually disrupt your sleep overall. If you do this too often, your mental and physical health will seriously suffer.

4. Just one binge could hurt you

Like many people reading this, you might be thinking, "yeah, but I only drink a few times a month, so this doesn't apply to me." Unfortunately, just one episode of binge drinking can cause bacteria to leak out of your gut and get into your bloodstream and - as you may have guessed - that's not exactly a desirable outcome.

5. It literally alters your brain

Have you ever been so drunk that you couldn't remember what you did? Well, it turns out that being drunk doesn't cause you to forget things - it actually prevents you from creating memories in the first place. So no matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to remember what you said to your best friend's girlfriend at that New Year's Eve party.

6. It can cause cancer

More than three in 10 instances of cancer could be prevented if people consumed less alcohol and tobacco, and instead lived a more active lifestyle. Again, it's a scary one - but it's true.

7. Alcohol poisoning is serious

Many people might think that alcohol poisoning just causes you to throw up a little, and that's it. In reality, it kills six people every single day in the USA, and can cause lasting damage in those who survive it.

8. It can destroy your mental health

Over the last ten years, the number of people aged between 15 and 59 who were in hospital because of alcohol-related mental or behavioral issues has increased by 94 per cent. For those aged between 60 and 77, it increased by 150 per cent.

9. It makes people violent

We often hear stories of people getting into drunken arguments, but the extent to which alcohol affects people's capacity for violence is probably beyond most of our expectations. Astoundingly, 70 per cent of violence during weekends and weekday nights is caused by drinking.

10. Being sober for just one month could change your life

If you quit alcohol for the whole of January, you could see an improvement in your liver function, a decrease in your blood sugar, and a reduced risk of liver disease and diabetes. You'll also sleep better, be at a lower risk for depression, and see an improvement in your brain function.

A bartender has taken to social media to show off his brazen response to his now-former boss after being messaged at 2:59AM and being asked to work the next day.

Taking to Reddit, the unnamed bartender shared a series of messages between him and his ex-employer after he was messaged in the middle of the night and asked to start work at 10AM the following morning.

Sharing a screenshot of the text exchange, the Redditor - who goes by the username 'ThrowRA_1895' on the platform - captioned the post: "Got my beer balls on right now, I think I made the right decision".

In the opening request, the bartender's boss, Robert, writes: "I need you to come in 11am-10pm today, we have an event scheduled and one bartender."

You'll note that this opening message was sent at 2:59AM and didn't include a "please" or "thank you".

Fully within his right to do so, the bartender replies: "No thank you. Tomorrow is my day off."

However, his employer - the one who messaged in the early hours of the morning, lest we forget - then has the audacity to tell the bartender that he needs "to be a team player". That being said, at least in this second message he asks: "Please come in tomorrow".

Enjoying his free time, the bartender replied: "Why are you just now telling me at 3am that you need me to work 11 hours tomorrow? I’ve had a few drinks and I don’t feel like coming into work hungover and working for that long on my day off."

Once again, a perfectly understandable reason for not being able to jump on a last-minute shift with just eight hours notice.

Unbelievable, the employer responds by telling the bartender that he needs "to stay ready for work" and says that getting drunk is "not a good look".

Aghast at what his manager had messaged, the bartender sarcastically responds: "You’re telling the BARTENDER to not drink on his time off? Wanna go tell the chefs to not eat off the clock too?" He says that if he was given more notice, he may have considered doing the extra shift, but considering he was already drunk, he didn't want to work 11 hours with a hangover.

He then asks why Robert couldn't fill in on the bar himself, to which his boss replies: "We are going to talk about this attitude when you come in on Sunday."

After clearly having enough of his boss' attitude, the bartender tells him: "No we're not. Bartenders are needed all over the place now. I think I’ll just go work at one of the dozens of places hiring around here. I’m fed up with you."

The boss hastily tries to tell the bartender that he was making a mistake and being impulsive because he was drunk - going as far as to say: "When you wake up tomorrow you're gonna regret this."

But the bartender gets the final work, simply replying: "Eat. My. A**."

The screenshots were shared to Reddit three days ago and have already amassed over 130,000 upvotes and 8,000 comments on the platform.

One person commented saying: "God I love it when the tone changes so hard in the span of a single message. He's all ready to be the big tough authority figure telling you how to act on your off hours and 'we're going to talk about this attitude' like your absentee stepdad, and then whoops, if he's actually gonna quit I'm gonna be f***ed!"

A second replied to the post saying: "'You need to be prepared' from a manager who isn't prepared for an extremely common contingency. Maybe manager should start looking for a job too, one that doesn't rely on his interpersonal skills and scheduling abilities being better than a sack of moldy potatoes."

Remember: Your time is your time.

Featured image credit: Arterra Picture Library / Alamy

A waiter has created a stir online after revealing that they served a pregnant woman a non-alcoholic drink despite the customer ordering otherwise.

There are certain things that are advised against while pregnant, and most health officials will agree that consuming alcohol is best left until after giving birth.

Some people choose to ignore this advice, and it turns out that waiters might be taking matters into their own hands.

Taking to Reddit, the waiter shared a now-viral post detailing the incident that unfolded during a dinner service. The server recounted encountering a group of women in their late 20s, among whom one revealed her pregnancy during conversation.

In a move that has since sparked intense debate, the waiter decided to intervene, instructing the bartender to prepare virgin cocktails for the expecting woman without informing her of the switch.

"In the interest of caution, I asked the bartender to make one of the drinks a virgin cocktail," the waiter explained in the Reddit post. "A few cocktails later (hers strictly virgin) they started getting rowdy, and Mrs. Pregnant Woman was also getting into it. I figured that since she didn't notice, things were OK."

However, the situation took a turn when the check arrived. The pregnant woman discovered the word "(virgin)" marked next to her drinks on the receipt, leading to a confrontation with the waiter.

"Several minutes later Mrs. Pregnant Woman came back and asked what (virgin) on the receipt meant," the waiter recounted. "I fessed up that it meant non-alcoholic."

The fallout from the incident was swift. The pregnant woman demanded a refund of her portion of the tip and escalated the matter to the restaurant's management. Subsequently, the waiter found themselves under scrutiny and facing potential repercussions.

"My manager took me into her office and literally shrieked at me until hoarse," the waiter shared. "She also informed me that I could get the restaurant in serious trouble for discrimination."

The server defended their actions, citing concerns about fetal alcohol syndrome and asserting they acted in the best interest of the patron's health. However, opinions on the matter varied widely among Reddit users.

One person said: "OP (original poster) sucks because while it was a good thing to not serve her alcohol they should have sucked it up and said it to their face that she wasn't going to be served. Right to refuse service and all that but they handled it very poorly."

A second added: "Unless you saw the woman pee on a pregnancy test, you had no way of knowing for sure that she was pregnant. She could have been talking about someone else, a past pregnancy, or she could be planning to terminate the pregnancy. That wasn’t your call to make."

A third said: "You’d think one of her friends would have said something to her. You probably shouldn’t have made the call but your head was in the right place."

Featured image credit: Oscar Wong/Getty

A bartender has revealed how he secretly stops serving alcohol to people who've had more than enough to drink.

Sometimes a fun night out with friends and family can lead to having too much to drink in the eyes of the bartender serving you, which can prompt them to secretly limit what they're giving you.

A viral TikTok reveals that employees actually have hidden ways to keep intoxicated patrons from having another beverage, and the method is quite brilliant.

Cocktail maestro, Benji Spears - who goes by the handle @benjispears - took to social media platform to share with his 1.5 million followers exactly how he navigates the age-old problem.

The short clip was captioned: "When your drunk bestie is insisting on another drink, but you know they have to work in the morning," and shows the bartender acting out a scenario I'm sure anyone who has ever worked in the same job knows all too well.

The TikToker demonstrates the hack which involves him pretending to pour a measure of spirit in the cup while also filling the glass up with a mixer, but not actually pouring anything out of the alcohol bottle, meaning the customer actually just gets a soft drink instead.

He then tops it off with some red-colored juice and a squeeze of lime before putting a metal straw in and buttering the customer up by saying: "All right, honey, a strong one coming right up!"

The video of the genius trick has now been flooded with several comments from people sharing their awe-struck reactions. Some were thankful for Spears' suggestion.

One user praised: "You’re a real one," and another applauded: "You are a good friend and bartender. Good looking out!"

A third user shared a similar experience, writing: "I had a bartender do this to me at a wedding last weekend and I am so thankful!"

And, a fourth commenter quipped: "Honestly why don't more bartenders do this !! I definitely needed you in my late teens early 20s."

However, not everyone was amused as some users questioned if Spears was charging drunk patrons for a drink with zero alcohol in it.

"If I'm paying for a drink and you do this, we're fighting. be upfront with your guests, p.s. I'm a bartender," one staffer remarked.

A second user chimed in: "As long as the price is adjusted seeing there's no alcohol," while someone else added: "I’d be fuming if I found out."

But, rest assured, Spears confirmed in the comment section that he does not charge people for the alcohol he hasn't poured into their drinks.

And, we're guessing by this point they're probably too tipsy to realize how little they're paying for their supposedly alcoholic drink anyway.

Featured image credit: VM / Getty

It’s that time of year again - the week of the office Christmas party, where awkward chats, karaoke disasters, and a few too many pints can leave you with more than just a headache.

For most people, the easiest way to make their coworkers tolerable is to dive headfirst into the drinks menu. But between the wine, cocktails, and beer, that “just one” can quickly become a blur of regret. Whether you black out before dessert or just wake up questioning every move you made on the dance floor, the hangover is never worth it.

If you’re not cutting out alcohol completely but still want to avoid feeling like death warmed up the next day, health experts have a simple strategy that could be your saving grace: zebra striping.

What is zebra striping and how does it help?

Zebra striping involves alternating between alcoholic drinks and water throughout your night. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it could be the one thing that saves you from a splitting headache the morning after.

Experts say one of the biggest reasons we get hangovers is dehydration. Even if your drink tastes cool and refreshing, it’s actually drying you out. The water, meanwhile, keeps your body hydrated, flushes out toxins, and even refreshes your palate for your next sip of booze.

According to Cosmopolitan, “everyone” should be trying this hack, and non-alcoholic beer brand Lucky Saint is also backing the trend. Luke Boase, the company's founder, said: "We've seen this trend of zebra striping grow massively this year, with a quarter of UK adults now doing it."

He added: "Alternating between alcohol-free and alcoholic drinks is an easy structure to follow and helps people define how they are approaching their drinking."

Brits are already getting on board

A recent survey shows around 25 percent of Brits are already zebra striping, and two-thirds say they regularly mix in non-alcoholic drinks during their nights out. That’s a pretty solid sign that the method is catching on - especially with seasoned partygoers who’ve learned the hard way how brutal hangovers can be.

And let's face it, sipping a glass of water in between pints might not be the most exciting choice, but it’s cheaper than any “miracle” hangover cure and a lot more effective than heading straight to McDonald’s and hoping for the best.

If you’ve got a Christmas party this week, it might be time to test the zebra striping method yourself. Not just to save your own dignity, but so you can stay sharp enough to remember the embarrassing things everyone else does.

Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.

Featured image credit: fcafotodigital / Getty