Guernsey alcohol advice awareness improving, survey finds

The Count 14 campaign has been running for two years

A survey has found Guernsey residents' awareness of alcohol guidelines has improved.

The Health Improvement Commission has run its Count 14 campaign for two years, promoting that people should drink a maximum of 14 units per week.

It said a survey showed 33% of people were aware of this guideline in 2022, compared to 28% in 2020.

In 2022, 776 islanders took part the survey, while 397 islanders took part in 2020.

The campaign tries to raise awareness that both men and women should not drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis and should spread the units out evenly over three or more days.

The charity said the current guidelines had been in place since 2016, while the previous guidelines dated back to 1987 and recommended different unit limits for men and women.

'More work needed'

The campaign included challenges for the public to take part in, videos, distributing tools to help measure intake and sharing the message on the back of a bus.

Andrea Nightingale, the Health Improvement Commission's substance use lead, said: "One of the biggest challenges we've had in promoting the new guidelines is making sure the community are aware that the guidelines are now the same for men and women.

"However, our results show the majority still believe there to be a difference, so there is clearly more work to be done."

She added: "These are really promising results and will help inform where the campaign goes next".

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