Know your risks: Alcohol Awareness Week 14-20 November 2016

Plymouth City Council wants you to ‘know your risks’ as we mark Alcohol Awareness Week (14 – 20 November 2016).

For example, did you know that alcohol is linked to over 60 health conditions including cancer, gastrointestinal conditions, and liver disease? Or that a large glass of wine contains as many calories as a doughnut? Or that nationally, 10.8 million adults are drinking at levels that pose some risk to their health.

The national awareness week is led by Public Health England and supported by organisations such Alcohol Concern. New alcohol guidelines published by the Chief Medical Officer earlier this year recommend that both men and women do not regularly exceed 14 units a week. One unit is 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, so 14 units is the equivalent of 6 pints of average strength beer, or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.

Councillor Lynda Bowyer, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care for Plymouth City Council, said: “We want to encourage local people to know their risks when it comes to alcohol and also be aware of the local support services available if they think their drinking habits are becoming a problem.

“Here in Plymouth we are working hard with our partners in health, voluntary sector and police to address the issues caused by alcohol including treating those who need help, but also ensuring through early intervention and prevention we educate people of the dangers of alcohol from a young age.”

Dr Ruth Harrell, Director of Public Health for Plymouth City Council, said: “Many people enjoy a drink to relax but it’s important that everyone knows about the health risks, and acknowledge the significant harm that heavy drinking can do, as well as being aware of the new alcohol guidelines. We are promoting Alcohol Awareness Week throughout this week both through social media using the hashtag #KnowTheRisks and with the local press, as well as raising awareness amongst our own staff.

“Excessive drinking is also one of the four behaviours – along with smoking, inactivity and an unhealthy diet - that we are tackling through our Thrive Plymouth programme, which is our ten year framework to improve health and reduce health inequalities in Plymouth. In the first year Thrive Plymouth engaged with 22,000 employees represented by 35 of the city’s largest employers, while in the second year, we worked with more than 50 local schools. For year 3, we which we are launching this week, we are working with Public Health England and local partners to integrate the One You campaign locally and encouraging people to check their lifestyle habits with the How Are You? online quiz.

“We also work with our partners to commission a range of services to support local people. In addition to Alcohol Awareness Week, we will once again be supporting Dry January, and don’t forget you can sign up at www.dryjanuary.org.uk”