Alcohol AwarenessMonth in HertfordshireA guide to getting involvedJune 2011

1

The Hertfordshire Strategic Alcohol Campaigns group consists of partners andrepresentatives from Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Constabulary, NHS,Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) and related communications leads.

The group aims to provide consistent countywide messages around alcohol and toprovide useful products for use countywide. The decision to run Alcohol AwarenessMonth in June was taken collectively by the group in order to build upon the positivework that already takes place countywide.

Nationally, the strategic aims to reduce alcohol consumption and its related impacts onsociety are key to many national agendas. Encouraging healthier lifestyles fits into thegovernments Change for Life programme and also the new national White Paper onhealth reforms. Keeping safe is also imperative to policing agendas. Locally, theHertfordshire Alcohol Strategy supports consistent messaging for the county and actionsaround awareness raising events are apparent in a number of CSP action plans.

On behalf of the Strategic Alcohol Campaigns group we thank you for getting involved inHertfordshire’s first Alcohol Awareness Month!

Kate Phillips and Jane HoltonHertfordshire Strategic Alcohol Campaigns Group

Introduction

2

Alcohol Awareness Month in Hertfordshire is running throughout June andaims to encourage both adults and young people to think about how muchthey are drinking and how to stay safe during the summer months.

Hertfordshire is using this month to raise awareness of the effect alcohol can have on anindividual’s lifestyle over the summer with regards to fitness and weight gain, and therisks that people can be exposed to when drinking i.e. from barbeques, excess drinkingon holidays, to issues with personal safety and drinking alcohol in a park to celebratefinishing school.

The campaign is also offering straight forward advice for people who want to cut downand encouraging adults to give up alcohol for a week or keep a drinks diary to help them�learn about their own alcohol habits.

The campaign promotes positive social norms messages for young people andencourages them to adopt 100% Hangover Free culture. This can include supportingthose who do not drink, and educating those who do, to drink less.

This pack is designed to help you, as stakeholders, to get involved. It provides you withideas for activity and a guide to the supporting campaign materials that are available toyou. PR activity to support the campaign will also be running throughout this month.

Timing your activity to take place during Alcohol Awareness Month will help to create abuzz around the issue, ensuring that key messages around alcohol are reinforced to thepublic and that there are repeated opportunities for them to hear more about alcohol andits impact. The Hertfordshire Strategic Alcohol Campaigns group hope that you will beinterested in taking part.

This pack is split into two sections – one for adults and one for young people. This hasbeen done to ensure that the right messages reach the right audiences.

Publicity material referred to throughout this pack can all be found on page 15.

Alcohol Awareness Month Hertfordshire June 2011

3

What are the key messages?

In order that Alcohol Awareness Month activity can be consistent across the county, aseries of key messages have been developed. You could look to communicate these inany Alcohol Awareness Month activity that you are running.

• People across Hertfordshire are being urged to ‘rethink their drink’ during AlcoholAwareness Month (June 2011)

• The Alcohol Campaigns group is encouraging people to keep a drink diary for the weekto find out how many units they are drinking

• The Chief Medical Officer recommends that men should not regularly drink more than3-4 units of alcohol daily and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 unitsdaily

• The average wine drinker consumes 2000 calories extra per month• Drinking can un-do the hard work that you put in during exercise. On average if you

run for half an hour it will only take two pints of lager to put back in the calories you’vejust burnt. Staying drink free can help you to maintain your fitness

• As well as maintaining your fitness levels, cutting down on your drinking may help youto look better physically

• The summer months are the perfect time to enjoy the better weather and undertakesome outdoor activity to help improve your fitness

• Barbeque cooking and drinking alcohol doesn’t mix as this could lead to serious injury• Excessive drinking can cause serious health problems, including breast and liver

cancer, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease and certain types of stokeand liver disease

Top 5 tips for staying safe during the summertime

1. Drinking and cooking with a barbeque don’t mix! If you arethe ‘chef’ please take responsibility and avoid indulging indrinks until your cooking duties are completed, ensuringeveryone has well cooked food!

2. Ensure that children are kept well away from barbeques –their fascination and curiosity can easily lead to a dreadfulaccident

3. During the summer, heat can make you feel more dehydrated.Make sure that you drink plenty of soft drinks to quench yourthirst – alcohol will only contribute to making you moredehydrated

4. Try making non alcoholic cocktails for your barbeque or summer parties5. After attending summer parties or barbeques ensure you can get home safely – don’t

be tempted to drive after drinking. Book a licensed taxi home or take public transportAlternatively, stay alcohol free for the night and be the designated driver and thenswap on other occasions with friends or family

Campaign for adults

4

Top 5 tips for health and fitness

1. Get out of the habit of drinking because you are stressed or have nothing else to doLook for other ways to relax; activities like swimming or going for a walk will makeyou feel better. These are easier to do in the summer months and don’t involve alcohol

2. Don’t drink on an empty stomach as this may lead you to snack on high calorie foodssuch as chips and kebabs, increasing the calories you are consuming in a night outeven more

3. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a cool drink – why not add a splash of diet sodawater to help white and rose wines last longer?

4. Alternate alcoholic and soft drinks to prevent you becoming dehydrated and drinkingeven more alcohol

5. If you reduce your alcohol intake, you can also reduce your stress levels, lose weightand look your best

Activity IdeasThis pack includes a number of ideas for activity that you could run during AlcoholAwareness Month. Alternatively, you may already have events planned and can use thisopportunity to maximise the messages that will be going out during this month.

Before commencing any activity, it would be useful to familiarise yourself with thefollowing websites:

www.nhs.uk/livewell/alcohol

www.hertsdirect.org/caresupport

Working with Gyms/Sports Clubs

Did you know that a man drinking five pints a week – the equivalent of 250 pints a year –would be consuming the same amount of calories as someone who got through 221doughnuts in a year? So why not use Alcohol Awareness Month to encourage your localcommunity to be more health conscious and cut down on drinking?

Local gyms and leisure centres are the ideal partners to promote health messages. Bylinking up with your local leisure centres you could:

• Include the Know Your Limits (KYL) campaign materials on their counters or in packsfor new members

• Pin up Alcohol Awareness Month posters inside gym lockers• Set up a stand so that members can come and ask questions and take away a drinks

diary (Annex A) and a Z card to complete

5

• Encourage members of the public to bring back completed drink diaries and completean evaluation form to be entered into a competition to win a free month’s membershipat the gym (see page 6). This will help form a picture of drinking amongst your localcommunity.

• Ask friends attending gym classes together to become ‘booze buddies’ and help eachother cut down

Reaching Shoppers

Weekend markets and supermarkets are a great opportunity to engage with people. Why not capitalise on this by setting up your own market stall one day during AlcoholAwareness Month? You could also work with a local DIY shop who will be sellingbarbeques and related equipment, to ensure that safety messages are deliveredalongside a sale.

• Fill your stall with empty bottles and wine/pint glasses and invite your shoppers toguess the number of units they contain or ask them to fill the glass to a level they thinkis one unit. In return for their participation, give them a Z card, ensuring shoppershave something to refer back to and can share this knowledge with friends and family

• Give a drink diary (Annex A) and a Z card to everyone attending the stall and havemembers of staff on hand to talk shoppers through the simple top five tips provided earlier and strategies for cutting down

• Use visual examples of how many calories are in alcoholic drinks e.g. a pint of cider isequivalent in calories to one glazed ring doughnut, a glass of white wine (175ml) isequivalent to one bag of crisps

• If possible have team members positioned elsewhere in the shopping centre orsurrounding area to encourage people to attend the stall

Targeting your own workforce

Did you know that up to 17 million working days are lost each year to alcohol relatedabsence? This could have a major impact on the productivity of our workforces.

There are also specific situations when the best advice is not to drink at all and beHangover Free:

• before or during driving; • before using machinery, electrical equipment or ladders; • before working or in the workplace when performace at would be adversely

affected by alcohol

1

1 Alcohol and the Workplace’ Institute of Alcohol Studies factsheet, 3rd June 2009

In our own organisations it is likely that our staff may themselves wish to do somethingabout their alcohol consumption or may have family members of friends to whom theywould like to offer clear advice.

• Use your intranet to post a different alcohol related story each week• Hold a stand in reception/canteen areas using empty bottles and invite staff to guess

units and encourage them to leave email addresses to allow follow up after your eventto evaluate how informative people found this

• Ask some senior managers to give up alcohol for a week and at the end of the monthreport their experience on the intranet

• Use this opportunity to review and promote your drug and alcohol policy. For moreinformation visit the Health and Safety Executive website -http://www.hse.gov.uk/alcoholdrugs

As well as these ideas you can use already planned events, such as community actiondays, local neighbourhood surgeries, to spread the word about the key messages duringAlcohol Awareness Month.

The Evaluation form (Annex B) has been designed to help you get the most out of yourevent by seeing what the public thought of this and how you might improve next time.

There is a countywide competition (seeend of pack) offering participants theopportunity to win a membership atselected gyms across the county for amonth.

Once these evaluation forms have beenrecorded locally, please can you select awinner from the correct answers to thequestion and forward that individual’sname– this will enable us to pick awinner from across the county withouthaving to wait to receive the numerouspaper evaluation forms.

Could you please forward thisindividual’s name and details to:

Sue Jacobs sue.jacobs@hertscc.gov.uk tel: 01438 843 382

6

7

What are the Key Messages?

• Alcohol contains calories. To maintain a healthy weight and to be energetic don’tconsume alcohol in large quantities

• The Chief Medical Officer recommends that young people aged under 15 should neverdrink alcohol, even in small quantities. It is healthiest for young people not to drinkalcohol until they are 18 years old

• It’s okay not to drink, most young people don’t. The majority (70%) of young peopleaged 11 – 15 years old did not drink alcohol in the last week. The majority (76%) ofyoung people aged 16 – 17 years old did not drink alcohol in the last week. Eight out often young people would never get in a car with a driver who has had a drink of alcohol

• Take up a new physical activity rather than getting involved in risky drinking behavioure.g Zumba dancing or just go down to the park and enjoy games with friends

• Summer months are the perfect time to enjoy the better weather and undertake someoutdoor activity to help improve your fitness

• It is also important for adults, including parents and siblings, to promote an alcohol free lifestyle as an important and normal part of growing up

Social Norms Approach

The social norms approach is to recognise that young people tend to overestimate howheavily and frequently their peers consume alcohol, and that these perceptions leadthem to drink more heavily themselves than they would otherwise do. This approach torisk taking behaviour emphasises the positive behaviour instead of the negative. Thesepositive messages (see data in key messages) can then be communicated across toyoung people as positive behaviour.

For more information: www.socialnormsresources.org/pdf/guidebook.pdf

Top Reasons Herts Young People gave for NOT getting drunk

• Hangovers and headaches• Driving• Staying in control• College or school the next day• Costs too much• Don’t like the effects• Mates don’t drink

Young People (aged 13 – 19)

Herts Health Related Behaviour Survey was undertaken by 12,000 Young People aged 11-15. Survey took place at fresher fairs at East Herts and Oaklands college campuses in September 2010

2

2

3

3

8

Top 5 tips for health and fitness

• Alcohol contains calories. To maintain a healthy weight and to be energetic don’tconsume alcohol in large quantities

• When celebrating or going on holiday decide to take part in organised activities, e.g.cheerleading, dancing, multi games competitions

• Arrange healthy picnics with friends and involve games i.e. rounders and football.• Promote to others that you are 100% Hangover Free• If you do decide to drink, try alternating alcoholic and soft drinks to prevent you

becoming dehydrated

Activity ideasIf you already have events planned you could use that opportunity to maximise themessages that will be going out during this month.

If you would like further information on planning your event or would like to downloadactivities please visit Hertfordshire Drug Education Forum SMART section -www.hertsdef.org

Stands

• Ensure your stand is interactive for the young people. Why not get them involved?• Have the social norms data on posters• Use plain half pint plastic glasses and ask them to use water to show how much drink

they would normally put in a glass – tip into the Drinkaware cup to show the full unitsused and compare on the alcohol unit wheel the amount of calories used.

• As majority of young people do not drink, encourage those ones who don’t to be proudand wear the badges, wrist bands and use the lip balms. Encourage them to talk totheir peers why they are wearing them. They could sign up to a pledge

• Hire the roller blinds from Herts Health Promotion (for contact details see page 15) onShe Spent and He Spent as they draw young people’s attention to the stand

• Use visual examples e,g, a pint of cider is equivalent in calories to one glazed ringdoughnut, a glass of white wine (175ml) is equivalent to one bag of crisps

Group Work – in schools and colleges, youth settings

Recommended lesson plans:• Alcohol quiz• Demonstration using beer goggles• Guess the units• Attitudes to alcohol• Explore reasons why young people do not drink – look at media,

films etc

9

• Promote social norms messages by facilitating an agreement amongst the group that itis okay not to drink

• Ask the young people who don’t drink to wear the wrist bands and badges• Encourage young people if they do drink to look at their consumption – maybe use a

drinks diary• Units – use the unit cups to look at measures• Discuss health and social implications that alcohol can have on the body:

• Short term alcohol use can slow down muscle growth• Long term alcohol use can impair muscle development• If you have too much alcohol in the 24 hours before exercising you are more

likely to develop muscle cramps• Alcohol affects the body’s ability to create energy, slowing down reaction times

and reducing endurance • School work• Loss of driving licenses• Family arguments• Embarrassment

• Use the alcohol unit wheels to look at calories per drink• Lesson plans and factsheets for under 18s are available on Drinkaware website

www.drinkaware.co.uk. Explore website - www.nhs.uk/livewell/alcohol

All events should promote local youth services and support

10

Working with Parents and Carers

If you are considering working with parents during Alcohol Awareness Month it isimportant to remember that family interventions should have a ‘broad-spectrum’approach to drug and alcohol prevention. The focus of the information and support beingprovided should focus on developing generic life skills – such as building self-esteemand improving communication skills – rather than concentrating solely on child andadolescent alcohol and other drug use.

Parents and carers may require support to enable them to negotiate difficult boundarieswith their children – or indeed to renegotiate those boundaries as their children grow upand mature.

The Hertfordshire Young People’s Substance Misuse and Crime Reduction Services teamhas published guidance, ‘Targeted Drug Education for Parents and Carers’, which can bedownloaded from www.hertsdef.org.uk

Local services which can also offer support are:Family Lives T: 0808 800 22 22 www.familylives.org.uk Parental Drug Awareness Service T: 01707 393 934

A downloadable alcohol presentation for parents is also available on the DEF websitementioned above called Keeping Your Child Safe Toolkit.

A-DASH Service

During any of your events or group work, if a young person feels they or a friend have aproblem with alcohol please give them the details of the Adolescent Drug and AlcoholService in Hertfordshire (A-DASH). Their leaflets are available from Herts HealthPromotion. A-DASH’s contact details are Telephone: 01923 427288 Text: 07770 537 227Email:a-dash@hertspartsft.nhs.uk

Evaluation

In order for us to evaluate this campaign your feedback on the following is imperative• The resources distributed – which ones were popular and why?• The number of young people attending activities• TV, radio and press coverage• Cultural change - young people pro alcohol free - use questions such as:

• Is it okay for your mates not to drink alcohol during a night out?• What message would you say to your mates which supports you not to drink?• How will you let your mates know that you are promoting not drinking?

• Adoption of social norms approach• Satisfaction survey through face to face conversations, observations• Enrolment on to new classes, gym membership etc

11

Press CoverageThe campaign will be supported by countywide and local PR coverage.

There will be a press briefing for the media at the end of May 2011 to deliver the keymessages of the campaign. During the month, a press release will be issued, one aweek, containing information on the key messages and top tips for the public.If you are holding an event led by the police and involving other partner agencies you cancontact the following Press and PR officers who will be able to publicise them for you:

Nikki Hall (Stevenage, North Herts and East Herts CSPs) 01438 757110Ailsa Roe (Welwyn Hatfield, Hertsmere and St Albans CSPs) 01707 806918Olivia Finucane (Watford, Three Rivers and Dacorum CSPs) 01923 472080Simon Feldman (Broxbourne CSP) 01438 75 7410

If your event is not led by the police, please contact your communications lead in yourorganisation to arrange publicity.

Questions and Answers?

These questions and answers have been designed to help you answer any questions thepublic or media may have during June.

What is Alcohol Awareness Month?

Hertfordshire is using this month to raise awareness of the effect alcohol can have onindividuals lifestyle with regards to fitness and weight gain and the risks that people canbe exposed to when drinking. There will be opportunities for the public to learn abouttheir own drinking habits by being encouraged to complete a drink diary.

Who is the target audience for Alcohol Awareness Month?

All adults who are drinking above the recommended lower risk drinking guidelines of 3-4units a day for men and 2-3 units a day for women. The target audience is those aged18-35 who maybe keeping fit, using gyms but may also indulge in a post work-out drink.The campaign will highlight the extra calories that alcohol will put into their diets. Thecampaign is also highlighting issues for anyone under 18, around personal safety duringthe summer months and the benefits of staying 100% Hangover Free.

What do you want people to do during Alcohol Awareness Month?

The campaign is encouraging people to take stock of what they are drinking by filling in adrink diary and following the top five tips to staying healthy and safe with alcohol duringthe summer months. It is also providing alternatives to drinking for Young People.

12

Drink Diary

Please fill in your diary alongside using ‘How do your drinks add up?’ or the onlineversion at www.nhs.uk/drinking

1. For each day write down all the alcoholic drinks you consume, including the type ofdrink, the glass or container size and the alcoholic strength

2. Write down how many units are in each drink using the ‘How do your drinks add up?’ handout or at the personal online alcohol tracker

3. Add the total number of units for each day and write it in the last column. The onlinedrink calculator will add up the number of units for you

4. Once you have completed the table for each day, take a look at the totals. If you areexceeding the recommended guidelines of 3-4 units for men and 2-3 units for women,you should consider cutting back. For more information and tips of how to drink lessplease visit www.nhs.uk/drinking

Annex A

13

14

Evaluation form

How did you hear about today’s event?Newspaper Internet Word of mouth Other – please state

..................................

Having seen today’s activities, do you know more about the number of units inyour favourite drinks?

Do you feel you know more about how alcohol can affect your fitness/health?

Will you be filling in your drink diary or finding out more about your alcohol intakeand whether you should consider cutting down?

Competition!

If a man drinks 5 pints of lager on both a Friday and Saturday night, How many glazedring doughnuts would this equate to?

6 8 10 12

Name and address (we will only contact you if you are a competition winner and yourdetails will not be passed to any third parties)

Annex B

Yes No Maybe

Yes No Maybe

Yes No Maybe

15

Resources available from Herts HealthPromotion

100% Hangover Freewrist bands

100% Hangover Free lip balms

100% Hangover Free doorhangers

In HertsMagazine

Know Your Limits pens

Alcohol and Fitness A5 cards

She spentcredit cards

(YP)

He spentcredit cards

(YP)

100% HangoverFree badges

Z Cards (A)Fridgemagnets

Also available: And he thought he looked good banner, And she thought she looked goodbanner, Drinks of Britain posters – A3 – A4, Know Your Limits Beer Coasters.

To order visit www.healthpromotioninherts.nhs.uk. You will need to register beforeordering and this will be approved by Herts Health Promotion. Material will be deliveredto your nearest health centre. You can contact Karl.Bourdon@hertfordshire.nhs.uk tosee if your resources have been dispatched.

(A) = Adults only(YP) = Young people only

16

If you are experiencing difficulties ordering Unit Cups from Drinkaware please emailsue.jacobs@hertscc.gov.uk who will be able to assist.

Artwork to support Alcohol Awareness MonthPosters to help publicise the key messages will also be available for you to print, withsamples email around May 2011.

Available from DrinkawareYou can also order material from drinkaware.co.uk, this includes:

Unit measuringcup

Unit/caloriecalculator wheel