Second hand harm

Most of us are aware of the dangers of second hand smoking, but what about the dangers of second hand drinking?

Alcohol doesn’t just affect those drinking it. The harm caused by someone else’s drinking is one of the biggest issues we face. It is continuing to have a detrimental effect on family and friends, children and young people, frontline staff, businesses and communities across the North East. If you are drinking too much alcohol the likelihood is that it is having an effect on your loved ones, be it a parent, child or partner.

Ask yourself if you have you ever spent less time with family and friends after waking up with a hangover? Or has it affected the quality of the time spent with them? This is just a small example of how alcohol can impact on your family life. It can also be a lot worse. Ill health, erratic behaviour, accidents, hospital visits, trips to the police station can all result from drinking too much – and it’s usually other people picking up the pieces.

Drinking too much can also affect your children. Research shows that parents are a major influence when it comes to the drinking habits of children and young people. A teenager who has seen his or her parent drunk is twice as likely to get drunk themselves.

Getting drunk in front of children is not only putting your health at risk, it’s endangering the wellbeing of the child, both now and in the future, by implying that excessive drinking is perfectly normal. And that’s just the start. The effects are far-reaching and can impact on every area of our lives.

Sick days from work after a heavy weekend, hospital visits after an alcohol-related accident, police time if you’re involved in an incident...all a result of second hand harm and all affecting you and the people around you.

Did you know?

• More than seven in ten North Easterners associate alcohol consumption with family breakdown.

• More than a quarter of parents in the North East have been drunk in front of their children.

• More than nine in ten North Easterners associate alcohol consumption with anti-social behaviour, crime and violence and domestic abuse.