A number of websites aimed at people worried about their drinking have appeared. Sometimes it is difficult to assess their reliability or who actually is offering the help. Down Your Drink, however, has been produced by the National Health Service and is supported by Alcohol Concern and Drinkline. Here we look at the problems of getting help to abusive drinkers and examine what www.downyourdrink.org has to offer.

Should your drinking worry you? One of the major problems facing people who are abusing alcohol is overcoming the reluctance to seek help. Shame, guilt, embarrassment all play their part and so does uncertainty as to where to turn. Is my GP the right man? Hasn't he got more important things to deal with than my vague concerns that I might be overdoing it a bit? What about AA? But aren't they just a bunch of drunks? I am only a social drinker who needs to cut back.

Two cases, both true, but with altered names, illustrate the problem. Over the years Stephen's alcohol intake had increased. As a student his drinking had been on a considerable scale, but not enough beyond that of his peers to cause concern. His early work years saw a more moderate intake but as he entered his forties he found that he was looking for excuses to drink more often. He would ensure that he found himself in the company of people he knew liked to drink; he arranged meetings at times when it would not be unreasonable to offer alcohol rather than coffee – and made sure he had a gin and tonic even if the other person opted for fruit juice. Perhaps most significantly, he began to drink on his own at inappropriate times. There was always an excuse: the pressure of work, the unreasonableness of his wife, the need to relax.

In the end he had the carelessness of despair because he did not believe anyone could help him. He did not care about health, his family, his work. He did not care whether he lived or died. But he was lucky. One day the reality of his situation broke through and he was able to say, "I don't want to continue like this." He told his wife he needed help and went into a rehabilitation clinic. The only option which seemed to make sense for Stephen was to accept that he could not handle alcohol and not to touch it again. He was able to rebuild his life – but had had to go to the brink.

Maggie had never been a big drinker. She would have wine with a meal, a drink before dinner now and again, but as often as not she was happy to have a coke. As time went on, the occasions to drink alcohol increased. She and her husband entertained more. They went out to restaurants. They had more holidays on the continent. Without noticing it happening, Maggie became more than a moderate drinker. She would have hangovers and forget arrangements she had made. Once or twice she had drunk too much at dinner and embarrassed both herself and everyone present. She noticed that it was becoming an effort not to have at least a couple of drinks each day, that sticking at one drink was more and more difficult. She hated herself for being so weak, as she saw it. For years she had been a moderate drinker who did not even have to think about the subject. How could she get back to that situation? What she needed was advice and help. The thought of going to see her GP horrified her. She would be ashamed to tell him about her lack of control. There was no one else she felt she could turn to. Her husband had occasionally told her to "pull herself together" but beyond that was no more inclined to discuss the matter openly than she was. She knew of the existence of AA but that was not for people like her. She struggled on, sometimes managing to control her drinking, perhaps not touching the stuff for a couple of weeks, but then breaking out and having far too much – a binge, she supposed it was called. Her drinking became a shameful secret which corroded her marriage and her self-respect.

Both these people might well have found their way to the new website called Down Your Drink which offers an online program for people worried about their level of drinking. The course has been developed by the National Health Service and is funded by the Alcohol Education and Research Council. The website is user friendly and is at pains to be non-judgemental – essential if it is to encourage problem drinkers to find a way back to normality. It acknowledges that the program might not be for everyone and in that case recommends contacting Alcohol Concern in order to locate the nearest local organisation. For immediate help, the telephone number of Drinkline (0800 917 8282) is given.

"The Down Your Drink program," says the website, "gives you the information you need to learn how to stay drinking at a safer level in only six weeks. We have listed a range of benefits you can look forward to enjoying, in many cases even before the end of the program." Some might argue that the aim of "staying drinking" is not one to offer people like Stephen, although it might be all right for Maggie. That is to misunderstand the point of Down Your Drink which is to reach out to people. The idea of never having a drink again would have been as unthinkable as climbing Everest for Stephen at any stage of his drinking career. It was not until he had reached desperation and was undergoing treatment that this could be looked at as a serious possibility. On the other hand, it might well have been that, given the right advice in a carefully formulated program, Maggie could have got back to a moderate intake and prevented her life falling apart. Whichever the case, it is necessary to engage people who are worrying about their drinking and vital not to set seemingly impossible targets

The website takes a positive attitude: "As your drinking reduces to safer levels you will soon begin to enjoy a series of benefits."

There is a determined attempt to avoid alienating potential clients: "We do not think alcohol is evil, on the contrary, we think that drinking a reasonable amount is good for most people. What we want to do is to give you sufficient information for you to decide what is a reasonable amount for you to drink. Then help you get there!" It could be argued that saying that any amount is good for anyone is providing the abusive drinker with an excuse to continue, but anyone who has got so far into the site has some sort of serious concern about his condition. The concentration has to be on persuading the tentative enquirer to take the next step: "If you feel ready to take positive action to learn how to become a SAFE drinker, don't wait register now!!"

It is, of course, important to show people that what is on offer is scientifically based and reliable. The website says that the "online course is in six weekly parts, based on the latest, proven practical methods to reduce drinking as recommended by leaders in the alcohol and education and treatment field. It takes less than an hour a week, for 6 weeks - online to complete the course, during which time we will teach you how to become a "Thinker Drinker" and develop safer drinking habits."

Surfers are then taken gently through a series of questions about their drinking – "How often do you have 8 or more (men/ 6 or more (women) drinks on one occasion?" for example – and shown their score on a table which shows level of risk. If in the red zone, you are told that "your drinking may be a problem" and it is suggested that you may be feeling depressed, or finding it difficult to concentrate, or are unable to participate fully in family life, or a number of problems that will be all too familiar to many abusive drinkers. Eventually, the surfer is asked how worried he is. If he shows a reasonable measure of concern, then he is taken forward to the possibility of registering for the program.

Down Your Drink is a research project which will eventually be evaluated. If it brings in people like Stephen before they reach the end of the line or Maggie who will never be able to accept face to face help about an alcohol problem, then it is to be welcomed. The site can be found at www.downyourdrink.org