The Public Health team and partners in Bolton are urging residents to think about how their drinking can impact on their health and wellbeing, and their lives as part of Alcohol Awareness Week.
This year's Alcohol Awareness Week, takes place from 6-12 July and its theme is 'Alcohol and Me'.
The campaign is led by Alcohol Change UK, a UK charity who wants to create a society free from the physical, mental, societal, and economic harms associated with alcohol.
To help promote the campaign the charity is sharing:
- Tools to help you learn more about how alcohol might be affecting your health and wellbeing and what, if anything, you’d like to do next
- Top tips for cutting down
- Stories of change
In a world where alcohol is often made to feel central to everyday moments, from birthdays and barbecues to nights in front of the TV and celebrations with friends, this year’s campaign invites us to pause and reflect on the role that alcohol is playing in our lives.
Around 10 million of us are regularly drinking alcohol in ways that can harm our health and wellbeing.
While alcohol can often feel normal, expected and woven into daily life, it can affect us in ways we do not always recognise.
From disrupted sleep and low energy to increased anxiety, stress and feeling less present in our relationships and day-to-day lives.
Over time, alcohol can also increase the risk of serious health conditions including liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke and several types of cancer.
This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week aims to normalise checking in with our drinking in the same way we keep track of other aspects of our health and wellbeing, such as visiting the dentist, monitoring our blood pressure or getting our eyes tested.
Through Alcohol Change UK’s free and confidential ’Check your drinking’ quiz, people can better understand their drinking patterns, alcohol risk level and what steps, if any, they may want to take next which is available at Alcohol Change UK website.
Cllr Jackie Schofield, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:
“Most of us enjoy an occasional drink, but for some drinking alcohol can get more problematic and this can lead to significant life changing health and relationship problems.
“Understanding how much you drink, and how it affects your health and wellbeing, as well as the lives of others around you, could be the first step to preventing an escalation of the challenges associated with increased drinking levels – it may be just what you need to make positive changes in your life.
“Find out more with the free Try Dry® app and it may surprise you as it tracks how many units, calories and money you could save by cutting down on your drinking.”
Try Dry® today at App Store and Google Play.
Bolton also has free and confidential specialist advice and support for those who experience problems with alcohol, more details here, including for adults, and for young people.