Southwark Council supports Alcohol Awareness Week

15 November 2017

As part of Alcohol Awareness Week, Southwark Council is encouraging the public to consider the impact alcohol has on family life.

The focus of this year’s campaign is alcohol and its impact on families; highlighting the importance of having open conversations about harmful drinking to break the silence and stigma surrounding these issues.

In total, alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the UK economy over £21 billion each year. In Southwark, it is estimated that alcohol related ambulance call-outs cost approximately £480,000 every year. Figures show that there were 3113 alcohol related hospital admissions of Southwark residents in 2014-15.

Southwark Council has been at the forefront of public health work to influence the alcohol licensing process. Public health works closely with licensing and the other responsible authorities to restrict the number of hours that alcohol is for sale and restricting sales of low cost and high strength alcohol.

To help break down barriers around talking about harmful drinking, Southwark Council along with Peer Mentors from the Recovery Support Service will be running an information stall at Elephant and Castle shopping centre. The stall will be open between 2pm-5pm on Thursday 16 November and there will be the opportunity to speak to specialist workers and peer mentors. You can try out our beer goggles, see what a unit of alcohol really is and you’ll be given a ‘re-think your drink’ scratch card to help you look at your drinking habits in a different way. There will also be information for you to take away.

Cllr Maisie Anderson, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Social Regeneration, said: “Alcohol abuse can have devastating and far-reaching impacts on individuals, their families and society. It is important that we break the silence and stigma that families affected by harmful drinking can all too often experience.

“I would encourage anyone who is struggling with alcohol dependency to contact Change, Grow Live or come along to the Alcohol Awareness Week information stall.”

Page last updated: 15 November 2017

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