£10m for alcohol awareness campaign
The Government has launched a £10m campaign to improve alcohol unit knowledge and curb binge drinking
The "Know Your Limits" has been launched following a YouGov survey, which revealed that 82% of people don't know what a unit of alcohol is and 77% didn't know how many units were in a glass of wine.
The campaign is the biggest alcohol awareness spend by the Government to date and will kick-off with a series of ads on TV, radio, in press and on billboards depicting the number of units in an individual drink and emphasising the recommended daily units for men and women.
The unit campaign has a budget of £6m and will be followed up by a £4m binge drinking campaign from the Home Office next month.
"Glass sizes have grown larger and the strength of many wines and beers has increased, so it's no wonder some of us have lost track of our alcohol consumption," said public health minister Dawn Primarolo.
"This campaign is all about helping people understand how many units are in their favourite drinks, and helping them to keep an eye on their intake for the good of their long-term health.
"Excessive alcohol consumption is proven to play a significant role in the development of numerous diseases, including several cancers, heart disease and stroke. That's why this campaign is so important to the public's health."
Home Office minister Vernon Coaker added: "I fully welcome this public information campaign. Combined with wider action across government, this is a vital measure in tackling all forms of excessive drinking."
Chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson said: "It is important that people are aware of how much alcohol their drinks contain, and the associated links to health harm."
As part of the campaign, the Government has launched a new online unit calculator that can be downloaded to your desktop.
For more information visit www.nhs.uk/units.
