Drinking less
There are lots of ways in which you can drink a little less alcohol and feel the benefits that come with cutting down.
There is a range of practical advice and tips on ways to cut back and change drinking habits on the NHS website including a drinks app tracker to help you understand how much you are drinking.
Wake Up North Yorkshire is also a free web-based resource available to help and encourage you to think about your drinking habits and enjoy alcohol safely.
North Yorkshire and York Drug Alert Escalation Process
The Drug Alert Protocol is implemented to reduce harm or death related to drugs. The protocol enables us to assess and communicate known and/or potential risks from:
- purity/contamination of illicit drug supplies in circulation
- new psychoactive substances, also known as NPS or legal highs
- diverted prescribed medications
- drugs recently seized by North Yorkshire Police
- health protection alerts related to substance use
Please complete the Drug Alert submission form below to let our panel know about drug harms that meet the above criteria. The panel will assess your submission and decide whether to take action to reduce harms.
Complete the Drug Alert submission form here
Local services for help with drugs and alcohol
North Yorkshire Horizons is a service offering a range of free, confidential and non-judgemental services for individuals whose lives are affected by drugs or alcohol across North Yorkshire. Anyone can make a referral, including individuals, family members and professionals. You can access the service by calling 01723 330730 (9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday), by email on info@nyhorizons.org.uk or by the North Yorkshire Horizons website.
North Yorkshire Rise is a service that offers drug and alcohol support to young people aged 10 to 19 (and up to 24 for those with special educational needs or disabilities) who live in North Yorkshire. To make a referral please call 08000 1414 80 (option 2) or email NYP.admin@humankind.org.uk. More information is available on the North Yorkshire Rise website.
There a number of GP surgeries and pharmacies who work in conjunction with North Yorkshire Horizons to deliver a number of recovery services. More information about these services can be found on the North Yorkshire Partnership website.
You can find local help, advice and support groups for carers of family members affected by addiction on our carer support groups and organisations page.
Other web based help and support
The Drink Drug Hub website has a range of information and advice on alcohol and other drugs, as well as a range of free training sessions for people living or working in North Yorkshire.
The NHS drinking and alcohol page includes information and support about alcohol use and dependency and links to support services for those with alcohol problems and their families, including detoxification and rehabilitation.
The NHS drug addiction page is a guide to different types of drug treatment and what they involve.
FRANK the drugs helpline offers information and advice to anyone concerned about drug use. You can call the 0300 123 6600 helpline number 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to speak to a trained advisor in confidence. The advice is free. You can also contact FRANK via instant messenger between 2pm to 6pm or email frank@talktofrank.com. More information is available on the FRANK website.
Adfam is a national organisation offering support for families affected by drugs and alcohol. Find more information on the Adfam website.
Training for staff and employees
Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) is the delivery of 'simple brief advice' which follows identification of how much a person is drinking, and any problems they may be experiencing followed by structured advice aimed at reducing health harm.
Identification and Brief Advice is usually delivered by non-alcohol specialists and has shown to be effective in helping people to reduce their alcohol health risk. Online training is available from Health Education England for professionals working in primary care, community pharmacy, hospitals and dental teams. More information can be found on the e-Learning for Healthcare website.