New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS): The "hip and the happening" set in the country is partying as if there's no tomorrow. The year is drawing to a close and it's time to let your hair down. But don't go over the top, warn doctors.

Doctors have urged people that in this festive season they should have fun, but not put themselves and their family's happiness at risk. Doctors say they are not in favour of a "no drinks" policy, but are urging people to be "responsible".

The senior vice president of the Indian Medical Association, Vinay Aggarwal, said many people associate heavy drinking with the festive season. But they could still have a good time without putting their health at risk.

"Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for illness and tragedies, whose treatment cost tens of thousands of rupees," he said, referring to accidents that involve drunken driving.

"Apart from what it does to one's body, excessive drinking could cause accidents too. And no one wants to start the New Year by cooling heels in the hospital," Aggarwal told IANS.

Professor Nirmal Kumar, head of the department of gastroenterology and haematology at the Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, said: "We are not saying, don't drink. We are saying that if you do, then drink responsibly."

He said many don't even know what is a standard drink. "While women should consume a maximum of 14 units, men should drink no more than 21 units a week. Each unit contains eight grams of alcohol.

"A woman should stick to two units a day as they are more at risk compared to men. Men should consume no more than three units a day. It is not safe drinking, but sensible drinking."

The doctor said when people buy a bottle of beer they think they are not consuming alcohol. "But they have actually downed 42 grams of alcohol."

It has been seen that many people count their drinks by glasses and fail to measure it.

"Most people measure their drinks by the number of glasses they have had or how long they have been drinking or how drunk they feel. This is wrong. If they are crossing their alcohol limits, then they are entering the danger zone," he said.

"A person who drinks 100 ml of whiskey is actually consuming 40 grams of alcohol. The same applies to wine. If you are consuming 200-300 ml of wine, it means 45 grams of alcohol," Kumar said.

He said drinkers not only pose danger to themselves, but for their families too. "It disturbs the whole family. They pay for their drinks and buy diseases," he added.

Rajnish Monga, a gastroenterologist at Paras hospital, said binge drinking once in a while may not harm people, but he does not advise it.

"When a person over-indulges, he or she may develop gastritis, an irritation in the stomach, causing pain and vomiting. The liver is affected only if one drinks frequently for a prolonged time," he said.

To prevent alcohol from affecting health, liquor should be consumed on a full stomach. "It is advisable to have something to eat with the drinks, as it reduces the scope of alcohol being absorbed by the stomach walls," he said.

But he added it would not be advisable to drive after drinking.

Explaining the effects of excessive drinking, Piyush Rajan, gastroenterologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said: "As such binge drinking at times may not cause liver problems in short term, but it can lead to pancreatitis. It is a disease of the pancreas, the gland that secretes enzymes for digestion."

Binge drinking can also cause Mallory Weiss, a disease in which there are tears along the mucosa at the junction of the stomach and esophagus leading to internal bleeding, he said.

"This may happen due to recurrent vomiting and coughing after drinks. Other then this, one can have neurological problems like drowsiness and headache," he said.

Hariharan, secretary of the Indian Alcohol Policy Alliance, an advocacy group for the control of alcohol in India, blamed restaurants and pubs for offering "happy hours" - a promotional scheme where one buys a drink and gets another free - for luring youngsters to drink excessively.

"These schemes need to be abolished. This is how young people start drinking. They tend to drink more than their capacity. And then they are the ones who are involved in accidents," he said.