Why alcohol awareness is as important as alcohol testing
Don Shenker, Alcohol Health Network

The majority of drinkers assume they drink within reasonable levels. The problem is the majority of drinkers do not also understand what a unit of alcohol is, how to calculate it or what the recommended drinking guidelines are[1]. In fact a quarter of drinkers drink 5 or more drinks in one sitting[2] — that’s over the guidelines for men and women.
The concern is that when employees drink off-duty they assume their consumption is moderate or at best similar to those around them — what they may not realize is how their drinking may be affecting their health.
Men drinking more than 3 pints of lager on a regular basis are twice as likely to develop liver cirrhosis and women drinking more than 3 large glasses of wine on a regular basis are nearly twice as likely to contract mouth, neck and throat cancer[3].
Excessive drinking — even when technically all the alcohol is out of your system – impacts on sleep, mood, alertness, weight, mental wellbeing and productivity.
Employees taking time off for medical appointments to manage high blood pressure, diabetes or anxiety may not realize that their drinking may be a factor in all of these conditions.
What’s needed is more alcohol awareness across the workforce — not just to reinforce zero tolerance of alcohol use while at work, but to also educate about the health benefits of sticking to recommended drinking guidelines.
To maximize productivity, employers should focus on alcohol awareness as much as they do on testing. This would prevent a large number of employees who unwittingly drink excessively from going on to develop health problems and potentially falling foul of testing procedures.
[1] Health Survey for England 2007
[2] APHO (2007) Indications of Public Health in the English Regions — Alcohol (Chapter 8)
Why alcohol awareness is as important as alcohol testing
The majority of drinkers assume they drink within reasonable levels. The problem is the majority of drinkers do not also understand what a unit of alcohol is, how to calculate it or what the recommended drinking guidelines are.
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