:00:10. > :00:14.Hallo, I'm Matthew Wright and welcome back to Inside Out I hope
:00:14. > :00:22.you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's what's
:00:22. > :00:27.coming up on tonight's Alcohol Special. This Christmas was the
:00:27. > :00:34.worst on record for binge boozing. He's been drinking vodka and
:00:34. > :00:38.Jagermeisters! With 1 in 5 of us are now classed as risky drinkers,
:00:38. > :00:43.doctors say we are storing up major health problems for the future.
:00:43. > :00:50.is the biggest public health issue that we face. But with booze all
:00:50. > :01:00.around us just how easy is it to kick the habit? This is my last
:01:00. > :01:03.
:01:03. > :01:07.drink before New Years' Eve! New Years' Eve! Now many of us will
:01:07. > :01:08.have probably had a few, or few too many over the Christmas period, and
:01:08. > :01:11.almost certainly exceeded the Government's recommended drinking
:01:11. > :01:21.limits which, are the subject of a Select Committee report published
:01:21. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:25.today. But the danger of seasonal excess is only part of the problem,
:01:25. > :01:32.because specialists claim that many of us - even those who drink
:01:32. > :01:35.moderately - are storing up "hidden harms" for ourselves in later life.
:01:35. > :01:38.To find out just how dangerous our drinking habits can be, we set BBC
:01:38. > :01:41.London's Wendy Hurrell the tough challenge of having a 'Dry
:01:41. > :01:48.December' and having a whole month without booze. Here's how she got
:01:48. > :01:51.on. December was the busiest month yet for the Ambulance service's
:01:51. > :01:53.booze buses- they specialise in answering 999 calls for inebriated
:01:53. > :02:03.Londoners- many of whom are normally quite sober. The 16th was
:02:03. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:08.known as "Mad Friday". This man was picked up after an all day session,
:02:08. > :02:18.and through his alcoholic haze he hardly realizes that he's being
:02:18. > :02:22.taken to a health centre to dry out. Where do you live? In the bank!
:02:22. > :02:29.the ambulance he tells paramedic Toni that he is a banker- and then
:02:29. > :02:32.asks her if she wants his money. can do up to five calls take five
:02:32. > :02:37.in the ambulance at any one time- so we are always available for a
:02:37. > :02:47.call. Official Guidance on sensible drinking suggests men should have
:02:47. > :02:54.
:02:54. > :02:57.no more than 21 units of alcohol In London, a third of men and a
:02:57. > :02:59.quarter of women drink more than four units daily, and we aren't
:02:59. > :03:02.giving our livers a break between sessions. Now that I've started
:03:02. > :03:08.monitoring my drinking, I 'm surprised to find myself in that
:03:08. > :03:12.number. I hadn't really thought that I could be storing up trouble
:03:12. > :03:16.for myself in the future. Is it possible if I keep drinking at this
:03:16. > :03:19.level, I could cause me harm in the long run? So my Dry December is
:03:19. > :03:24.about finding out how reducing my alcohol in the evenings could make
:03:24. > :03:27.a difference to my health. But some of my friends at my hockey team's
:03:27. > :03:34.end of season fancy dress bash are incredulous about this whole
:03:34. > :03:38.escapade. This would be so boring if you hadn't had a drink to get
:03:38. > :03:41.you in the mood. You'd be sat there going, "What are all these idiots
:03:41. > :03:44.doing? They are being so noisy!" And then you just go home.
:03:44. > :03:47.price we pay for over indulgence in London is high, with 168 alcohol
:03:47. > :03:55.call outs per day on average- costing �200 per person treated in
:03:55. > :04:01.casualty. Do Leicester Square! Soho's three booze buses are
:04:01. > :04:04.charged with scooping up those who have drunk themselves into oblivion.
:04:04. > :04:14.The booze bus arrives in Leicester Square. A man is unconscious and
:04:14. > :04:22.his life could be in danger. Yourself up! He was with his
:04:22. > :04:28.girlfriend and had passed out after becoming catatonic. He's been
:04:28. > :04:31.drinking vodka and Jagermeisters. He is in such a bad state the
:04:31. > :04:35.ambulance diverts to St Thomas's. We're taking him to St Thomas's
:04:35. > :04:39.because although he has had quite a lot to drink he's got a head injury
:04:39. > :04:41.so hospital is the best place for him. I'd say that this is what the
:04:41. > :04:46.majority of our work is now, is drunk people with associated
:04:46. > :04:50.injuries. January is the period when most of us want to detox, but
:04:50. > :04:56.my detox started more than a month ago, on the last day of November.
:04:56. > :04:59.Dry December is going to be a real challenge. It's just going for
:04:59. > :05:02.drinks with friends or going clubbing. It will be very really
:05:02. > :05:11.hard to avoid the demon drink. So I need to get motivated and seek some
:05:11. > :05:18.advice from the experts. Wednesday, one and a half beers and a glass of
:05:18. > :05:21.champagne. For the last two weeks, with the help of my cat Ralph and
:05:21. > :05:24.my boyfriend Jan, I've been keeping an account of the amount of alcohol
:05:24. > :05:27.I have consumed, and I've been tested in order to assess whether
:05:27. > :05:30.my drinking has already had a detrimental effect. You haven't
:05:30. > :05:38.done yourself any lasting damage. In fact, nothing that's showing on
:05:38. > :05:44.the test results yet. What concerned me from keeping this
:05:44. > :05:48.alcohol diary was that I seemed to be drinking every single day. But
:05:48. > :05:54.then is it better to spread it out like that or to do it every day
:05:54. > :05:57.like that or to bunch it up in one big night on a Friday? The honest
:05:57. > :06:00.answer is that it is probably better to drink a bit less and also
:06:00. > :06:06.just to break the habit. Because you are probably not quite
:06:06. > :06:08.dependent yet. You will become a drug that you take regularly, you
:06:08. > :06:11.could become dependent. I think we could say that possibly your
:06:11. > :06:13.drinking is verging towards the hazardous, but it's not causing you
:06:13. > :06:18.harm, you are not dependent. It's very retrievable, but possibly with
:06:18. > :06:21.some quite minor tweaks. So Doctor Ann Robinson recommends that I
:06:21. > :06:24.change my drinking habits as they could classed as hazardous, but
:06:24. > :06:33.what also concerns me is that it's not just my health which will
:06:33. > :06:35.suffer, but possibly my appearance as well. The ageing process will be
:06:35. > :06:38.accelerated, so what would normally happen would happen that much
:06:38. > :06:48.faster the dilated pupils blood vessels in the cheeks and the nose
:06:48. > :06:54.
:06:54. > :06:57.area and that's what gives you that slightly flushed look. I think it
:06:57. > :07:05.will be an eye opener. I think it will be a great motivator over
:07:05. > :07:09.December as well! So this is how you are going to look if you carry
:07:09. > :07:19.on drinking the way you are for the next ten years! Oh goodness it gets
:07:19. > :07:20.
:07:20. > :07:26.worse! My whole face just goes like that! So you can see you've had
:07:26. > :07:29.some weight gain. For all the calories you've been drinking- and
:07:29. > :07:37.the slightly bloodshot eyes and deeper wrinkles so it's not good,
:07:37. > :07:40.is it? It's not great is it? It's November 30th and it's time
:07:40. > :07:50.for my very last drinks with my Inside Out Colleagues, for the next
:07:50. > :07:52.
:07:53. > :07:56.month I'll be booze-free. This is my last drink before New year's Eve.
:07:56. > :07:59.Just been to meet the fabulous people across the regions who are
:07:59. > :08:04.doing the same as me. They're all doing it with a certain amount of
:08:04. > :08:10.trepidation. It's 1st December. It's a pinch and a punch for the
:08:10. > :08:15.first of the month. On my first Dry December morning I'm in early for
:08:16. > :08:19.Paul and Gaby's breakfast show. Wendy Hurrell- you're giving up
:08:19. > :08:22.booze for a whole month! For a whole month! Have you ever done
:08:22. > :08:25.this before? This is the thing. It's very easy to go over the limit.
:08:26. > :08:28.Because if you share a bottle of wine with your partner every night,
:08:28. > :08:34.it's actually nearly 30 units over what you are supposed to be
:08:34. > :08:39.Despite years of campaigns many of us don't seem to know what safe
:08:39. > :08:42.limits of alcohol consumption are. The messages are so confusing. No
:08:42. > :08:48.one knows that more than Dave and Rob, two traffic cops from the Met
:08:48. > :08:51.who have to enforce safe driving limits. What are the reasons that
:08:51. > :08:56.people drink drive at this time of year? There's all manner of reasons,
:08:56. > :09:00.none of which particularly make sense. Many people you will stop
:09:00. > :09:03.and they'll say, well I've had a pint, is hat going to be enough for
:09:03. > :09:13.me We can't comment, because it's impossible to say. It is best not
:09:13. > :09:14.
:09:14. > :09:23.to drink at all. On the A40, Dave and Rob pull over a van which has
:09:23. > :09:31.aroused suspicion as the driver is hogging the fast lane. Keep going,
:09:31. > :09:39.keep going. Are you sure you haven't had a drink at all? Officer,
:09:39. > :09:43.I don't drink! It did actually come back warn! It comes back with a
:09:43. > :09:46.warning - the driver is just within legal limits. Last year out of
:09:46. > :09:48.nearly 7000 breath tests in the Met at Christmas- over 900 led to
:09:48. > :09:51.arrests for drink driving. Today the Commons Select Committee
:09:51. > :10:01.looking at alcohol issues has published its report which stresses
:10:01. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:16.our lack of understanding of It is often misinterpreted on
:10:16. > :10:19.labels or in other literature as three to four units daily, or two
:10:19. > :10:22.to three units daily, then you get that word "daily" coming in,
:10:22. > :10:25.creeping in, and of course that really very much suggests that you
:10:25. > :10:27.should be drinking every day so I think there are problems with the
:10:27. > :10:30.way it's phrased. Tackling misconceptions about drink issues
:10:30. > :10:32.is the aim of an annual drama competition in schools run by
:10:32. > :10:39.Thames Valley police, which encourages pupils to research into
:10:39. > :10:45.alcohol and its effects. Spending in this area has risen
:10:45. > :10:51.�2.7 billion annually. Binge drinking is most common among 16-24
:10:51. > :10:54.year olds. From doing the project and having to research a lot you
:10:54. > :11:00.begin to see a lot more problems that arise from alcohol and drugs
:11:00. > :11:03.misuse. 52% of teenagers have drunk alcohol at least once. A quarter of
:11:03. > :11:13.over 16s in Britain are classed as hazardous drinkers. Well, is there
:11:13. > :11:15.
:11:15. > :11:18.going to be any alcohol? There's going to be lots of alcohol! It's
:11:18. > :11:21.11pm and paramedics in the special unit treating drunk and disorderly
:11:21. > :11:24.patients are in Leicester Square to collect a teenager who has been
:11:24. > :11:27.binge drinking on his 19th birthday. In order to keep the boy awake, his
:11:27. > :11:30.family had poured cold water over him, in already freezing conditions.
:11:30. > :11:40.Last year over 3000 under-16s in London were admitted to hospital
:11:40. > :11:44.because of excess drinking, and medics are concerned. We are coming
:11:44. > :11:47.across youngsters laying in the street. We've come across a couple
:11:47. > :11:57.laying in a car park of a local supermarket. And they are getting
:11:57. > :11:58.
:11:58. > :12:03.279 patients were seen at the two London alcohol recovery centres in
:12:03. > :12:08.the ten days they were open between Christmas and new year, who would
:12:08. > :12:15.otherwise have been taking space in casualty. Right, take your jacket
:12:15. > :12:20.off. You're covered in vomit. any Many of the patients descend
:12:20. > :12:25.into a drunken stupor and sleep until they recover. Some of them
:12:25. > :12:32.wake up with a raging hangover. This strikes a chord with those of
:12:32. > :12:36.us who are prone to partying. One symptom of overindulgence is
:12:36. > :12:40.insomnia. I wore this monitor to gauge whether I was having a
:12:40. > :12:45.peaceful or restless night's sleep. Now I've given up the booze I'm
:12:45. > :12:49.curious to know whether my sleep pattern will improve. I wore it
:12:49. > :12:53.once after I had been drinking, a couple of drinks. I got quite
:12:53. > :12:57.annoyed with it but it did tell me something. What's interesting about
:12:57. > :13:01.it straight away is you don't have the signs of somebody who has been
:13:01. > :13:06.drinking a lot for a long time. Deep sleep occurs in the first half
:13:06. > :13:11.of the night, usually in the first couple of cycles of sleep. Most
:13:11. > :13:16.people will get two to three hours of deep sleep that. Occurs early on.
:13:16. > :13:21.After a couple of days of not drinking I had the most amazing
:13:21. > :13:31.night's sleep. Over time when you become abstinent and your sleep
:13:31. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:39.settles you start to get a full recovery. I'm one week in. Have you
:13:39. > :13:43.noticed any differences? Are you bright eyed and bushy tailed?
:13:43. > :13:49.honestly say I'm sleeping better. Am I bright eyed and bushy tailed
:13:49. > :13:53.in the morning? Not really. I'm not a morning person. But I am feeling
:13:53. > :13:58.energetic. It doesn't need to be alcoholic, it is just habitual.
:13:59. > :14:02.This is the thing I have realised over the last week already. Since
:14:02. > :14:07.my non-drinking regime I have felt a lot healthier. I've done all the
:14:07. > :14:11.things I usually do with my time and I've enjoyed them as much, if
:14:11. > :14:16.not a little more. And I'm not alone in finding new ways to enjoy
:14:16. > :14:20.a booze-free life. London is full of groups of teetotallers who get
:14:20. > :14:24.together regularly and seek alternative ways to have fun and
:14:24. > :14:28.socialise. For people who choose not to drink, and I'm one of them,
:14:28. > :14:33.we need find other ways to rely on our internal resources to help us
:14:33. > :14:39.to get all of those benefit that other people get through, we could
:14:39. > :14:48.say, artificial means. Biodans za is a form of dance and meditation
:14:48. > :14:52.which originated in Chile. It is about letting go. It is not about
:14:52. > :14:56.learning steps. There this is a great opportunity for people to get
:14:56. > :15:02.together without the influence of alcohol, and pretty much letting
:15:02. > :15:07.their hair down and getting involved and enjoying the vibe.
:15:07. > :15:17.really enjoyed the hugging and the touching and the kissing part of it,
:15:17. > :15:17.
:15:17. > :15:23.because I'm really a touchy, Fehily and huggy person anyway.. A lot of
:15:23. > :15:27.it is a lifestyle choice. People who meditate, something spiritual.
:15:28. > :15:31.A lot of people don't want alcohol in their life and what it brings.
:15:31. > :15:34.People I know who don't drink alcohol still socialise with people
:15:34. > :15:42.who do. There are plenty of designated drivers, things like
:15:42. > :15:48.that. The social impact of not drinking is something I've had to
:15:48. > :15:53.get used to. Most of my friends are now accepting the fact I'm off the
:15:53. > :15:59.hooch. What does one do in a wine bar if you are not drinking? Yes,
:15:59. > :16:05.what are you doing here? And did you feel better? Yes. I do, but I
:16:06. > :16:12.still want that. I don't think you can have it. Can I have some fizzy
:16:12. > :16:20.water? I've treated myself to a bottle of fizzy water in a wine bar.
:16:20. > :16:25.As someone who is a very sociable beast normally I associate drinking
:16:25. > :16:30.with fun, but that's tipping over into a regular occurrence that
:16:30. > :16:36.became a reality for Karen Fletcher. She ran her only successful
:16:36. > :16:41.companies until her drinking made her lose nearly everything. This is
:16:41. > :16:47.my yoga teacher Caroline. We had just won a major national client
:16:47. > :16:54.and this was just an excuse for me to party. I just had no idea that I
:16:54. > :16:59.was taking my life in my hands really. Exhale, empty out your
:16:59. > :17:06.tummy... Caroline is now reformed and is following a healthy
:17:06. > :17:12.lifestyle, which she now sees her drink was almost lethal. I had
:17:12. > :17:16.quite severe physical symptoms and illnesses that came along. Bring
:17:16. > :17:20.your belly button up to your spine... By the time my drinking
:17:20. > :17:26.had taken hold of me and was really controlling my decision making, so
:17:26. > :17:30.that my life became sketch about how do you incorporate alcohol into
:17:30. > :17:35.my working life really? It was starting to get to the point where
:17:35. > :17:42.it was more difficult to focus and concentrate. And in the end I was
:17:42. > :17:47.using alcohol to help me to concentrate. For two weeks you've
:17:47. > :17:52.been without alcohol. Yes, two weeks in. And you admitted honestly
:17:52. > :17:59.to us you drank every night. How is it going? It is difficult to sit
:17:59. > :18:04.there watching everyone drinking alcohol and wine. What do you do in
:18:04. > :18:09.a wine bar? Don't think I'm one of those people who shovels alcohol
:18:09. > :18:13.down my neck to get drunk, I don't do that. I was drinking with
:18:13. > :18:19.Spanish friends as well, so it was torture. My month with no alcohol
:18:19. > :18:23.has so far proved doable. But even with the moderate amount I used to
:18:23. > :18:26.drink, could there be hidden damage to my liver? At King's College
:18:26. > :18:32.Hospital they treat people with liver disease. The first stage is a
:18:32. > :18:37.test. What is this machine testing for? It looks at how stiff your
:18:37. > :18:44.liver is. The stiffer your liver, the more advanced liver disease you
:18:44. > :18:50.have. Normal tissue gets replaced with fibrous tissue. I want to find
:18:50. > :18:54.a spot in your ribs. That's my tickly one! You have no scarring on
:18:54. > :19:00.your liver, and that's what we expect. That's all done. Cool.
:19:00. > :19:07.is what the reading gives us, the stiffness is measured in
:19:07. > :19:12.kilopascals, 3.5 is normal. Dr Kosh Agarwal is a consultant who
:19:12. > :19:15.specialises in liver disease or cirrhosis. He says patients are
:19:15. > :19:19.getting younger. We are seeing younger patients now with
:19:19. > :19:22.significant liver disease. It's a major killer in the UK. It is one
:19:23. > :19:27.of the top five killers and it's the only one that's going up. The
:19:27. > :19:31.rest are going down. We are seeing younger patients presenting with
:19:31. > :19:36.alcohol-related problems, particularly alcohol-related and
:19:36. > :19:46.binge-related issues, and more young women. Ben is in his mid 30s
:19:46. > :19:50.and is receiving counselling at Mount Caramel -- Carmel rehab
:19:50. > :19:55.centre in Streatham. If it wasn't for this place where would you be
:19:55. > :20:03.now? Either dead or unwell. How did it all begin, the problem with
:20:03. > :20:07.drink, for new In my teens and just pretty much consistently since then
:20:07. > :20:12.really until now. I think I was probably an alcoholic before I even
:20:12. > :20:20.started to drink. What sort of things were you experiencing,
:20:20. > :20:24.health-wise? Liver disease. Cirrhosis. I was, well, I was a
:20:24. > :20:27.chronic alcoholic. As well as counselling Ben is being treated
:20:27. > :20:31.for cirrhosis at Kings. Even with severe liver problems there is
:20:31. > :20:34.still a hope of recovery. doesn't mean that because you've
:20:34. > :20:38.got cirrhosis there is nothing else you can do. You doing the things
:20:38. > :20:42.that you've done, absolutely staying off the alcohol,
:20:43. > :20:46.consistently and for the foreseeable future, is giving your
:20:46. > :20:52.liver the breathing space it needs to improve on the short term and
:20:52. > :20:57.over the longer term. It must take tremendous courage to talk to us
:20:57. > :21:02.about it. Where do you see yourself going from here? I've missed out on
:21:02. > :21:09.so much through drink. All my teens and my 20s, I want to go and do the
:21:09. > :21:14.things I didn't do. I kick off week four of my dry December with
:21:14. > :21:19.another session with Paul and Gaby. I'm proud I've managed to survive a
:21:19. > :21:24.wedding withoutry sorting to the booze. How are you feeling?
:21:24. > :21:29.feeling much better for it, I'm much sharper, much more energetic
:21:29. > :21:35.and I'm sleeping better. I am feeling much better. I'm relieved
:21:35. > :21:40.that so far I don't seem to have done my I rep rabble damage through
:21:40. > :21:43.drinking. While people my age can sometimes get away with it, it is a
:21:43. > :21:47.different story for drinkers further non-life. I think we focus
:21:47. > :21:51.far too much on the young ones. They are very visible, they vomit
:21:51. > :21:56.in the street. You don't tend to see a 70-year-old retired bank
:21:56. > :21:59.manager vomiting in the street, but it is just as much a problem for
:21:59. > :22:08.people drinking at the other end of life as it is for the young ones.
:22:08. > :22:14.To get a sense of the range of attitude elderly people have, I
:22:14. > :22:21.went to a group called Growing Old Disgracefully. This is whisky for
:22:21. > :22:26.my Christmas cake. I put brandy and Amaretto in mine! Sherry in a
:22:26. > :22:30.trifle. You don't even have to drink, just eat lots of cake!
:22:30. > :22:38.practice work says, "Are you still having a glass of red wine a day?"
:22:38. > :22:42.And I say, "No, I'm having two!" and she says, "Jolly good!" I'm
:22:42. > :22:48.home alone. So many people may be easy and it is very easy then to
:22:48. > :22:55.think, well, I will just get myself a bit tiddly. What do you think to
:22:55. > :23:01.someone saying to you, you are only allowed one-and-a-half units a day?
:23:01. > :23:05.I don't take to younger people telling older people what to do. It
:23:05. > :23:10.is patronising. It is not assuming that we know our own strengths and
:23:10. > :23:13.weaknesses and our limits. I can judge myself whether I've had
:23:13. > :23:20.enough. You are not going to knock on the door and say, "How many
:23:20. > :23:30.glasses of wine have you had today?" Older people like this
:23:30. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:35.enjoy their drink and feel they've earned their right to enjoy
:23:35. > :23:42.themselves. Alcohol-related NHS admissions are rising faster for
:23:42. > :23:46.the over 65s than any other group. Figures compiled for Inside Out
:23:46. > :23:51.London reveal that over the past ten years there's been a 163%
:23:51. > :23:56.increase. Of all the regions London has one of the highest rates of the
:23:56. > :24:00.admissions. Only the North East has more. It is becoming increasingly a
:24:00. > :24:05.bigger problem. In London, those who were aged 75 and above are
:24:05. > :24:09.dying from alcohol-related diseases more than the average for the
:24:09. > :24:13.general population. London is a particular pressure point there.
:24:13. > :24:19.Within London, there are areas like Hammersmith and Fulham, Southwark,
:24:19. > :24:23.Camden with even higher rates of death from alcohol-related
:24:23. > :24:27.illnesses. Hammersmith resident Elsa, who wishes to remain
:24:27. > :24:33.anonymous, is in recovery for a drinking problem that started late
:24:33. > :24:37.in life but which came close to ending it. Had you been a drinker
:24:38. > :24:41.before? No, I didn't drink hardly before. If I drink it would be a
:24:41. > :24:46.sherry and I would be so ill afterwards I wouldn't bother again.
:24:46. > :24:54.But then I just took off and I just didn't know when to stop. I never
:24:54. > :24:59.seemed to get enough of it. He lots of upsets with the family. They
:24:59. > :25:05.couldn't cope with it. I enjoyed it and it went completely out of
:25:05. > :25:09.control. And with more time on your hands... Yes, I had time and I met
:25:09. > :25:13.people likewise who liked to drink. I started to drink after the pub, I
:25:13. > :25:18.stopped in time, because it was getting to the stage where I was
:25:18. > :25:27.not recovering. I just could not get up off the floor any more.
:25:27. > :25:31.sa is now in recovery for her alcoholism at a centre called
:25:31. > :25:34.Foundation 66. Here there's a concern that there is an
:25:34. > :25:40.everincreasing number of senior citizens seeking help for
:25:40. > :25:46.alcoholism. About 40% of the people who are accessing our service has
:25:46. > :25:52.never accessed a alcohol service previously. For them, drink became
:25:52. > :25:57.problematic due to a major life- changing event, whether death of a
:25:57. > :26:02.spouse, redundancy, moving from an area and losing contact with
:26:02. > :26:06.support networks. A new study by the Central and North London NHS
:26:06. > :26:16.Trust revealed exclusively to inside out said services for older
:26:16. > :26:25.
:26:25. > :26:29.It's fantastic, your blood pressure. Now I'm nearing the ends of my dry
:26:29. > :26:36.December I've had a chance to reflect on what I've learnt from
:26:36. > :26:40.the people I met along the way. I had a final visit with Dr Ann
:26:40. > :26:44.Robinson. You have lost a couple of kilos at a time of year when you
:26:44. > :26:50.said you might have put on a few through all the snacks and things.
:26:50. > :26:54.There's definitely been a lot of mince pies involved over the past
:26:54. > :26:58.few weeks, so it is surprising. Virtually every parameter has
:26:58. > :27:04.stayed the same or is better. Will you be making lasting changes to
:27:04. > :27:09.the way you drink? I think so. I will go back to drinking, because I
:27:09. > :27:14.enjoy it. A lot of mine is habitual rather than for pleasure. I haven't
:27:14. > :27:19.missed the hangover. I haven't missed waking up fuzzy on a
:27:19. > :27:23.Saturday morning. I've been able to bounce out of bed. So you are
:27:23. > :27:27.thinking by drinking less you will enjoy it more? I think so. New
:27:27. > :27:31.Year's Eve and it is nearly time for my first alcohol in a month. In
:27:31. > :27:35.the West End they've already been at it and the "booze bus"
:27:35. > :27:43.ambulances are responding to 999 calls, the first two that
:27:43. > :27:48.paramedics pick up are 18 and 19 years old. This young woman had
:27:48. > :27:54.consumed five shorts and two buyer bottles of rose. What a way to see
:27:54. > :28:03.in the new year, eh? I'm settling for a quieter New Year's Eve with
:28:03. > :28:08.friendsment and my first sip is nectar. -- with friends, and my
:28:08. > :28:12.first sip is nectar. Congratulations to Wendy for
:28:12. > :28:18.passing the dry December challenge with flying colours. I suspect if
:28:18. > :28:22.it were me I would have buckled earlier. If you would like details
:28:22. > :28:32.of organisations offering alcohol- related advice and support, go
:28:32. > :28:40.
:28:41. > :28:44.online: And that's all from this week's