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You
don’t have to be drunk to be doing real damage
The Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) today
launched a new campaign to encourage the drinking public
to be more aware of their alcohol consumption and to help
those drinking more than the recommended limits, to try to
reduce their alcohol intake.
Victoria Creasy,
Senior Manager for Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco at the HPA
said: “Over the course of a week, men should
not drink more than 21 units and women not more than 14 units.
It’s important to spread these units throughout the
week. Often drinkers pack their drinking into a few sessions
at the weekend unaware of the damage this is doing to their
health.
“This campaign
says to all of us, take an honest look at how much you
drink, and think about the risks. Many people
associate binge drinking with going to the pub, getting drunk
and getting into fights, but in fact people who sit at home
and unwind over a quiet drink may also be binge drinking
and therefore putting their own health at risk. The important
thing is to be aware of how much you are drinking, whatever
environment you are in.”
The campaign involves
a range of materials which will be distributed to off sales,
pubs and clubs across Northern
Ireland. The materials include a leaflet, You don’t
have to be drunk to be doing real damage, beer mats, paper
wine bottle bags featuring information about units and a
unit calculator wheel to enable people to calculate the units
of alcohol they consume.
Rob Phipps, Regional
Drug and Alcohol Strategy Coordinator at the Department
of Health, Social Services and Public Safety,
which funded the campaign, said: “Binge drinking is
a particular feature of drinking patterns in Northern Ireland.
It is unhealthy at a personal and societal level and one
which we do need to challenge and address.”
A binge is 10 units in one session for men (eg five pints
of lager) and 7 units in one session for women (eg three
small glasses of wine and a couple of vodkas). In the short
term, the health effects of binge drinking include an increased
risk of anxiety, heart attack, alcohol poisoning, sexually
transmitted infections or unplanned pregnancy and social
implications such as a higher likelihood of becoming a victim
of crime, being involved in an accident, or anti-social or
criminal behaviour.
Over time, binge drinking can cause damage to the liver,
heart, brain, pancreas and cancer. It can also contribute
to higher blood pressure, depression, family and work problems,
weight gain, reduced resistance to infection and lowered
sex drive.
END
Notes
to the Editor:
A study carried out by the HPA in 2002 - Adult drinking patterns
in Northern Ireland, revealed that:
- Over
half (56%) of drinkers in Northern Ireland drink at least
once
a week and one in 10 drinks almost daily.
- 48%
of men and 35% of women who drank in the week prior to the
survey
had participated in at least one heavy
drinking session or binge.
- 54%
of those men who described themselves as moderate drinkers
proved
to have drunk to risk level or dangerous level.
Four in 10 (41%) women who described themselves as moderate
drinkers drank above the weekly sensible drinking limit and
could be described as risk drinkers.
- Analysis
showed that bingeing was more likely to occur when people
drink in groups and to take place on Friday and
Saturday nights, in the pub.
Further information is available at: www.healthpromotionagency.org.uk/Work/Alcohol/menu.htm and www.drugsalcohol.info.
For further information contact:
Contact Jenny Dougan or Rosie McGaughey on 028 9031 1611. |
