Campaign launched to highlight binge drinking harm

The Health Promotion Agency has today launched a campaign to highlight the dangers of binge drinking in Northern Ireland.

The campaign aims to inform people that they do not need to be drunk in order to be doing themselves harm, and hopes to encourage people to spread their recommended intake of alcohol across the week.

The campaign will focus mainly on pubs, off-licences and clubs in a bid to persuade people to be more aware of their daily and weekly alcohol intake. Information leaflets, beer mats and paper bags will be used in these premises to draw people's attention to how much they are drinking. A unit calculator wheel is also being made available to help people figure out how much alcohol they are consuming.

It is understood that the agency will also highlight that binge drinking does not just happen in puns and clubs, but in the home too. The Health Promotion Agency defines a binge drinking session is 10 units or more for men, and seven units for women.

A spokeswoman for the HPA today said that over the course of a week, men should not drink in excess of 21 units and woman should not drink more than 14 units.

She said: "Often drinkers pack their drinking into a few sessions at the weekend unaware of the damage this is doing to their health."

It is estimated that one pint of beer, a standard glass of wine and a double of spirits constitutes two units of alcohol.

The HPA spokeswoman added: "Many people associate binge drinking with going to the pub, getting drunk and getting into fights but in fact people who sit at home and unwind over a quiet drink may also be binge drinking and therefore putting their own health at risk.

Binge drinking can lead to liver damage, heart problems, cancer, brain and pancreatic problems. It can also cause high blood pressure, depression, weight gain, reduced resistance to infection, and a lower sex drive.

(EF/SP)