Alcohol Awareness Week

Alcohol Awareness Week is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking. Carlisle Healthcare is encouraging people to get involved in the week by talking about how much alcohol costs us in the form of health problems, financial worries, relationship breakdown and family difficulties. It is a week of awareness raising, campaigning for change, and more. This year's theme is Alcohol and cost.

During the week, Alcohol Change UK will be sharing tips on what to do if you think you are drinking too much alcohol, how to have a conversation with a friend or family member about their drinking, and how to get support if you are affected by a loved one’s drinking. You can share your experiences using the hashtag #AlcoholAwarenessWeek.

As part of the campaign, Alcohol Change UK will also be discussing the true cost of alcohol not only to individuals but to society too – showing how alcohol has both individual and wider societal impacts, placing significant pressure on the NHS, the police, and workplaces.

Dr Richard Piper, Chief Executive of Alcohol Change UK, said:

“The average UK adult spends a huge amount of money on alcohol in a lifetime. We might expect that we would experience some significant benefits as a result.

“But the truth is that, although alcohol can bring us some short-term pleasure, it can also encourage us to ‘overdo it’, reducing our inhibitions and putting our health, relationships, and safety at risk. This can be detrimental to our own physical and mental health and to that of those around us, as well as to our wallets.

“Drinking regularly or heavily puts us at greater risk of: heart disease, liver disease, stroke, increased blood pressure, and cancer, including throat cancer and breast cancer. It can cause tensions and disagreements with those around us and put a strain on our finances too. Plus, once drunk, it can make it harder to keep track of how many drinks we have had, putting us at greater risk of more immediate harm.

“But by taking control of our drinking, we can save money, improve our health, have more energy, improve our memory, have better sleep, reduce anxiety, improve our mood, and have better relationships.

“A great way to start is by recording what you drink for a few weeks to help you understand your drinking pattern, then setting yourself some small achievable goals to get it back under control. Use the free app Try Dry to help you keep track and set personalised goals to help you cut down.”

It is easy to take part in Alcohol Awareness Week. Join us by:

• Sharing your experiences, events and activities on social media using the hashtag #AlcoholAwarenessWeek and tagging @AlcoholChangeUK.
• Visit the Alcohol Change UK website and sign up for free resources to share across the week.
• Use the Alcohol Change UK resources to highlight the issues and drive a conversation in your community.

For information on what is happening in your community search the hashtag #AlcoholAwarenessWeek.

Find out more: https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/alcohol-awareness-week-1

Check how healthy your drinking is with this quick quiz. 

Use the unit calculator to find out how many units are in a particular drink, or to check how much you're drinking.

Published: Jul 3, 2023