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Alcohol countdown
underway
In Northern Ireland
three quarters of men and over two thirds of women now drink,
according to recent research by the Health Promotion Agency.
The findings
from this research coincide with the launch of the Agency's
new public information initiative, Alcohol Countdown.
This will help
drinkers work out how much alcohol is in various drinks. It
also focuses on the limits to the number of units which may
be consumed before drinking can begin to affect health and
wellbeing.
Rob Phipps, Alcohol
and Drugs Programme Manager for the Health Promotion Agency
explained: "We know from our findings that a significant amount
of drinking is done at home and that far more people are drinking
at weekends. Research shows that the number of men who drink
during the week trebles on a Saturday night and for women
this number quadruples.
"This is an opportunity
to remind drinkers how to measure their drinks in units which
enables them to assess more accurately how much they are drinking.
We are targeting both home and pub drinkers as it is important
for everyone to know just how much alcohol they are consuming."
The campaign
is being heavily supported by 200 off-sale retailers who will
be giving customers a drinks measure and a handy credit
card style unit guide which shows the limits which men
and women should not exceed each day.
The recommended
daily limits or benchmarks are three to four units for men
and two to three units for women. These benchmarks should
not be exceeded as drinking at or above these limits every
day carries serious health risks.
Rob continued:
"Daily benchmarks are there for good health reasons. For instance,
we know that binge drinking is associated with a higher risk
of strokes. It is hoped this campaign will increase awareness
among Northern Ireland drinkers so they can try to avoid these
risks."
Bass Ireland
and Guinness NI are also supporting the campaign by distributing
one million beer mats carrying the important daily unit message
to all pubs, clubs and hotels throughout Northern Ireland.
The campaign will continue over the next few weeks.
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