Alcohol Awareness Week takes place from 19-25 June and the theme this year is “Know Your Units.”
Addiction and health specialists in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust say that alcohol plays a part in many of our lives, yet it’s surprising how little people know about it. Apart from medicines, alcohol is the world’s most widely used drug.
A glass of wine with dinner, a beer after work, a cocktail in the sunshine on holiday, it is in so many parts of our lives. It can be easy to forget that, like many drugs, if misused, it’s addictive, and can cause a lot of damage.
It has widely been acknowledged that Northern Ireland has an ‘alcohol problem’, in terms of consumption levels, health issues and the wider social impact on individuals, families and communities. Alcohol is a casual factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including various cancers and mental health issues. We drink a lot here, therefore it is important to “Know your limits”
Do you know your recommended units of alcohol per week? The Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines, (Jan 2016), state that there’s no safe level of alcohol consumption. Unit guidelines are the same for men and women and both are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units per week. It is best to spread your drinking evenly over 3 or more days.
Units of alcohol are a measure of the volume of pure alcohol in an alcoholic beverage. They are used in Northern Ireland as a guideline for alcohol consumption. One unit of alcohol is defined as 10 millilitres in the UK. It is often stated that a unit of alcohol is supplied by a small glass of wine, half a pint of beer, or 25 ml of a spirit. Such statements may be misleading because they do not reflect differences in strength of the various kinds of wines, beers, and spirits.
To make it easy for you to monitor the amount of alcohol units you drink each week, Alcohol and You offer a free interactive “Know Your Units” app which is a great way for you stay on track.
For more information on alcohol and to test if your alcohol intake is on the mark why not visit:
or for a directory of services in your area visit:
