City residents and workers are being asked to review how much alcohol they consume for Alcohol Awareness Week.
Running from Monday November 15 through to Sunday November 21, the campaign is targeting people who are already concerned about their intake, and is pointing them in the direction of further advice and help.
During Alcohol Awareness Week, staff from the City and Hackney Integrated Recovery Service will run special engagement activities for residents and workers.
The annual campaign raises awareness of how easy it is to drink too much alcohol, and flags the risks of drinking to excess.
Regularly drinking above the low-risk guidelines increases the risk of long-term physical and psychological health conditions and, because of the high number of calories in alcoholic drinks, it often contributes towards weight gain.
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In the short term, drinking alcohol can affect sleep quality, reduce productivity, and cause low mood after the initial effects of drinking wear off.
Deputy Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Community and Children’s Services Committee, Randall Anderson, said: “Unless they have a strict rule about not drinking during the week, many people would be surprised by how much alcohol they consume, and it is very easy to exceed the recommended 14 units for men and women, and to underestimate the risks involved.
“My colleagues and I would urge anyone worried about their alcohol intake or perhaps even, just curious about their, or others’, units, to talk to their GP or get information or advice from their local services in the City of London.”
According to Alcohol Change, which runs Alcohol Awareness Week, 24 percent of adults in England and Scotland regularly drink over the Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines, with alcohol misuse being the biggest risk factor for death, poor health, and disability among 15 to 49-year-olds in the UK.
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