Drinkaware appoints medical advisory panel

Drinkaware has appointed a national advisory panel of expert medical professionals to advise on educating consumers about alcohol misuse.

The panel, whose expertise covers a broad spectrum including liver, mental health, accidents and emergencies, public health, adolescent health and oral cancer, have committed to offering the alcohol awareness charity advice for at least a year, under the overall direction of Drinkaware’s chief medical adviser Professor Paul Wallace.  

A Drinkaware statement said: "As experts in their respective fields, the new panel members will help ensure Drinkaware continues to provide consumers with the most up-to-date, medically-sound information.

"Drinkaware believes education is an essential component in combating the harm caused by alcohol misuse in the UK and the medical panel will assist the charity to raise awareness of the long and short term social, physical and mental health risks associated with drinking to excess."

The panel includes:

Drinkaware Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Paul Wallace – Professor of primary care at University College London, director National Institute for Health Research Primary Care Research Network and a general practitioner.

Professor Mark Bellis – director of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, the North West Public Health Observatory and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention.

Dr Jonathan Chick – consultant psychiatrist, Royal Edinburgh Hospital and part-time senior lecturer in Psychiatry, Edinburgh University.

Professor Chris Day – pro-vice chancellor and Professor of Liver Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and senior National Institute for Health Research investigator.

Professor Graham Ogden – Professor of oral surgery at the University of Dundee and honorary consultant oral surgeon at Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Professor Jonathan Shepherd CBE – Professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery, director of the Violence Research Group and vice-dean at Cardiff University, member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Fellow of the College of Emergency Medicine.

Dr Russell Viner – consultant and directorate of Adolescent Medicine, University College London Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware, said: “It is imperative that we are all aware alcohol misuse can have a harmful effect on our social, physical and mental health.

"The appointment of the medical advisory panel will help Drinkaware to be at the forefront of medical advice relating to alcohol and will ensure that the charity continues to be a trusted source for consumers seeking the facts about alcohol and how it affects their health.”
 
Professor Paul Wallace added: “Providing consumers with best evidence about the health implications of drinking to excess is a key factor in helping to reduce the harm alcohol can cause.

"I’m delighted to be working with a panel of experts across the field who can ensure that people visiting the Drinkaware website and interacting with the charity’s campaigns keep abreast of all the best quality information in order to protect their own health and well-being.”

Alan Lodge, 27.01.2010