ALCOHOL Guideline Roadshow Visiting Greenock
THE Count 14 tour rolls into Greenock on Thursday (20 February) to put shoppers’ knowledge of what 14 units means in terms of alcoholic drinks to the test.
The roadshow will be at the town’s Lidl store challenging people to estimate how many of their favourite drinks make up the UK chief medical officer’s weekly maximum guideline of no more than 14 units of alcohol.
The guidelines also highlight that if people do regularly drink around 14 units per week, it should be spread over three days or more, with some alcohol-free days.
Regularly exceeding the recommended maximum weekly guideline increases the risk of developing a range of health problems, including cancer of the mouth, throat and breast.
The Scottish Government’s Count 14 campaign, backed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), aims to help people understand how their weekly drinking adds up and is set to visit 12 locations across Scotland.
NHSGGC’s director of public health Linda de Caestecker, said: “We all know there are recommended weekly guidelines for alcohol and these have been around for many years. They were updated a few years ago, with no more than 14 units in a week being recommended for both men and women now. It’s important people know the guidelines and the risks they may face if regularly drinking more than that.
“If you think you are regularly drinking too much and would like to change your drinking habits, there are a few things you can do to help yourself. Confide in or talk to a friend, colleague or someone you trust about ways you could tackle this. It’s also helpful to keep a drinks diary for a month to record where, when and how much you drink as you could be underestimating it.
“Lastly, consider laying off alcohol for a while to give your body time to recover and you time to think about your alcohol use and what changes you want to make, whether it be drinking less alcohol, drinking less often or maybe stopping drinking completely.”
Chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said: “The alcohol guidelines are based on the clear evidence that as alcohol use increases, so does the risk of a range of health harms. To keep these risks low it’s recommended that men and women don’t drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
“The 14-unit guideline equates to six pints of medium strength beer, lager or cider; six medium glasses of wine or seven double measures of spirits over the course of a week.
“By increasing understanding of what this means in terms of actual alcoholic drinks, our hope is that adults in Scotland are able to make more informed choices.”
