This week Orkney Alcohol & Drugs Partnership is joining over 1700 organisations and groups all across the UK in promoting Alcohol Awareness Week.

Alcohol Awareness Week is a public health campaign, led by Alcohol Change UK; it is a great opportunity to get people thinking about their drinking & encouraging people to make positive changes to reduce their use. The theme of Alcohol Awareness Week this year is ‘Alcohol and me.’

Orkney Alcohol & Drugs Partnership will be in the Pickaquoy Centre on Thursday 14th November  and Town Hall on Friday 15th of November.

Consuming more than the recommended allowance of alcohol units can be damaging to our mental and physical health, our families and our wider communities.

The best way to reduce your alcohol intake is to stick to the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines. The CMO recommends that adults consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week.

The recommendation for pregnant women is no use of alcohol whatsoever throughout pregnancy, alcohol is a powerful teratogen which causes serious birth defects and lifelong physical and mental health problems for children, including Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Children are recommended to have a childhood completely free of alcohol due to the detrimental effect it can have on their developing organs and brain.

Top Tips for Reducing:

• Make a plan – Set a limit on how much you’re going to drink, stick to it.
• Set a budget – Only take a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol.
• Let them know – If you let your friends and family know you’re cutting down..
• Take it a day at a time – Cut back a little each day. That way, every day you do is a success.
• Make it a smaller one – Go for smaller sizes. Try bottled beer instead of pints, or a small glass of wine instead of a large one.
• Have a lower strength drink – Cut down by swapping strong drinks for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %).
• Stay hydrated – Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or other non-alcoholic drinks.
• Take a break – Have several drink-free days each week.

You can get more information on our website: https://www.orkneyadp.org.uk/ or follow us on Twitter: @ADPOrkney & Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/OrkneyADP/