People in Teesside urged to watch their alcohol consumption this week
There's a mix of hot weather plus the bank holiday weekend
People in Teesside are being urged to watch how much alcohol they are consuming this week.
With a mix of hot weather plus a bank holiday means many may head out to enjoy the sunshine with a drink.
Scott Rowell is from We Are with You, a drug and alcohol support service in Redcar, and he said: "Our bodies are made up of over 50 percent water. We're going to lose some of that just from the heat so just making sure at any point you're keeping yourself hydrated if you are having a drink, add some soft drinks in-between your drinks, drink some water, have some water alongside what you're drinking because alcohol although it is a liquid, it isn't going to be hydrating you at all.
"If people are feeling like they're wantign to abstain from drinking but are wanting to enjoy the sunshine then being in a beer garden isn't going to be the most helpful place to go. Look at your friendship circles and see 'right, who's doing what?' If some guy's going to the beach for a bag of chips and an ice-cream, I'll go with them instead of that beer garden.
"Obviously if you're making the choice to have a drink then different people's bodies react differently. There's obviously alcohol-free drinks, you've got alcohol-free ciders, lagers and even gins and alcohols now are alcohol-free, make that substitution for those things instead maybe.
"The recommended guidelines for drinking is 14 units in a week, no more than eight in any one day and try and have no more than three days of drinking through the week. The general rule of thumb is one shot of spirit is one unit, a pint would be two units, a glass of wine is about a unit and a half. Some beers are a lot stronger than others so you'd need to take that into account if you're drinking one of the high strength beers."
He has this advice about people worried about spiking: "Always have your drink with you. Your drink's only going to be safe with yourself. I've got a bit of motto 'if you leave your drink, leave your drink' don't go back to it because if it's unobserved you don't know what's happened to it. Unfortunately it's something that happens and I wish we could say it doesn't but the safest way to keep yourself safe is to do that. It's your responsibility."
For more information, visit their website.