22-Dec-2008
With the party season in full swing and the mulled wine flowing, the Health Protection team at South Northamptonshire Council are encouraging Christmas partygoers to enjoy themselves sensibly and know their alcohol limits.
The Council is supporting the Government’s Units campaign during the festive season, which helps all drinkers understand how many units are in their favourite drinks.
The Department of Health recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol daily and that women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units daily. Frequently exceeding your recommended daily alcohol limit increases the risk of long term health harms.
In 2007/08 in England, 6 per cent of all NHS admissions (811,000 admissions in total) were related to alcohol. Alcohol misuse is calculated to cost the health service £2.7 billion per year.
Statistics from the Public Health Observatory show that in 2006, there were over nine hundred alcohol related hospital admissions from South Northamptonshire alone.
Councillor Andrew Grant, responsible for safer and stronger communities said: “The Christmas party season is a fantastic time to let your hair down and have a drink with your friends and family.
“But over the years, the strength of popular drinks has increased and glass sizes have grown – many people are unaware that a large glass of festive wine can contain as many as 3 units. By recognising the units in their drinks, partygoers can ensure they have a safe and memorable evening.”
The Government’s Units campaign was launched in May 2008 with a £6 million national advertising campaign. It follows the publication of the Government’s “Safe, Sensible, Social” alcohol strategy in 2007. The campaign aims to increase knowledge of lower risk drinking levels and to enable more people to estimate accurately their own alcohol consumption in terms of units.
For more information, please contact Claire Fairbrother, Health Improvement Officer at South Northamptonshire Council, on 01327 322282 or email claire.fairbrother@southnorthants.gov.uk
North West Public Observatory - http://www.nwph.net/alcohol
Click on the online map to get the breakdown for the East Midlands.