The Health Improvement Commission for Guernsey and Alderney has launched a new Rethink Your Drink campaign to help islanders better understand how much alcohol they consume. At the centre of the campaign is a simple scorecard being delivered to households through Guernsey Post, allowing people to track their drinking over a week, calculate the number of alcohol units they consume and compare this with the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines.

The guidelines recommend that both men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week, roughly equivalent to six pints of medium-strength beer, six medium glasses of wine or seven double measures of spirits. The campaign also encourages people to spread their drinking across several days and include alcohol-free days. Understanding units can be difficult, particularly when drinks are poured at home, so Rethink Your Drink provides practical tools including measuring cups and unit calculators to make alcohol consumption easier to track.

The campaign responds to evidence that a substantial proportion of the local population is drinking above the recommended level. According to Guernsey’s 2023 Wellbeing Survey, 35.2% of adults aged 16 and over who drink alcohol reported consuming more than 14 units during the previous week. Andrea Nightingale, Substance Use Lead at the Health Improvement Commission, said the scorecard is intended to give people a clearer picture of their current drinking and help them consider whether small changes could improve their health and wellbeing.

Rethink Your Drink also directs people towards support if their results raise concerns. Adults can access help through Independence and the Community Drug and Alcohol Team, while people under 25 can receive tailored support through Action for Children. Islanders who did not receive a scorecard can request one free of charge, together with tools for measuring drinks at home. More information, including guidance and alcohol-checking tools, is available through the Health Improvement Commission’s Rethink Your Drink campaign website.

Find more from Rethink The Drink (Bailiwick of Guernsey, September 2026)