A NEW campaign this week shows that 83 per cent of people who regularly drink more than the NHS advises don’t think their drinking is putting their long-term health at risk.

The truth is that too much alcohol increases your risk of strokes, heart disease and cancer, as well as other serious conditions.

If you are a man regularly drinking more than two pints of lager a day you are three times more likely to have a stroke. You are 50 per cent more likely to get breast cancer if you are a woman regularly drinking two glasses of wine or more a day.

At a time when alcohol related admissions to hospitals are soaring, it is vital that people can make an informed decision about how much alcohol they drink.

In particular, people should be aware that the recommended limits are lower than they might think – two to three units a day for a woman (often a large glass of wine) and three to four units a day for a man (about two pints of lager). So it is all too easy to put your health at serious risk.

That is why I draw the attention of readers to a new NHS website – nhs.uk/drinking and I urge anyone who regularly drinks alcohol to visit and make sure your drinking is not putting your health at serious risk.

DR RITA ROBERTSON Director of public health and health strategy