Pharmacies in Barnet have joined a campaign to encourage safer drinking in the borough.

Twenty-one pharmacies have joined the Ask Your Pharmacist service organised by Barnet Council’s Public Health Team to provide advice and support on ways to reduce residents’ weekly alcohol consumption.

The service can also help assess people’s levels of drinking and provide tips on how to keep track of how many units they have each day.

The council has said that while there are many residents who do not drink, one in ten people in Barnet drink at a level which  puts their health at risk.

Government guidelines say that men should drink no more than three to four units per day and women, no more than two to three units per day.

Pharmacists taking part in the initiative will be able to give advice on how much alcohol is contained in different drinks and how to convert this into units.

Councillor Helena Hart, Cabinet member for public health, said: “It is so easy to lose track of how much one can be drinking over the course of a week and that can have implications for a person’s health.

“This initiative makes it easy for people to pop into a pharmacy to assess - in confidence - how much they are drinking and to get hold of some handy advice on how to reduce their alcohol consumption if they need to.”

For details of participating pharmacies visit www.barnet.gov.uk/ask-your-pharmacist