What does your drinking say about you?

Drinking is higher amongst employed people than the unemployed, over 45s are more likely to drink every day, and 200,000 people in the UK come to work every day with a hangover*.

Does this mean alcohol use is related to stress? Are younger drinkers more conservative or is their drinking behaviour different? Do people know about safe drinking levels or how many alcohol free days to have each week?

'It's time to talk about drinking' is the theme for this year's Alcohol Awareness Week from Alcohol Concern (19 – 25 November) and Warwickshire County Council and partners are behind the campaign.

The council's Community Safety and Substance Misuse Team are asking people to use the week to take the time to think about their drinking.

Throughout the week, the team will be tweeting top tips to help people ensure that, if they want to drink, they do it safely. Follow them now and join in the conversation during the week @SafeInWarks.

Paul Hooper, Warwickshire County Council Substance Misuse Manager said: “The theme for the Alcohol Awareness Week has given us the opportunity to start some conversations about drinking and to give everyone an opportunity to consider their own behaviour.

“The Department of Health recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day, and women no more than 2-3 units a day. At least two alcohol free days a week are advised to allow your body to recover. But people are unaware of these recommendations and often lose track of what they consume.

“I hope people will follow us throughout the week to better understand the dangers of drinking too much, pick up some advice, and find out about support available in the county."

Each day during the week the Safe In Warwickshire blog and this news site will feature informative articles about a range of topics related to alcohol and safe drinking. These will 'talk' to different groups of people including, parents, young people and community groups. @SafeInWarks will also be tweeting through the week.

Lots of activity will also be taking place around the county, including:

• The provision of information to schools
• The launch of a new information leaflet about alcohol and drugs for parents
• Promotion of safe drinking messages at events and through community venues
• The launch of a Reducing Substance Misuse Related Fire Risk Protocol
• Students at the University of Warwick trying to stick to the top tips for safe drinking, and keeping diaries about their experience.

Warwickshire County Councillor Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection added: “It's important that we address levels of irresponsible drinking which can lead to a host of health and social problems. Alcohol Awareness Week gives us the opportunity to give the topic some focus and include the public in a discussion about the consequences."

For more information go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/alcohol, or to find out more about Alcohol Awareness Week go to www.alcoholconcern.org.uk.

The Recovery Partnership can help anyone concerned about their own or someone else's drinking behaviour, visit cw-recovery.org.uk.

If you are under 18, or concerned about someone who is, contact Compass Warwickshire on 08000 88 72 48.