ALCOHOL CONCERN WELCOMES NEW NATIONAL UNIT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Alcohol Concern Statement

Responding to the announcement by the Department of Health of its new ten million pound awareness raising campaign, Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern said:

"We are delighted to support the launch of this new campaign. It marks a fundamental step forward in the effort to reduce risky drinking. Most people want to drink at safe levels. However their task has been made more complicated by the wide range of drinks and serving sizes on the market that render the old rules of thumb unreliable. Greater alcohol unit literacy will enable individuals to make more informed, healthier choices about how much they drink at a time when 'lifestyle' consciousness has never been higher."

ENDS

Notes to Editors


* In 2005 (the latest year for which full statistics are available) 34% of men and 20% percent of women drank more than the recommended number of units at least once during the week prior to being interviewed. Eighteen percent of men and 8% of women had drunk more than twice the recommended limit.

* In Great Britain in 2006, 69% of adults reported that they had heard of the Government recommendations on safe drinking limits but a third said they did not know what the recommendations were.

* The number of NHS hospital admissions linked to alcohol reasons has more than doubled from the 1995/6 rate to 187,640 in 2005/6.

Date: 19 May 2008

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