Alcohol Policy UK

Home Office launches £4 million Binge Drinking campaign

The Home Office has launched a 'new, hard-hitting national advertising campaign to drive home the serious consequences of binge drinking to 18 to 24 year olds'. The campaign was launched this week by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and will include television, print and online adverts.

In a Home Office press release for the campaign it was announced the centre piece would be 'two new television adverts that graphically highlight the consequences of binge drinking by reversing the sequence of a night out gone wrong. The adverts show a man and woman getting ready at home for a night out. They end with the man leaving home bloody and damaged and the woman closing her front door with smeared make-up and vomit in her hair.' One of the adverts can be seen in a Guardian article here.

The latest communications strategy comes shortly after the launch of  the Department of Health's £10 million 'Know Your Limits' campaign, aimed at raising awareness over units and supported by the units website. However we recently reported scepticism over such campaigns following a series of media reports and health professionals questioning their effectiveness.

A wide range of media campaigns are now being streamed, including Diageo's 'The choice is yours' campaign which is supported by a number of television adverts; to see one click here. The Department for Transport also recently launched a new Think! Summer drink driving campaign  focusing on the personal and legal consequences of drink driving. Add these to the range of local and regional campaigns and it seems the amount of alcohol messages has snowballed over the last year. However are these campaigns an effective use of resources? Let us know your thoughts below!

Jobs: 3 alcohol health promotion posts in Camden -18th of June deadline

Three alcohol Health Promotion Speciailists are to be recruited in the London Borough of Camden to deliver improvements in health and the reduction of inequalities relating to alcohol misuse. The posts wil lead on developing prevention and intervention campaigns, help co-ordinate education and support programmes and work with council colleagues and the alcohol industry to promote sensible drinking.

There are to be three specific areas for each of the jobs:

1) Alcohol and young adults
2) Adults and the workplace
3) Alcohol and children 

For further details please see the NHS site here

The deadlinr for applications is 18^th June 2008

Successful applicants selected for interview will be notified on Monday 23^rd June 2008

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Interview Date: 26^th June 2008

Think! Summer Drink Driving campaign launched with new focus

The Department for Transport launched its 2008 'Think! Summer Drink Drive Campaign' on May 30th. The new phase of the campaign highlights that a drink driving endorsement remains on a driving license for 11 years with the strap line:

'11 years is a long time to have a drink drive conviction on your licence.
THINK! Don't drink and drive.'

The latest stage of the strategy launched in 2007 aims to continue to highlight the personal and legal consequences of drink driving, particularly to young men aged 17-29. Those key risks are highlighted as:

• being caught and breathalysed by the police
• 12 month driving ban
• criminal record
• hefty fine
• lifestyle changes (i.e. potential loss of job, relationships or car)

The new focus of the campaign aims to address recent research findings that young men's attitudes have changed though young men now believe that:

• a crash is unlikely after 1-2 drinks
• drink drive advertss showing a crash are aimed at drunk drivers (more than 3 pints), therefore they opt-out of those messages
• they're more likely to be over the limit and caught after 1-2 drinks
• the legal implications of drink driving such as imprisonment, a 12 month driving ban and a criminal record are much more shocking and compelling to them

The campaign will include in-pub advertising and will also be supported by a range of materials and posters that can be ordered directly, as well as cinema, radio and TV adverts. Local authorities are encouraged to consider supporting drink driving campaigns in the Local Alcohol Strategy Implementation toolkit launched earlier this year.

Drink and drug driving campaign launched in Leicestershire

Leicestershire Constabulary's Road Policing Unit has launched its annual Drink and Drug  Driving Campaign, encouraging members of the public to pass on information about anyone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A Loughborough news report quoted Inspector Vivienne Brenchley, commander of the Road Policing Unit who said:

This year we want to encourage members of the public to report drink and drug drivers by increasing the ways in which they can contact us.

Obviously if you spot a suspected drink or drug driver on the road then call Leicestershire Constabulary as normal on 0116 222 2222 or in an emergency on 999, so that officers in the area can be alerted.

The campaign has started just after the Department of Transport launched the latest stage in its Think! Drink Driving campaign and the Local Alcohol Strategy Implementation Toolkit, launched earlier in the year, encouraged local authorities to consider developing local drink driving campaigns in line with national communications.

Three quarters of drinkers do not know units in glass of wine

77% of drinkers do not know that a typical glass of wine contains 3 units, according to a  YouGov survey of 1,429 people. A BBC report said the survey, conducted on behalf of the Department of Health, also found that a third of people did not know their recommended daily limits of 3-4 units per day for a man and 2-3 units per day for a woman. The study also showed that of those surveyed, half drank alcohol at least two to three times per week although 82% reported to knowing what a unit of alcohol was.

The findings come as the Department of Health continues a further campaign to raise unit awareness, although there has been increasing discussion over the effectiveness of such messages.

Scepticism over alcohol awareness messages as national campaign launches

A number of reports and medical professionals have recently raised further questions over the effectiveness of campaigns warning against the risks of excessive drinking. A recent BBC story announced that campaigns have 'the wrong focus' as they do not recognise the harm being caused from older drinkers at home as they highlight only the risks of young binge drinkers.

A Guardian article also warned that binge drink scare tactics 'do not work', citing research from the University of Bath. Dr Andrew Bengry-Howell  has called for the government to take a more realistic approach to communicating messages around alcohol:

'A more sensible approach would be to say to people, "We know you are going to drink to get drunk, so make sure you do not do it very often",' said Bengry-Howell. 'Or helping them to plan a night out so that it is safer, or suggesting they drink soft drinks in between alcoholic ones. Not just lecturing them about the number of units, because the guidelines are so low.'

Today the launch of the government's national alcohol harm reduction campaign which continues the previous Know Your Limits campaigns, with a shift in focus to people drinking at home.  TV ads will start tonight; see one of them at the Guardian, here.

National Alcohol Harm Reduction Campaign to be launched on May 19th

The Department of Health will be launching a national campaign to "raise awareness of units and the health risks of regularly exceeding Government 'lower risk' drinking levels". The launch on the 19th May will continue the Know Your Limits campaign and will be offering a range of further resources including websites and materials for practitioners. The Department of Health will also be launching an e-learning training module for practitioners on the use of alcohol screening and brief advice.

For further details see the practitioners' briefing on the forthcoming campaign, and resources here.

Drinks producer will include sensible drinking messsage

Drinks manufacturer Coors has confirmed it will be including sensible drinking message on all cans of Carling, a popular beer brand in the UK, the Off License News reports. The message will include the recommended unit consumption for men and women, and include the website of the Drinkaware Trust, the industry funded campaigning body.

This follows moves by Diageo, the international drinks retailing giant to encourage the promotion of advice for pregnant women on drinks labels. Diageo have been involved in  international discussions over information to be included on alcohol labels.

Know Your Limits update - pilot reports

The Know Your Limits campaign team funded by the Home Office and Department of Health has published its latest update - Stakeholder Update 8 . It summarises new pilots that have specifically targeted students, the night time economy and young men.

• In Preston, students were targeted with sensible drinking messages and encouraged to drink more water on a night out. This was in response to research that showed that 43% of 18-24 year olds in Lancashire admitted to carrying on drinking once they knew they had reached their limits
• Central Weston-Super-Mare was targeted following findings that 6 out of every 10 crimes were associated with the night time economy. The campaign therefore used bluetooth technology and giant projectors to deliver sensible drinking messages to support other activity including the Street Safe bus and street pastors
• In Wolverhampton, young men were targeted with life sized stickers of men suffering the ill effects of alcohol misuse. Stickers of men who had been beaten up or passed out were placed in A&E, bars, pubs, clubs and the Wolve's Molineux football stadium
• In Liverpool students were trained as 'Lager Lifeguards', learning how to spot the signs of intoxication and help people suffering from a range of alcohol related ill effects including injury, vomiting and unconsciousness

Two new campaigns are also in production: a units campaign due to be launched in May; and a binge drinking campaign in June, which will be supported by printed and online materials. It is also advised that local campaigns are coordinated with these, and with  forthcoming target dates including St George's Day (23rd April) and May Bank Holiday weekend (3-5th May).

To get in touch with the Know Your Limits team call 020 7403 2230 or email knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk

Evaluation of Lewisham's 'Don't binge and cringe' campaign

The London borough of Lewisham's Drug and Alcohol Strategy Team (DAST) have released an evaluation of their innovative approach to tackling binge drinking and its associated harms, the 'don't binge and cringe' campaign. During last year's festive season, volunteers gathered in hot spot areas and handed out goody bags and with on hand advice, a change from the usual approach of posters and beermats. Each goody bag contained:

• a condom
• an alcohol leaflet about drink driving, what is a unit, safe sex and how to plan your night to make sure you get home safe
• information about alcohol/drug related rape and where to get support
• spikeys to prevent drug-assisted rape
• a lollipop
• an overdose card advising what to do if you find someone passed out in the street

Download the don't binge and cringe evaluation