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This page lists a selection of organisations which provide expert health, advice and support in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The List gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Executive in funding this page.
Alcohol and Narcotics
Glasgow
Alcoholics Anonymous
50 \Vcllingtoii Street. 220 221-1
.\lon l’ri 0am 5pm. 0845 70‘) 7555 (24 hour). (ii'otip support to help tackle alcoholism.
Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol 82 l)unibarton Road. (‘lydebank ()52 088 1. Offers general information and advice including one- toame counselling for yotiiig people. Glasgow City Council Addiction Partnership vs vv vv.glasgovv'govpuk. A range of city—vv ide services. including specific support for young people involved in drug and alcohol use. Glasgow Council on Alcohol
lst l‘looi'. Bristol and \N'est House. 82 l'nion Street. 226 3883. Information. adv ice. one-to-one counselling and training for those affected by alcohol. RCA Trust .‘vliri'en House. Back Siieddon Street. Paisley. 887 0880. Project giving l2 25-year-olds advice on addiction issues.
Edinburgh
Alcoholics Anonymous
38 (‘ockburii Street. (‘all 225 0000 for meeting times.
Crew 2000
32 (‘ockburn Street. 220 3-103.
.‘vlon Sat 1 5pm. 'l‘hu 4-8pm. Information on drugs and sexual health and friendly advice from trained \voi'kei‘s.
Edinburgh 8: Lothian Council on Alcohol (3 (‘Iifton ’l‘errace. 337 8188. Information. advice and support. mrning Point 3 Smith‘s Place. 554 75lb. Mon---l"ri 9.30am—5.30pm. One to one counselling for addicts and support for their families.
West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service 43 Adelaide Street. (‘raigshilL Livingston. 0l506 430 225. (‘ounselling. help in dealing vvith family issues and help in vvorking tovvards employment opportunities. Youth Action Project c/o (‘ommunity House. 33 Aller Place. liliburn. Livingston. 0l50o 4M 588. Advice and information for young people about substance misuse.
National
Drinkllne
0800 Ul7 8282. Mon-AFri Qam-l lpm. Sat & Sun (Ml lpm. Free confidential information and support.
Alcohol Focus Scotland
loo Buchanan Street. (ilasgovv, 014] 572 6700, vv vs vv.alcoho|-focus- sc‘titlzind.iirg.tik. With its informative. accessible vvebsite. this group offers an excellent source of information for people worried about their drinking. Know the Score 0800 587 587*). vvvvvv'.knovvthescore.info. Confidential dmgs information. 24 hours a day. 7 day s a vveek. Calls made from a landline will not shovv up on a phone bill and are free. (‘alls froin a mobile vary in cost depending on netvvork and may shovv up on your bill. The website has lots of advice for anyone affected by" drugs and details of local
1 18 THE LIST 28 Apr—i2 May 2035
HEALTH&ADVICE
support sefl Ices
Smokeline 0800 8-1 84 8—1, linciiurageinent and support for those vv ho vv ant to stop or have recently stopped smoking
Mental Wellbeing
National
Breathing Space 0800 sis 5s“ or \liiiicoin 0800 31- inn
vs vs vv.breatliiiigspaccsciitlandco uls. hpm 2am. free. confidential adv ice ltll' anyone feeling lovv or depressed. 9pm.
Sexual Health and STDs
Glasgow
Body Positive Strathclyde
‘) Sandy ford Place. Sauchiehall
Street. 248 0285.
vs vv vvbodypositiveorguk. l)rop-m centre open Mon. \Ved. l'l‘l ‘lam 5pm. 'l‘ue & 'l‘hu. llam 8pm, Information and support lol' people \vlio are HIV positive.
Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic (GUM Clinic) The Sandy litll'tl initiative. 2 (i Sandyford Place. Sauchiehall Street. 2| l 86”]. Drop in clinics Mon l‘i'i 8.30am l0am. By appointment at other times until 7pm Mon l’i'i.
Rape Crisis Centre 0Hl 552 3200. vv vv \\.l’tllk'v‘l‘lsls8L‘tlllttlltlfll'g.tlls. Tue Wed (y Sun 7 0pm; Thu 1 3pm. lice and confidential service offering information and support to vvomeii and girls vvho have been or fear they may have been sexually abused or assaulted.
Edinburgh
GUM Clinic Laurision Building. l.auriston Place. 530 2l03. .‘ylon l‘i'i 10am 5pm by appointment. lior urgent problems. there is a vvalk-in clinic
vv here no appointment is necessary from 8.30 10.00am. Mon Fri. Edinburgh Women’s Rape 8: Sexual Abuse Centre 0l3| 556 9437. vv'vvvvrapecrisisscotlandorguk. (‘all for opening hours. See Rape Crisis ('entre. (ilasgovv.
National
National AIDS Helpline 0800 507 I23
Sexwise 0800 282 930. 7am l2pm. Provides information and advice on sexuality and sexual health for young people.
Sources of Advice
National
Crimestoppers 0800 555 I l I. Call at any time vvith information abotit aiiy crime. (‘alls are free and cannot be traced.
Victim Support Line 0845 30 30 900. limotional support and practical advice for anyone affected by crime. lt's confidential. of course.
Women’s Health &
Glasgow
Glasgow Women’s Aid 41h Hour. 30 Bell Street. 553 2022. 0.3(l;ttii~4.30pm Mon rl-‘ri. escept Wed vvhich is 9.30am lpm for drop-in. and afternoon by appointment only. Drop- in and telephone counselling for
Edinburgh
Edinburgh and Lothian Women’s Aid 4 (‘heyne Street. 315 8110. Mon. Wed. Fri l0am—3pm. Thu 2, 7pm. Sat 10am- 12.30pm. Refuge. support and help for vvomen suffering physical. mental or sexual abuse from their partners.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 ()2? l23-112-l hourl.
I One of the most confusing things about us humans is how much money we fork out on face creams, hair products and perfumes, but then we’ll also happily spend close to a fiver on something that essentially wrecks our skin, rots our insides and makes us stink. Plus with smoking, you get a special offer bargain of being able to do the same to everyone around you. Great eh?
A few statistics then. In Scotland over 13,000 people die every year from tobacco use. UK-wide, the figure is 106,000, meaning that one fifth of all UK deaths is caused by smoking. Some 80% of deaths from heart disease are attributed to smoking. Lung cancer kills more people than any other type of cancer, and around 90% of those deaths are caused by smoking. The average smoker loses about ten years of their lives. So you get a shorter life, plus those horrid lines around your mouth.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, including tar, nicotine, benzene, carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. Would you eat any of that stuff? No? Right, seems a bit strange to inhale any of it then.
Men who smoke have a lower sperm count than non-smokers and their semen contains a higher proportion of malformed sperm. Around 120,000 men in the UK are impotent as a result of smoking. Women who smoke during pregnancy increase their chances of miscarriage by 27%, and are twice as likely to experience premature labour.
It’s not just a baby in the womb who gets to deal with your smoke. Exposure to second-hand smoke is not good, and 30 minutes is sufficient to reduce coronary blood flow in otherwise healthy adults. Non-smokers exposed to passive smoking in the home have a 25% increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure is associated with the deaths of 865 lifelong non-smokers in Scotland every year.
In a house where both parents smoke, young children have a 72% increased risk of respiratory illnesses. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital in the UK every year because of the effects of passive smoking.
We've all heard about the ker—azy plans to de-smoke public places. Darn those selfish bar workers and others for expecting a smoke-free working environment! It’s not so long ago that smoking was permitted on buses and planes, and see how well we’ve coped with not being able to do that? Exactly.