Alcohol Misuse
Drinking Sensibly
No-one is trying to spoil your fun or saying you should never
drink. But everyone, regardless of age or whether they "can
handle it" should always drink sensibly.
But how much is safe?
The government’s guidelines state that Men should consume no
more than 3-4 units per day and women no more that 2-3 units.
1 unit of alcohol = half a pint of ordinary strength
lager/beer/cider (3.5% ABV)
OR
25 ml pub measure of spirit (40%
ABV)
OR
A small glass of wine (9% ABV)
Refraining on one day should not mean excess on another.
Remember: it is never safe and there is never an excuse to drink
and drive.
What if I’m worried about my drinking?
If you are worried you may be drinking too much
and want to cut down, the following tips may help. At the end of
the page there are also links to other organisations who may be
able to help.
First start by working out what you drink in a week. If it is
difficult to remember keep a daily note of all the drinks, how many
units in each, the times of day and where you were. If this is a
typical week, your notes should give you a good idea about whether
you are drinking too much and, importantly, the situations in which
you drink and whether it’s going to be hard to cut down
If you think your drinking is a problem, try following these
steps:
Step 1
Decide what your aim is. Do you want to give up alcohol
altogether? Or do you want to cut down to within daily benchmarks?
Or maybe you want to avoid binge-drinking and all the problems that
go with it. The decision is yours but be clear about what you want
to achieve.
Step 2
Pick a day in the next week to start cutting down. Go for a day
when you are likely to be relaxed and not under pressure. Plan
ahead for a day when it is easier to avoid alcohol.
Step 3
Work out how you can avoid situations when you know you end up
drinking more. If you often drink at home, stock up on alternatives
to alcohol, like alcohol-free beers, or lagers or wine or soft
drinks. You might like to tell other people that you are cutting
back, this should avoid them putting pressure on you to drink and
they might even join in.
Step 4
Do not give up! Changing habits like drinking takes time and
hard work and sometimes it is difficult to drink less. Keep
focusing on the positive things you have achieved. If you do
relapse, set a new date to start reducing again.
Step 5
If you continue to find it difficult to cut down you could see a
trained alcohol counsellor to help you develop strategies or
contact Drinkline for advice.
Try phrases such as: "No thanks, I’ve had enough" or "I have got a
lot on tomorrow".
Reward yourself. Chart your progress. Cutting down requires
willpower and self-control so you should be pleased with yourself
for succeeding. Buy yourself something special with the money you
save from not drinking. Be honest with yourself. Make sure you only
reward yourself when you meet the targets you set yourself.
Further Information visit the following websites:
18-24
year olds
A survey of 2,000 young adults shows some worrying attitudes to
drinking, extreme drunken behaviour and subsequent regret of that
behaviour. The findings, released as part of Drinkaware's
'Why let good times go bad?' campaign, include:
- One in three (30%)18-24 year olds think it is acceptable to
wake up without knowing how they got home after a drinking session.
In the last 12 months, 27% of young adults, have done this and a
third (33%) of those have felt regret.
- More than a third (35%) of 18-24 year olds think it is
appropriate to have a one night stand as a result of drinking. 18%
say they have done this in the past year and two fifths (40%) have
regretted their behaviour.
- One in 25 (4%) young adults think it is OK to end up in
hospital as a result of drinking too much alcohol. According to the
survey, 3% have done this in the last 12 months and three fifths
(61%) of these regret their behaviour.
for more information visit the Alcohol
Concern website.
Cheshire East Alcohol Statistics
The local effects of alcohol can be viewed at Local Alcohol Profiles for
England when Cheshire East is entered in the area tab. The
profile shows that the number of alcohol-attributable hospital
admissions, for both males and females, has continued to increase
since 2004.
