Alcohol Awareness Week

CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council Communities First team are encouraging local residents to think about what they drink during Alcohol Awareness Week, November 18-24.

Supported by a series of roadshow events, the message this year is to encourage people to think about the risks of regularly drinking more than the recommended safe amount of alcohol.

Awareness events will be taking place during November across a range of local community venues, including:

• Coleg Sir Gar – Graig Campus 18/11/2013 09:00 to 11:30
• Trimsaran Leisure Centre 18/11/2013 12:30 to 14:30
• Danybanc 18/11/2013 15:00 to 17:00
• Morfa 19/11/2013 08:15 to 09:15
• 5 Ty’s – Station Road 19/11/2013 09:30 to 10:30
• Llwynhendy Library 19/11/2013 10:30 to 11:30
• Llwynhendy Top Site 19/11/2013 11:30 to 12:30
• Pwll Pavilion 19/11/2013 13:00 to 14:30
• Maengwynne 19/11/2013 15:00 to 17:00
• Main shoppers car park Ammanford 20/11/2013 10:00 to 11:00
• Tesco car park Ammanford 20/11/2013 11:00 to 12:00
• The Rec car park Ammanford 20/11/2013 12:00 to 13:00
• 5 Ty’s – Station Road 20/11/2013 14:00 to 16:00
• Penygaer car park 21/11/2013 08:00 to 09:30
• Town Centre – Elli Centre 21/11/2013 11:30 to 16:00
• Bigyn – Pen-Y-Fan Park 22/11/2013 10:00 to 11:30
• Llanelli Christmas Carnival 22/11/2013 15:00 to 18:00
• Ammanford Christmas Carnival 23/11/2013 10:00 to 15:00

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Communities First team will also be offering free information and advice, and encouraging people to start considering cutting back on how much and how often they are drinking.

Executive board member for Regeneration, Cllr Meryl Gravell, said:”This campaign is not just for heavy drinkers or binge drinkers but for those who are regularly just drinking a little bit over the recommended daily units during their evenings at home.”

The government advises that people should not drink more than the daily guidelines of 3 – 4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of average strength beer), and 2 – 3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a medium glass of wine).

Communities First Integrated Health Worker Lynsey Jones, said:” Drinking above the recommended safe amount on a regular basis can lead to longer term health problems such as weight gain, depression, anxiety, liver disease to name but a few.”

Communities First is a community focused programme that supports the Welsh Government’s Anti-Poverty agenda. They aspire to support the most disadvantaged people in the most deprived areas with the aim of contributing to alleviating persistent poverty. The programme goal is to contribute, alongside other programmes, to narrowing the education skills, economic and health gaps between our most deprived and more affluent areas.