Issued: 04 July 2008
Home Drinkers Asked To ‘Stop And Think’
The Tayside Alcohol Awareness Co-ordinating Group today Friday 4 July launched a new bus campaign aimed at raising awareness of consumption of alcohol by those who drink at home.
The Tayside Alcohol Awareness Co-ordinating Group, which is made up of local Drug and Alcohol Action teams from Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross, want people to ‘stop and think’ about their alcohol use at home. When people drink at home they can be quite generous with the amount they pour into their glasses and that amount can far exceed that of a normal unit measurement of alcohol.
In the UK a ‘unit of alcohol’ is 8 gms (10 ml) of pure alcohol. A pint of strong (5%) lager is about 3 units, a glass (175ml) of wine at 12% is about 2 units, a 25ml measure of spirits is 1 unit.
Eileen McArthur, Angus DAAT, commented: “This is the second phase of our activity to highlight the dangers of drinking excessively at home.
“Drinking habits are changing and drinking at home is becoming more and more commonplace. As a nation we’re buying more cut-price alcohol from supermarkets and off licences and the Tayside Co-ordinating Group are keen to highlight this message to individuals and families.
“We want to encourage people who drink outside the low risk daily drinking limits of one to two units for women and two to three units for men, to think about the potential damage they are doing to themselves.”
Excessive consumption of alcohol can result in many health problems some of which occur after drinking over a relatively short period, whilst others develop more gradually and in some cases, only become evident after long-term heavy drinking. Short term health issues include intoxication and poisoning while long-term excessive consumption causes serious damage to the liver and other parts of the body. In addition to physical problems, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to mental health problems such as dependency and/or depression.
Evidence suggests that excessive consumption of alcohol is a contributory factor in cancer, stomach disorders, stroke and heart disease.
Paul Ballard, Deputy Director of Public Health, NHS Tayside says, “Don't fool yourself about how much you drink at home. It is easy to underestimate the amount you drink.
“We are urging drinkers to look at the amount of alcohol they drink and think about measuring the total over a week, instead of just pouring it. Alcohol affects people’s health in many ways, including their mental health and risk of cancer.”
Anyone who would like help or advice on their drinking should firstly contact Drinkline on 0800 7 314 314 where you can talk to someone in confidence about alcohol or you can visit www.infoscotland.com/alcohol for alcohol information, advice and an online drinks diary.