Advice
Staying save at home, is about you controlling what you drink, remember we tend to pour larger amounts of alcohol into the glass than we would get in a Bar or Club. Also importantly be careful about mixing drinks, as by 'Front Loading', this is what we call drinking before you go out, you might feel fine then go out and end up in a mess! Importantly if your driving in the morning, be very careful what you drink the night before, with changes in the alcohol and driving which is now 50 milligrams of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of blood.
Why is staying safe at home important! The answer is relatively simple, people consume more at home than they believe they are drinking. We don't pour pub measures, we pour very large measures and we tend to mix our drinks more, thus 'front loading' before we go out!
The main point is to plan the night, this is important if you don't live local, so remember book a taxi and do not flag one down. Txt your friends when you get home and never assume your friend wonder off and got home. Friends look after their friends.
In Perth & Kinross there are a variety of services that can support you around issues you are having with alcohol. TCA (Tayside Council on Alcohol), is a voluntary service, you can get support at Highland House from the NHS services or Social Work. Mutual Aid Groups like AA and Smart Recovery, have regular meeting in Perth & Kinross. If you e-mail us we can give you direct details, or have a look at the Help Pages within this guide which provides more detailed information.
Alcohol advice varies depending on factors such as your age, your sex and your body weight, it is important to be aware of this, also it has been found that children who drink at a younger age and become 'regular drinkers' tend to move on to having heavy alcohol use and are more liable to have health issues at an earlier age. We are beginning to see people with Cirrhosis of the liver in their early 20's, our female Cirrhosis rate in Scotland is as high as the male Cirrhosis rate in England. This is causing major strain on health and social care services.
As a parent it is not always easy to talk to your child about alcohol, for most people they might drink and feel guilty discussing this with their child. It is important to note that parents are the biggest influence on a child's life. So you can discuss alcohol with them, this is important to explain the dangers of alcohol, which we tend to forget is a powerful drug.
There is a range of useful tips that you can find to cut down on your alcohol use, its good to plan and think through your consumption, so you can reduce what you drink and when you drink. You can be in control and decide to cut back, if this is difficult, it might be worth talking with someone.
There are various ways that you can measure what you are drinking, one of the best is a FREE app from 'Drinkaware' which helps you measure your consumption. You can also get alcohol diaries from TCA (Tayside Council on Alcohol). There is so many ways and this can be done discreetly, no one but you needs to know.
