Take care when you tipple
Warwickshire County Council and partners are supporting the Government’s Know Your Limits campaign reminding people to think before they drink.
Local services are highlighting the wide impact of alcohol misuse during Alcohol Awareness Week (19 to 25 October) by sharing stories about how alcohol can affect lives and communities.
Representatives from the county’s Fire and Rescue Service, Police, health and support services have spoken out about their experiences of working with people under the influence of alcohol and former alcohol users have talked about how drinking has affected their relationships.
The stories have been coordinated by the county council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team, Kit Leck, manager of the service said: “We have put these stories together with our partners to demonstrate some of the real consequences of drinking too much.
“It is not our intention to stop people from taking a drink and having a good time, we just want to remind people of the wide ranging impacts of drinking too much whilst reinforcing the important message of the week which is about moderation and staying in control - know your limits.”
Cllr Richard Hobbs, the county’s portfolio holder for community safety said: “We’re behind the Know Your Limits Campaign; alcohol is a leading cause of a number of health problems and is linked to increased levels of crime and violence in the area.
“These tales highlight the huge drain on resources in the county to deal with the effects of alcohol, this can be reduced if everyone works together to rethink drinking and this week is a great time to start.”
The Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines on lower-risk drinking recommend men drink no more than 3-4 units daily and women no more than 2-3 units each day. Over a quarter of the population in England (10 million adults) drink above these guidelines, which as well as effecting general health can increase the risk of heart and liver disease, breast cancer, and stroke.
Know Your Limits is a joint Department of Health and Home Office initiative. It offers some useful tips to help people rethink drinking habits such as, advising people to set achievable goals to reduce intake, to keep drink diaries to record when and how much they are drinking and to pace themselves or alternate alcoholic and soft drinks when they are out.
To read the case studies online and find out more about alcohol support services in Warwickshire please visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/alcohol.