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Counting the Cost of Alcohol - How do you measure
up? ©
Aims of the Programme
- To raise awareness and knowledge of alcohol
- To encourage responsible use of alcohol
- To enable participants to objectively examine alcohol
and its effects
Context
This training resource programme has been developed in consideration
of government strategies and programmes including the:
- Investing for Health Strategy 2002
- A Healthier Future – A Twenty Year Vision for Health
and Wellbeing in Northern Ireland 2005-2025
- New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs 2006 -
2011
Click here for the ‘Content
of Sessions’ [ in Adobe 'pdf' format ]
Why work to promote Alcohol Awareness?
It is an understatement to say “we enjoy our drink
here in Northern Ireland”. Many people drink and would
say they enjoy their drink. Current research suggests that
78% of men and 69% of women drink. Yet there is a cost to
our consumption of alcohol. In monetary terms, each year it
is estimated alcohol costs £34.3 million directly on
Government spending through health and prison costs. Indirectly,
it costs £743.2 million when you add up all the costs
related to premature death, lost workdays, road traffic accidents
etc. This does not relate, however, to the individual emotional
costs when families are included as one of the above “statistics”.
You can’t put a price tag on this.
| “We need to ensure that people
who choose to drink can do so without harming their
health and without suffering the social problems often
incurred through alcohol misuse. This involves:
- promoting awareness of safe limits of alcohol and
situations where any alcohol is unsafe;
- ensuring that people who are concerned about their
drinking have access to help and the necessary resources
to cut down on their drinking.”
Source: Investing for Health Strategy 2002 |
| “If alcohol problems experienced
by the population are to be reduced significantly, the
distribution of these problems in the population suggests
that a principal focus of intervention should be on
persons with mild or moderate alcohol problems.”
Source: Institute of Medicine |
The development of this training programme
was funded by Alcohol Education Research Council
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