"Lay off the shots" - police warning for drinkers

Tuesday 12 January 2016

The police are warning Islanders to lay off the shots and cut down on the boozing on our nights out.

They say they're still coming across people on the street too drunk to get themselves home safely at the weekends and want us to think about what we want from a night on the town.

Inspector Andy Bisson said: "We are trying to promote safer drinking, and we were very vocal about educating people in the run-up to Christmas. We want people to think about what they want out of a night out but unfortunately a lot of people go off that path during the night.

"We've got a culture where people pre-load before a night out and then top up later and shot drinking is a problem, people have a drink and then knock a load of shots back and the problem is you don't feel the impact straight away.

"We're not saying don't go out, don't drink! We want you to think about how you are drinking, make sure you've got friends who are looking after you. We still find people on the side of the road incapable of looking after themselves and if we can't get hold of a parent or partner to look after them unfortunately they end up at the police station.

Just last week new safer drinking limits were released by the UK's chief medical officers warning that men shouldn't drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week , the same as women, and that we should all have several days a week off the booze and not save up all the units for a big binge.

They say we should drink more slowly, eat when we're drinking and alternate our drinks with water.

Their new guidance is that pregnant women should lay off the booze altogether.

​Here’s some advice from the NHS to help lower your risk of harming your health when you drink:

- If you drink as much as 14 units a week, spread your drinking out over three days or more.

- Have several drink-free days each week.

- Check how many units (ABV) there are in your favourite tipple.

- Look out for versions of your favourite drinks that have less alcohol – they might even be cheaper and often have less calories.​

They say if you start having withdrawal symptoms like shaking, sweating or feeling anxious until you have your first drink of the day you should seek medical advice because it's dangerous to quit completely without proper advice and support. 

As well as setting up their pop-up bar in town to engage with people on the street, the police are working with partner agencies as well as local licensees, the Youth Service, Street pastors and Freedom Church and they go into schools to try and promote safer drinking.