Scratch-card to show drinkers future alcohol harm

Is your luck running out in the drinking lotto? A new scratch card could reveal your risk of developing an alcohol related illness in the future from your drinking habits today. A new scratch card could reveal your risk of developing an alcohol related illness in the future from your drinking habits today.

The latest branch of the Sort it Portsmouth health campaign is helping local people calculate their own risk and get help to change their drinking habits before they seriously harm their health.

10,000 free ‘drinking lotto’ scratch cards are being distributed by the Safer Portsmouth Partnership in A&E, pharmacies and GP surgeries across the city this month. Drinkers will have a handy reminder of the units in popular drinks and the contact details for the Portsmouth Alcohol Intervention Team. The service offers information, support and practical advice to anyone over 16 who is concerned about their drinking.

Alan Knobel, Substance Misuse Co-ordinator “The scratch card is a fun way to get across a serious message. People just need to honestly answer three questions on the card and tot up the points they score for each response. They will then know if the are a low, medium or high risk drinker, and be able to seek help if they want it.”

Sort it Portsmouth was launched last year by Portsmouth City Council and Portsmouth City teaching Primary Care Trust to help local people tackle health issues by raising awareness healthy lifestyles, risk factors and local services in innovative ways.

City health tsar Dr. Paul Edmondson-Jones, Director of Public Health backed the initiative to get people thinking about the long term consequences of their drinking, “We know many people are drinking too much and too often. It is estimated that alcohol misuse costs the NHS in the order of £2.7 billion a year. We would much rather prevent people drinking too much and becoming ill or dying from alcohol-related illnesses.”