Alcohol

New NHS Alcohol Campaign

February 2010 sees the launch of a new £6 million national NHS campaign, highlighting the unseen damage of alcohol misuse.  

The campaign, backed by major health charities, warns drinkers of the unseen health damage caused by regularly drinking more than the recommended NHS guidelines.

The Government funded campaign, focuses on the damage being caused to drinkers organs whilst drinking at home or in a pub / club.  It can be seen in a series of stark TV, newspaper / magazine and outdoor adverts, showing the harm caused by regularly drinking more than two drinks a day.

A new YouGov poll, launched to coincide with the campaign, shows that nearly two-thirds / 62% of drinkers in the West Midlands, misguidedly believe that only regular drinking or binge drinking damages your health.

The survey of over 2,000 adults also found that, nationally 83% of those who regularly drink more than the NHS recommended limits of 2-3 units a day for women (approximately two small glasses of wine) and 3-4 units a day for men (approximately two pints of lager), don’t believe their drinking is putting their long-term health at risk.

With an estimated 10 million adults in England drinking above the recommended limits, this is equivalent to 8.3 million people potentially being unaware of the damage their drinking could be causing.

Although 87% of surveyed West Midlands drinkers knew about the link between alcohol and liver disease, far fewer realised it is also linked with breast cancer (5%), throat cancer (30%), mouth cancer (28%), stroke (38%) and heart disease (63%) to name but a few conditions.

Scientific evidence has shown:

• You could be three times more likely to have mouth cancer or a stroke, if you’re a man regularly drinking more than two pints of strong lager a day

• You're 50% more likely to get breast cancer if you’re a woman regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or more a day

The Government's Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said: “Many of us enjoy a drink and drinking sensibly isn’t a problem.  But, if you’re regularly drinking more than the NHS recommended limits, you’re more likely to get cancer, have a stroke or a heart attack.  With alcohol misuse damaging so many people’s health and lives, the Government has teamed up with Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association to produce this hard-hitting campaign.  It’s important to show drinkers the unseen damage alcohol can do to your body.”

Whilst Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England said: “Over a quarter of the population regularly drink above the Government’s recommended daily limits, with over two and half million adults regularly drinking above the higher-risk levels, putting their health at risk of serious diseases and conditions.  It is important that people realise the harm they can unknowingly cause to their health by regularly drinking more than the recommended daily limits.  This campaign gives people the facts about the effects alcohol can have on their body and provides support for those who choose to drink less.”

Did you know..........

• Each year in the UK over 9,000 people die from alcohol-related causes 

• The World Health Organisation estimates that 20% of alcohol-related deaths are from cancer, 15% from heart disease and strokes and 13% from liver disease

• Stroke is the biggest cause of severe adult disability in the UK and effects 150,000 people every year

• Scientists estimate that alcohol is responsible for approximately 9,000 UK cancer deaths each year

The campaign website (www.nhs.uk/drinking) features interactive tools to provide people with the information they need to make healthier choices.

Alcohol Awareness Week 2009

Alcohol Awareness Week was held in October 2009 and Safer Herefordshire marked the occasion with a new hard hitting campaign.

The new Herefordshire campaign, which compliments the current Government one, simply asks the question ‘you wouldn’t start a night like this, so why end it that way?’  It attempts to challenge the attitudes around the acceptability of drunken behaviour amongst 18 - 25 year olds, with the long term aim being to change drinking behaviour and ultimately reduce alcohol related harm and anti-social behaviour.

It’s not about telling people not to drink, but to simply think of the possible consequences of when they do drink.  It’s all about staying safe, whilst having a good time.

A good way of assessing and controlling the amount you drink, is by keeping a weekly drink diary, which allows you to total up your weekly units and have alcohol free days too.

If you’d like to receive a free drink diary (numbers limited) or find out more information on this campaign, please contact us on 01432 383523 or E-Mail Sharon Amery (Marketing Officer) at samery@herefordshire.gov.uk.

Our new alcohol awareness posters were produced with the help of Bottletop student's from Herefordshire College of Technology.  They very kindly volunteered to be our lovely models for the evening and produced some fantastic shots for us!

These posters have been kindly displayed within numerous organisations, including Hereford Sixth Form College, Hereford County Hospital A&E Department, Women's Aid and Community Alcohol Service.

Bottletop is an alcohol awareness website for young people by young people and can be found at www.bottletop.info.

Health Risks

The harmful effects of drinking too much when you’re young, may not become obvious for several years.  As you get older, the health risks also greatly increase as your body is less able to process alcohol.  This means it may take longer to recover from a drinking session than it did when you were younger.

If you fall, you are also more likely to cause serious injury to yourself.  You may find that your looks will also start to suffer, as not only is alcohol high in calories which leads to weight gain, but it is also linked to skin problems and premature ageing.

Heavy Drinking - Short Term Risks

• Anxiety
• Sexual difficulties - Including temporary impotence
• Slower breathing and heartbeat
• Loss of consciousness
• Accidents and injuries
• Suffocation through choking on your vomit
• Potentially fatal alcohol poisoning

Heavy Drinking - Long Term Risks

• Certain types of cancer - Especially breast cancer
• Memory loss, brain damage or dementia
• Increased risk of heart disease and stroke
• Liver disease - Especially cirrhosis and cancer

The recommended weekly units for men and women, are:

NHS Costs

The 2006 / 2007 annual estimated cost of alcohol misuse in England to the NHS, was:

(Source: The cost of alcohol harm to the NHS - The Department of Health)

Did You Know?

• It costs nearly £200 every time an ambulance is called out.

• In 2007 6,541 deaths in England were directly related to alcohol consumption.

• In 2007 / 2008 there were 863,300 alcohol related hospital admissions in England.

• 16% of men and 14% of women who've drunk alcohol in the past year, said they'd like to drink less.

• In 2007 a quarter of adults in England were classified as hazardous drinkers.

• In 2006 26% of Herefordshire pupils aged 11 - 15 had drunk alcohol that week.

You & Drinking - 10 Top Tips!

1.  Decide how many units you want to drink in an evening and stick to it

2.  Reduce your units by choosing drinks that are not so strong

3.  Avoid ‘top ups’ so you can keep track of your units

4.  Drink water before you go out and remember to have water or soft drinks between each alcoholic drink

5.  Eat before you go out and whilst you’re drinking

6.  If you think you may be drinking too much, set aside specific drink free days throughout the week

7.  If you tend to spend all your money on drink, simply take less cash out and leave your credit cards at home

8.  Before you go out, think about how you’re going to get home, either choose a designated non-drinking driver or take a licensed taxi

9.  Don’t drink in rounds as you’ll tend to drink more this way

10.  Try not to go out too often with friends who tend to drink heavily

Community Alcohol Service (CAS)

The Community Alcohol Service (CAS) provided through NHS Herefordshire has been running since 2000 and from their premises on Gaol Street in Hereford, work with patients who have been referred by their GP with moderate to heavy drinking concerns.

CAS offers full assessments to all clients, in order to establish their physical, mental and social needs before determining the best method of treatment.  They work with patients to offer structured treatment interventions, including reducing alcohol intake and safe supervised medical withdrawal from alcohol, with a view to helping people control or stop their drinking and improve their overall quality of life.

Although only a small team, they are dedicated to ensuring their clients have the best possible help and will also refer them to other organisations, depending upon their needs, which could include mental health issues or housing concerns.

Along with treatment interventions, CAS also offers other services, such as Alcohol Arrest Referral and the Alcohol Liaison Scheme.  The Arrest Referral scheme offers people who have been arrested for alcohol related offences, the opportunity to receive an assessment and advice about alcohol use. 

The Alcohol Liaison Scheme, a two year pilot running since March 2008, was set up to specifically reduce alcohol related admissions into the A&E Department at Hereford County Hospital.  The scheme was developed following a successful pilot in Paddington, London after research showed that a high percentage of all A&E admissions were alcohol related, costing the NHS approximately £645 million a year.

All people admitted into A&E are provided with a short questionnaire, asking about their drinking habits, whether their visit is alcohol related and if they’d like help.  If they would like to speak to someone, they’re given the details for the CAS Alcohol Liaison Nurse, Sarah Lewis.

Sarah’s role is focused around brief intervention work with clients, looking at how much they drink, why they drink and why they were admitted to A&E.  She also works with clients to identify the physical, and mental health implications of their drinking, offering structured advice and support.

As the Alcohol Liaison Scheme offers short term interventions only, a full assessment is undertaken to ascertain whether the client needs any other assistance, such as long term support with CAS, before being referred accordingly.  Sarah works with numerous other organisations on behalf of her clients, including Hospital Social Workers, GP’s and the Community Mental Health Team.

Sarah said “we’re not telling people not to drink, only to think about how much you do drink and the potential risks to yourself and others”.  She added “we want people to have fun and enjoy themselves, but to remain safe at the same time”.

Although clients are unable to self refer to either CAS or the Alcohol Liaison Nurse, they can ask to be referred by either their GP or A&E at Hereford County Hospital.

For further information, you can contact CAS on 01432 357825.

Additional Information

People drink for different reasons. Alcohol changes your mood, and some people say it helps them to cope with stress.

In the short term it can make you feel happy, although, in fact, alcohol's a depressant. Lots of people enjoy a drink or two, but too much can:

• Make you ill
• Give you a hangover
• Cost you a lot of money
• Cloud your judgement
• Encourage you to do things that are stupid or dangerous
• Act as a depressive
• Make you gain weight
• Lead to serious health problems and, in extreme cases, even death

Know Your Limits!

This Summer sees the Home Office re-launching their successful binge drinking campaign, aimed towards 18 - 24 year olds, which asks the question 'You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it this way?'.

The campaign seeks to challenge attitudes around the acceptability of drunken behaviour amongst 18 - 24 year olds, with the long term aim being to change drinking behaviour and ultimately reduce alcohol related harm and anti-social behaviour.  
 
The hard hitting adverts were originally run in 2008, but their high success rate has led to them being run again for 2009.  The awareness of the original campaign, among the target market of 18 - 24 year olds, was a staggering 96%.  67% agreed that the adverts had made them think more carefully about their drinking behaviour while 65% agreed that they now think about how much they actually drink on a night out.

A new addition to this year's campaign is a YouTube viral, which shows a roving reporter approaching young people in a shopping area during the day and asking them to act out the kinds of embarrassing, anti-social and potentially dangerous behaviour normally associated with drunkenness.  What starts off as light-hearted requests, such as singing in public or wearing a traffic cone, soon takes on a darker more serious tone.  Throughout the viral, young people and onlookers react with shock and embarrassment at these rather bizarre and often disturbing requests and scenes.  The film concludes with the line - ‘If you wouldn’t do it sober…’

To view this viral and others from the Home Office Know Your Limits Campaign, visit YouTube at - www.youtube.com/user/knowyourlimits2