Kent County Council’s Director of Public Health Andrew Scott-Clark has launched the annual Public Health report focusing on drinking and its effects. ‘Problem drinking’ can conjure up a number of images. You may picture a street drinker on a park bench. You may picture a youngster staggering out of a nightclub, getting into a fight and ending up in an ambulance. But do you picture your husband or wife, your mum or dad sitting on the sofa watching The X Factor drinking glass after glass of their favourite tipple?

This is a major issue in Kent as;

• There has been a 43% increase in the number of people in Kent dying from liver disease since 2002.
• We estimate over 270,000 people in Kent are drinking at dangerous levels.
• Alcohol costs the health service in Kent an estimated £108million a year.

The report sets out how KCC Public Health team are doing to tackle this, as well as highlighting the work of a number of other agencies and partners across the county.

For more advice on how to drink safer and what help is available to you if you have a problem with your alcohol or if you are concerned about someone else:

• Go to Live It Well’s Alcohol Advice page here or
• NHS choices also have a wide range of information to help you drink sensibly.

To view the full Annual Public Health Report: Too Much follow the link.

To view the 2 page summary Annual Public Health Report summary document follow this link: