Time to rethink your drink during Alcohol Awareness Week

9 November

Media opportunities:  Monday 14 November

Surrey University - Alcohol Awareness event 12 noon - 3pm

Guildford Train Station - Alcohol Awareness roadshow - 4pm - 6pm

People in Guildford borough are being urged to rethink their drinking habits during Alcohol Awareness Week (14 - 20 November).

The Safer Guildford Partnership is supporting Alcohol Awareness Week and encouraging people to take stock of how they treat alcohol in their daily lives. 

Surrey police officers will be running a special awareness roadshow at Surrey University on Monday 14 November between 12 noon and 3pm.  They will offer information and advice about the dangers of 'drink spiking', how to drink responsibly and to stay safe whilst drinking alcohol, plus related health issues and how to look after your friends if they have put themselves at risk whilst under the influence of alcohol. They will also be handing out information leaflets containing useful contact details and telephone numbers.

Later the same day (Monday 14 November), members of the Safer Guildford Partnership will be out on the streets at Guildford Train Station in the afternoon from 4-6pm with a key message to adults that it is illegal to buy or supply alcohol to teenagers and children under the age of 18.  Not only is it illegal, but if caught it also carries a penalty of an £80 fine.

Surrey Police Chief Inspector Matt Goodridge, stated: "We're supporting Alcohol Awareness Week because alcohol is one of the leading causes of health and anti-social behaviour problems in the borough.  It's so easy to get into a routine of regular drinking which can put your health and the health of others at risk."

Neighbourhood teams will also be out and about all week speaking to parents and asking them to pledge their commitment not to buy or supply alcohol for under 18's.

The recommended levels of alcohol consumption are no more than 3-4 units a day for men and 2-3 units a day for women.

Due to a range of sociological factors, including the relatively cheap price of alcohol and the fact that many youngsters have parties at home, alcohol is often bought and consumed irresponsibly and illegally.

Dr Michael Baker, of Surrey Primary Care Trust stated: "Approximately a quarter of Surrey's population drink above the guidelines which is not only causing health problems but is also taking its toll on local services, in particular hospitals and the police."

Keeping a drink diary for a week is easy, and can really make you stop and think about whether you ought to be cutting back - and there's no better time than Alcohol Awareness Week to give it a go.

Drinking above the advised levels can increase your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, liver disease, stroke and other diseases. Drinking above lower-risk guidelines can also impact on your ability to get a good night's sleep and affect your general day-to-day health.

Here are some top tips to help cut down:

• Decide on your ultimate goal. To cut down or avoid binge drinking or perhaps give up alcohol altogether.
• Pick a day of the next week to start cutting down. Go for a day when you are less likely to be under pressure, so it's easier to avoid alcohol.
• Keep a drink diary. Writing this on a regular basis will help you to work out how much you're drinking.
• Work out how you can avoid situations that you know will encourage you to drink. For example, if you're going out with friends suggest the cinema instead of the pub.
• Pace yourself. Try drinking each drink more slowly or alternating alcoholic drinks with soft or low alcohol ones.
• Find something else to do while you drink, like playing pool, or dancing. This will take your mind off your drinks and help you to slow down.
• Get out of the habit of drinking because you are stressed or have nothing else to do. Look for other ways to relax: activities like swimming or going for a walk will make you feel better and don't involve alcohol.
• Take stock of your progress and make sure you give yourself credit where it's due for your achievements so far. This will help you keep going to achieve your targets.
• Try to have at least two alcohol-free days a week. Choose days when you're less likely to be in situations where you would usually drink alcohol. Always give your body a 48 hour break from alcohol if you do drink too much in one session.
• Changing a habit like drinking takes time and hard work. If you do relapse, don't stop trying, just set a new date to start cutting down again.

Many people are unaware that the calorie content of alcohol can also undo the benefits of an otherwise healthy diet and alcohol is also a major cause of infertility and male impotence.

People and particularly younger people should not ignore that alcohol may put them at risk of unprotected or unwanted sex and as a result may increase the risks of sexual infections.

For further useful information on alcohol,  visit:

NHS drinking advice

Alcohol Concern

Know your limits

Drink Aware

NHS Alcohol Calculator

NHS Alcohol Tracker

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Only Denmark and the Isle of Man have higher levels of binge drinking amongst school children than the UK  (ESPAD 2007)
• One quarter of all deaths in 15 - 24 year olds in the UK are attributable to alcohol (> 600 / year). (DoH 2008)
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011) has recently indicated that children brought up in a household where alcohol is regularly consumed, or there is drunkenness, are significantly more likely to drink at a younger age.
• One in 15 men in the UK have an alcohol problem (WHO 2010)
• The total UK consumption of alcohol is the highest in Europe, exceeded only by Russia, Croatia and Estonia (WHO 2010)
• Nine per cent of all hospital admissions are alcohol related and the total NHS cost is of the order of £3bn / year (WHO 2010)
• Alcohol is responsible for at least 13,000 cases of cancer each year including 5% of breast cancers in women.    Sites include the mouth, gullet, stomach, pancreas (x3) and liver, the colon and rectum.
• One in 10 cancers in men and one in 33 cancers in women in the UK are caused by alcohol (EPIC 2011)
• Death rates from alcoholic liver disease have risen 250% since 1985 in the UK (13,672 deaths in England and Wales, 2009 - the British Liver Trust (2011))
• Alcohol is responsible for high blood pressure (x4), and its consequences, heart failure and stroke (x2, males: x4 females).    It is also associated with injury, suicide, depression, violent death by assault, road traffic injury and death, poisoning, foetal alcohol syndrome, pancreatitis (x3) and infectious diseases.
• 50% of violent crime and domestic violence is alcohol related (BCS)
• One third of child abuse and 2/3rds of domestic violence in the evening is alcohol related (BCS)
• Alcohol related hospital admissions in Surrey doubles 2002 - 2009 and may treble by 2013.
• 460 deaths /year in Surrey are due to alcohol misuse

For interviews or more information please contact:  Lorraine Kerswill, Communications Officer for Safer Guildford Partnership, Mobile: 0791 4411479