Party goers have been warned to drink responsibly this Mad Friday, one of the busiest nights of the year for pubs and clubs across Britain.<\/p>\n
Officials believe that the last weekend before Christmas could see alcohol-fuelled emergencies rise by up to 50%.<\/p>\n
According to health campaigners, alcohol sales during the month of December could reach \u00a32.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Public Health England is encouraging people to join its Dry January campaign next month to give up alcohol as we enter 2016.<\/p>\n
According to Alcohol Concern and Public Health England figures, alcohol sales in clubs, pubs, hotels and restaurants across Britain increased by 142% on the last Friday before Christmas in 2014.<\/p>\n
The London Ambulance Service has estimated that paramedics could attend more than 700 emergencies across the weekend due to an increase in Christmas drinking.<\/p>\n
Paul Woodrow, director of operations, said that the ambulance service can be called to people who have fallen in the road or on railways tracks, or been involved in physical fights. This is often due to over-consumption of alcohol.<\/p>\n
West Yorkshire Police are expecting calls to the force to rise by around 50% this weekend, with a large proportion of the increase in calls being due to alcohol-related incidents.<\/p>\n
The West Midlands Ambulance Service has said that a temporary minor injuries unit is to be set up in Birmingham city centre to avoid A&E attendances for those who have overindulged on festive drinks.<\/p>\n
Public Health England’s Yvonne Doyle said that people overindulging over the festive period can lead to the police and NHS dealing with more alcohol-related accidents and emergencies.<\/p>\n
She said it’s no surprise that many people feel ready to take a break from alcohol as part of Dry January, and a period of abstinence might encourage better, less harmful drinking habits in the long-term.<\/p>\n
Evidence from Dry January shows that more than two thirds of people who took part still drink less now.<\/p>\n
As the Christmas period continues, Public Health England are urging people to take a break from alcohol and sign up for Dry January to get their 2016 off to a positive start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Party goers have been warned to drink responsibly this Mad Friday, one of the busiest nights of the year for pubs and clubs across Britain. Officials believe that the last weekend before Christmas could see alcohol-fuelled emergencies rise by up to 50%. According to health campaigners, alcohol sales during the month of December could reach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":888008809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[2335,1821,2336,2337],"class_list":["post-3464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","tag-london-ambulance-service","tag-public-health-england","tag-west-midlands-ambulance-service","tag-west-yorkshire-police"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t