MY SON is off to university this week and I was reflecting on the huge culture of drinking alcohol that seems to pervade university life. They say it is a social lubricant but I often wonder why we need to dull our senses and our brain in order to enjoy ourselves.

A 2011 survey found that students at Leeds, Liverpool and Cardiff Universities drank 26 units a week on average. If you factor in non-drinkers, the students who drink must have have consumed far more than that. That is far more than the recommended safe limit.

Fifty-four per cent of students had missed a morning lecture because of drinking the night before and 59 per cent experienced short term memory loss after a night on the town.

I have been looking at alcohol drinking limits and the latest advice. The current advice is that men should drink fewer than 21 units per week, and women 14 units per week. There should be two to three days of no drinking a week to allow the liver to recover.

Men should have no more than three to four units per day and women two to three units a day. A pint of beer (three to four per cent) is two units, a small glass of wine is 1.5 units and a measure of spirits( 35mls) is 1.5 units.

Some experts think these limits are too high. In Finland, the US and Holland the limit advised is 15 units/week for men because some experts think there is a link between even moderate levels of alcohol consumption and cancer. A study from Harvard suggested that even three drinks a week increased the risk of breast cancer by 15 per cent.

People who drink excessively are at risk of liver failure, cancer, depression, loss of sexual libido, obesity, dementia, lack of sleep, heart disease and high blood pressure. It can also cause addiction.

Cardiologists talk about the benefit of red wine for protecting the heart- but that is only one unit per week. A large glass of wine (250 mls) has 228 calories, so people who drink regularly are more likely to put on weight.

I know young people are under a lot of pressure to join the drinking culture and it is almost seen as a rite of passage. It is not easy, but it is possible to not join the herd and only to have one or two drinks and still have fun.


Spinal support group meeting

The next spinal support group meeting will be held at the York Nuffield Hospital on October 4 at 10am. The meeting is free and patients with spinal problems and their relatives are welcome. The atmosphere is informal.

You can get a chance to speak to a specialist and chat with patients who have completed treatment. Fear of treatment is a huge problem among back pain sufferers and most patients say they feel much better after attending the meeting.


Ebola concerns

Ebola, a virus that is found in fruit bats, has killed more than 2,000 people in West Africa and is spreading. There are more than 500 cases per week and mortality rates are high. There is no cure though some new drugs are being trialled.

The World Health Organisation is very concerned about the outbreak. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed to combat it. International spread a huge worry in this age of global travel.

The symptoms are fever, bleeding and nervous system damage. It is spread by bodily fluids. Could it spread to the UK? The answer is yes, we need to commit to containing it and treating the patients in West Africa.

Manoj Krishna is a spine surgeon working at the Nuffield Hospital, York. For more information about his work visit www.spinalsurgeon.com.