Just in time for this year’s ‘Sober October’ a new health initiative is being launched in Knowsley – and across Cheshire and Merseyside – to help people cut down on the amount of alcohol they drink.
Designed to raise awareness of the free Lower My Drinking app and with a theme of ‘The answer’s in your hands’, the campaign, which has been developed with help of local people, encourages people to consider how much they drink, download the app and use it to put them in control of their drinking.
How the app can help you
The Lower My Drinking app can help you work out why you drink and gives you expert advice and tools to help you reduce your drinking to the recommended 14 units a week or less.
It helps you to start to lower your drinking in just a few simple steps:
- Set a realistic drinking goal and help track your progress
- Focus on what motivates you to reduce your drinking
- Regularly review your drinking habits
- Compare your drinking levels every week to see how you score
- Use motivational techniques to help you on your journey to healthier drinking
- Set alerts to help you on your way to staying on top of your drinking levels
To download the app or find out more visit the Lower My Drinking website.
Cllr Bannon, Knowsley Cabinet Member for Health, said:
“The free Lower My Drinking App is a fantastic tool for anyone looking to lower their alcohol intake, whether that is cutting down or cutting out completely.
“It is easy for drinking habits to form, especially when we are faced with stresses in our lives and the app can support to break these. It has been designed by clinical psychologists and behavioural scientists to help support you to reduce your drinking to a safer level.
“When things get tough, we can find ourselves turning to alcohol to cope and slipping into drinking habits we wish we could break.
“Whatever your situation, managing your drinking will help you to get healthier and feel better. Download the app today and start feeling the benefits.”
Ian Ashworth, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Director of Population Health, said:
“Reducing alcohol harm is a real priority in today’s world. Among people aged 15 to 49, alcohol is the leading risk factor for ill health, early mortality and disability, and in Cheshire and Merseyside over a quarter of the adult population consumes higher levels of alcohol than the recommended guidelines.
“Across our subregion alone it’s estimated to cost around £994 million each year across the NHS, social services, crime and licensing, and the workplace.”
The campaign will be running across press, social media and in public places across Cheshire and Merseyside throughout the autumn and winter months.
The body behind the initiative is the Champs Public Health Collaborative, a long-standing formal partnership of Cheshire and Merseyside’s nine Directors of Public Health and their teams.
The work is funded by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, the Integrated Care Board for the subregion which holds responsibility for planning NHS services, including Primary Care, community pharmacy and those previously planned by clinical commissioning groups.