Campaign targets ‘unsuspecting’ binge drinkers
‘Unsuspecting’ binge drinkers in their 30s and 40s will be the key target of a Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) campaign which begins tomorrow. The latest phase of ‘You don’t have to be drunk to being doing real damage’ will primarily focus on adult drinkers who may be unaware that they are drinking above the recommended guidelines and will highlight the serious effects this can have on their health.
While binge drinking is more commonly associated with younger age groups, research shows that 40% of 30–44 year old drinkers in Northern Ireland binge drink.1
A binge is four or more drinks (seven units or more)
in one session for women and five or more drinks (10 units or more) in
one session for men – doing this even once a week can lead to serious
health problems such as a heart attack, stroke (brain haemorrhage) or cancer.
Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the HPA, said: “Alcohol related death rates in the UK are now double the level they were 15 years ago, with drink killing more people than breast cancer, cervical cancer and MRSA together.2,3 Research also shows that an increase in heart attacks on Mondays has been linked to binge drinking at the weekends.4”
An evaluation of the HPA’s 2006 binge drinking campaign found that nearly half (47%) of those in the target age group (30–44 year olds) were encouraged to think about their current drinking behaviour as a result of seeing the campaign.
Over the past two phases of the campaign there has been an increase in the percentage of people who stated they were aware of the alcohol content of their drinks (37% in 2004 and 56% in 2006). However, when questioned on what actually constitutes a binge, awareness was relatively low. Just 13% of men correctly stated the number of drinks that make up a binge for men and 21% of women correctly stated the number of drinks that make up a binge for women.
Dr Gaffney continued: “Our research has shown that most people believe a binge to mean an abnormal drinking pattern such as drinking heavily until very drunk or drinking continuously over a number of days. There needs to be greater awareness among drinkers about the amount of alcohol that can damage their health, which is much lower than many people realise.
“This hard-hitting campaign is targeting all adults but particularly those who are at a stage in life where the short-term effects of their drinking, such as hangovers may be getting worse, and they are starting to think more seriously about their own lifestyles and long-term health. We want to encourage drinkers to think about the amount of alcohol they drink in a single session, and if they are currently drinking at the levels associated with serious health risks, to reduce the amount of alcohol they consume.”
The HPA campaign will run throughout March and incorporates television and radio advertisements as well as outdoor and press advertising. Campaign posters, leaflets and alcohol unit calculators will be distributed to GP practices, pharmacies and other organisations working in the area of alcohol. Further information and advice about alcohol related issues is available at: www.knowyourlimits.info
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For media enquiries please contact the HPA Press Office on Tel: 028 9031 1611.
1 Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Adult drinking patterns in Northern Ireland 2005. Belfast: DHSSPS, October 2006.
2 Office for National Statistics. News release: alcohol-related death rates continue to rise. 25 January 2008. Available at: www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/aldeaths0108.pdf
3 Institute of alcohol studies. Alcohol alert. Issue 1, 2008. Available at:www.ias.org.uk/resources/publications/alcoholalert/alert200801/al200801_p2.html
4 Marques-Vidal et al. Different alcohol drinking and blood pressure relationships in France and Northern Ireland: The PRIME study. Hypertension 2001; 38: 1361.
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