Drinkers share their stories for alcohol safety drive

A CAMPAIGN to tackle excessive drinking across North Yorkshire has seen residents in the county sign up to provide their own firsthand accounts of how alcohol has affected their lives.

North Yorkshire County Council is overseeing the initiative to reduce alcohol-related harm, including admissions to hospitals.

Four people from the county have now agreed to share their stories to inspire others to consider how much they drink in a new campaign, Wake Up North Yorkshire.

A couple from Harrogate, Samantha and Ted, who are using only their first names for the campaign, had a drink on most nights while at home before their son died.

They realised that alcohol was not helping them to get through their grief, and was actually making them feel worse.

Ted said: “I decided to cut down and I feel better. I wake up in the morning now and I feel fine. You don’t forget losing a son, but you learn, eventually, to live with it.

“I still speak to him every day, but I don’t take a drink every day.”

The campaign, which will run until September, was launched after research revealed that more than 40 per cent of people who responded to a survey of 1,000 residents in North Yorkshire admitted they drink more than what is considered a safe amount under official medical guidelines.

The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has stated that a safe levels should not exceed regularly drinking more than six glasses of wine or pints of beer a week. Women have been urged not to regularly consume more than three glasses of wine or pints of beer, while the threshold for men is four glasses of wine or pints of beer on any single occasion.

More information about the campaign is available at www. wakeupnorthyorks.co.uk.