Cambridgeshire crime commissioner gives alcohol risk warning

Alcohol Awareness Week starts today (Monday), and commissioner Jason Ablewhite is taking the opportunity to remind local people of the risks involved in drinking.

With the theme of this year’s initiative being “knowing the risks”, Alcohol Awareness Week aims to get people thinking about alcohol – how it affects us as individuals, families, communities and society as a whole.

Mr Ablewhite said: “This campaign is a good opportunity for us all to make sure we understand the current guidance around recommended limits of alcohol; it also highlights the dangers excessive drinking can have on our health. Alcohol remains one of the three biggest lifestyle risk factors for disease and death in the UK, after smoking and obesity.

Excessive drinking has implications for all of us – individuals and the public services that have to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. I remain committed to working with public sector organisations to tackle alcohol misuse in Cambridgeshire.”

Guidance issued in January 2016 states that the limits for both men and women are the same – which is not to drink more than 14 units a week, and to spread these units evenly over 3 or more days.

Statistics provided by Alcohol Concern show that 20% of the population of Cambridgeshire (19% in Peterborough) are drinking at a level which increases the risk of damaging their health and 208 people (67 in Peterborough) died from alcohol-related causes.

This year, the campaign will focus on a number of health related issues such as alcohol and cancer, alcohol and depression, and alcohol and brain damage.

The Commissioner has already added his voice to a national campaign calling for a reduction in the national drink drive limit from 80mg to 50mg.