Will you take on the Alcohol-Free Challenge?
Alcohol-Free Week 22 February – 28 February 2012 - www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk
Alcohol-Free Week 2012 runs from 22 February to 28 February. During this week it is hoped people will be persuaded to abstain from alcohol for all or part of the week.
The aim is to make people more conscious of their drinking habits and help them see how big a role alcohol plays in their lives and how easy, or difficult, it is to do without.
A website has been set up at www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk to help those taking up the Alcohol-Free Week challenge. The website offers tips on drinking wisely, suggestions on alternatives to drinking alcohol and a chance to win alcohol-free drinks every day during Alcohol-Free Week.
Alcohol-Free Week has been running since 2007. Each year businesses, local authorities, health trusts, health promotion agencies and educational institutions have held their own events to mark Alcohol-Free Week.
Organisations getting involved in Alcohol-Free Week include the health and social care service Turning Point which has a series of activities planned.
Alcohol-Free Week is sponsored by de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic drinks producers and is backed by the charity FAS Aware UK that promotes alcohol awareness in pregnancy.
The event is organised by the country's leading online alcohol-free drinks specialist retailers The Alcohol-Free Shop and the Lono Drinks Co.
Christine Risby from The Alcohol-Free Shop said: “We are encouraging people to give up alcohol for a weekend or the whole week. Health experts advise that we should have at least two alcohol-free days a week. We hope Alcohol-Free Week will inspire people to look honestly at the amount they drink and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
Studies by the Cancer Research charity have found that consuming even moderate amounts of alcohol every day increases the risk of some cancers by 10% and, health experts warn, can cause serious liver damage.
(EDITOR: It should be noted, however, for balance, that there is strong evidence that some so-called soft drinks can be extremely harmful, causing damage to teeth (which has nothing to do with the sugar content!) and so on.)
Showing posts with label drink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drink. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Friday, 2 December 2011
Scrap All Drink Driving Laws, argues Libertarian body
The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties think tank and pressure group, today calls on the British Government to repeal all laws against drinking and driving. Drivers should be free to drink as much alcohol as they like before and while driving. The Police should be allowed to intervene only if a driver appears from his actions to be a danger to other road users, or if he causes an accident.
Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, said: "The current law on drinking and driving is a prior restraint law. It can only be enforced by indiscriminate stops and searches. Most of the drivers stopped are not driving erratically and do not test positive. This is a breach of the Common Law prohibition of searches and seizures, except by judicial warrant and on evidence of some specific criminal behaviour.
"Moreover, every officer assigned to looking for drivers over the limit is one officer fewer to catch real criminals. This is specially the case at Christmas, which has lately become carnival a time for burglars and muggers. There are fewer officers around to deter them, and fewer to go looking for them after the event.
"Much of the propaganda against drinking and driving has nothing to do with reducing injuries to life and property, and everything to do with making it harder to enjoy a drink in good company.
"If we want to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, drinking and driving should not in itself be a crime. It should be possible for a person to drink a bottle of whisky, get into a car and drive away - and the authorities should have no power to stop this.
"Punishment should only come if a driver is so erratic that he is plainly dangerous - or if an accident is caused. But it should then in this latter case be very severe punishment.
"In general, we believe in real punishments for real crimes. Unless a real crime can be shown, we believe in telling the police to mind their own business."
(EDITOR: That's Health carries this story as a matter of public interest. Please do leave comments to this story.)
Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, said: "The current law on drinking and driving is a prior restraint law. It can only be enforced by indiscriminate stops and searches. Most of the drivers stopped are not driving erratically and do not test positive. This is a breach of the Common Law prohibition of searches and seizures, except by judicial warrant and on evidence of some specific criminal behaviour.
"Moreover, every officer assigned to looking for drivers over the limit is one officer fewer to catch real criminals. This is specially the case at Christmas, which has lately become carnival a time for burglars and muggers. There are fewer officers around to deter them, and fewer to go looking for them after the event.
"Much of the propaganda against drinking and driving has nothing to do with reducing injuries to life and property, and everything to do with making it harder to enjoy a drink in good company.
"If we want to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, drinking and driving should not in itself be a crime. It should be possible for a person to drink a bottle of whisky, get into a car and drive away - and the authorities should have no power to stop this.
"Punishment should only come if a driver is so erratic that he is plainly dangerous - or if an accident is caused. But it should then in this latter case be very severe punishment.
"In general, we believe in real punishments for real crimes. Unless a real crime can be shown, we believe in telling the police to mind their own business."
(EDITOR: That's Health carries this story as a matter of public interest. Please do leave comments to this story.)
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