Festive Drinkers Urged To Try 'Dry January'

Public health officials are urging drinkers to sober up after the traditional Christmas excess and go dry for January.

The campaign to encourage boozers to make abstaining a New Year's resolution comes as emergency services are expected to bear the brunt of today's Black Friday of Booze .

Also referred to as Mad Friday and Black Eye Friday, the last Friday before Christmas is the most popular night for office parties.

Last year saw a 114% rise of alcohol sales in pubs, bars and restaurants compared to an average Friday.

Jackie Ballard, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said it showed that Britain has a cultural problem with binge drinking.

"There are a multitude of problems related to Black Friday, one of which is the impact on individuals' health if they are drinking more than Government guidelines say they should.

"It is a critical day for the NHS but also it's a day when people are putting themselves in danger and they are likely to carry on drinking more than they should through the Christmas period."

The charity has been promoting Dry January for three years and is teaming up with Public Health England for the first time this year.

Kevin Fenton, PHE director of health and wellbeing, said: "We know that at this time of the year alcohol consumption increases quite markedly.

"Between November and December we see an increase of around 25% in alcohol purchase and consumption.

"We really want to encourage people to be more mindful about the health harms of alcohol intake and what they can do to be more moderate drinkers and reduce the harms from alcohol moving forward."

Mr Fenton said that while the rest of Europe is seeing a decline in average alcohol consumption, England has witnessed a 9% increase in the past two decades.

It is taking its toll in an increased risk of liver disease, obesity, cancer, dementia and other health problems related to excess drinking, he said.

Last year, more than 17,000 people took part in Dry January, and Alcohol Concern says that independent surveys found that 72% of those who tried continued to drink at moderate levels six months later.

Ms Ballard argued that while going dry in January was not a solution to Christmas binge drinking or alcoholism, it would give drinkers a chance to change their lives.