Don't Let Alcohol Sneak up On
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Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru Public Health Wales Don ’t le t alcohol snea k up on you Have at least 2 alcohol-free d ays ea c h week Alcohol Awareness Toolkit CoVtNn\s Hello! And welcome to the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit.... 1 Why do people drink? 2 Alcohol Awareness Week - Get Involved! 3 Why should your organisation get involved in the campaign? 3 “How do I get involved?” 3 The Campaign: 4 Methods of promoting the messages 4 Staff Intranet and Newsletter 4 Poster Display 4 Staff Engagement 5 Social Networking 5 Case Study 6 Future Considerations 7 Appendices 8 Engagement tools: 9 Conversation starters and activity ideas 9 Alcohol: True or False Quiz 1c Alcohol facts 1d What’s the problem with drinking over the recommended limits? 1e Websites and contacts 1f Daily message section 1g Look over your shoulder - is alcohol sneaking up on you? 2c Social Networking 2d Evaluation Form 2e HeTlW! AnM wNlLoUe \o \hN AlLoQoT AwJrNnNs[ ToWlSi\... ...which has been developed by Public Health Wales and Alcohol Concern to support workplaces to run their own campaigns during Alcohol Awareness Week 2012. This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week will run from: 19-25 November, 2012 The theme of this year’s campaign will be: ‘It’[ tRmN tW tJlS aKo]t MrRnSiVg’ The aim is to get people thinking and talking about the health risks, social problems, stigmas and taboos of drinking and to challenge stereotypes about who is likely to be drinking too much. This toolkit has been developed to support the key message of the campaign, which is: Don’t let alcohol sneak up on you Have at least 2 alcohol-free days each week The toolkit is intended for use by any person who would like to raise awareness of this important issue with colleagues. It will provide organisations with all the necessary tools and resources to plan, run and evaluate a campaign in their workplace. Kea mNs[aPe[: • Drinking over recommended guidelines daily or on most days increases the chance of liver disease and developing alcohol dependency. • Sticking within the recommended daily guidelines and having at least 2 alcohol- free drinking days a week means there is only a low risk of harm. • If alcohol has crept up on you, get sneaky and cut back. Try to find activities to wind down and relax that don’t involve drinking on at least 2 days a week and on days that you do drink, try to do so sensibly by using the tips for swapping and nights out at Change4Lifewales.org 1 Wha dW pNoXlN dZiVk? There are a number of reasons why people drink alcohol which may vary considerably from person to person. By beginning to think about these different reasons, you will begin to gain a useful insight into the nature of alcohol use in our culture. It may also give you ideas for conversations you could have to encourage people to start thinking about their relationship with alcohol. Listed below are the most common reasons that people give for drinking on a regular basis. • Reward People often enjoy a drink to ‘wind down’. Alcohol is seen as a reward after a stressful day at work. • To relax Others consider having a drink as ‘me time’ for example when the children are in bed • Routine A number of people acknowledge that their patterns of routine drinking become difficult to disrupt. This leads to a belief that they might be too set in their ways and unable to break the routine. • Alcohol enhances the social experience Alcohol is frequently described as an ‘essential ingredient’ in social situations, helping consumers to ‘fit in’ or be more confident. Additional reasons include: • Boredom • Feeling down • Pressure from partners ‘ oh go on I am having one ’ • Cheaper having a drink at home and more convenient. ‘It Rs J cWmUoV pNrLeXtRoV tQa\ yWuVg XeWpTe JrN rNsXoVsRbTe OoZ tQe RnLrNa[iVg Lo[t Wf JlLoQoT mRs]sN, b]t WuZ fRnMiVg[ sQo_ tQa\ iV rNaTi\y \hRs Rs Vo\ tQe La[e.’ ‘It Rs \hN mRdMlN-aPeM, aVd Wf\eV mRdMlN-cTa[s MrRnSeZ, rNg]lJrTy MrRnSiVg JbWvN rNcWmUeVdNd TiUi\s, _hW aZe Jc\uJlTy ZeYuRrRnP tQi[ cWmXlNx JnM e`pNn[i^e NHS cJrN.’ ‘Baby boomers are draining NHS resources through alcohol misuse’ Press release, Alcohol Concern, 12 October 2012 2 AlLoQoT AwJrNnNs[ WeNk – Ge\ In^oTvNd! AlLoQoT cJn XlJy J sRgViOiLaVt ZoTe Rn JnM aZo]nM tQe _oZkXlJcN. It Rs Wf\eV pNrLeRvNd Js J s\rNs[-rNlRe^eZ aVd Jn Jn\iMo\e \o \hN dJiTy XrNs[uZe[ oO dNmJnMiVg ZoTe[, a[ wNlT a[ a _aa tW sWcRaTi[e JnM tW nNt_oZk _i\h LoTlNaPuNs JnM cTiNn\s. Ho_e^eZ, dZiVkRnP cJn TeJd \o MeLrNa[eM oZgJnRsJtRoVaT pZoMuLtRvRta aVd ToVg-\eZm QeJl\h XrWbTeUs. Wha sQo]lM yWuZ oZgJnRsJtRoV gNt Rn^oTvNd Rn \hN cJmXaRgV? The workplace provides an ideal setting to target interventions on reducing alcohol consumption – it provides access to an established population of adults, and provides a great opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of staff. “Ho_ dW I gNt Rn^oTvNd?” There are many ways for you and your organisation to get involved with the campaign and promote the key messages to your colleagues, workforce and wider community. The following section of the toolkit will outline some ideas which will be very easy to introduce while others may involve a little more work. All of the tools needed to put the following ideas into practice are linked to the resources section collated in the back of this pack. This includes an evaluation form which we would be grateful if you could complete and return after your campaign to help us understand how effective the campaign has been across all organisations involved. AlLoQoT iUpJc\s Wn \hN wWrSpTaLe Rn f mJiV wJy[: • RaRsNd JlLoQoT lNvNl[ a\ wWrS aOfNc\ eOfRcReVca aVd [aOe\y – mNaViVg RnLrNa[eM lRkNlRhWoM oO mRs\aSe[, eZrWr[ oO j]dPeUeVt aVd JcLiMeVt[. • HaVgWvNr[ aOfNc\ a\tNnMaVcN aVd XeZfWrUaVcN. • PeZsRs\eVt QeJva dZiVkRnP mJy TeJd \o [eZiWu[ sWcRaT, p[yLhWlWgRcJl aVd UeMiLaT pZoKlNm[ wQiLh JrN a[sWcRa\eM wRtQ wWrS a\tNnMaVcN aVd XeZfWrUaVcN – fWr NxJmXlN, iVcZeJsNd [iLkVe[s Jb[eVcN. Alcohol and the Workplace: Institute of Alcohol Studies Factsheet, 2009 3 ThN CaUpJiPn Me\hWd[ oO pZoUo\iVg \hN mNs[aPe[ StJfO In\rJnNt JnM Ne_sTe\tNr A great way to spread the messages of Alcohol Awareness Week is to regularly post on to the staff intranet to reinforce the importance of ‘having 2 alcohol-free days each week’. Our Appendices include a daily message section with six articles that you could use to post key messages leading up to and during Alcohol Awareness Week. These articles could be adapted and sent as e-mails if you do not have access to the intranet. Alternatively if you would like to post just one article use the Look over your shoulder article provided. This article may also be appropriate for a newsletter. PoRn\s \o ZeUeUbNr: • Continue to reinforce the key messages of the campaign throughout the week by using as many media channels as possible • Utilise the recommended websites for further ideas and information. Po[tNr DRsXlJy Most work places and organisations have a notice board and areas where display boards can be placed such as receptions, and canteens. Campaign posters and additional downloadable literature are available to use in your workplace. Resources Don’t let drink sneak up on you poster; What’s in your drink? Poster; Don’t Let Alcohol Sneak Up On you Leaflet . 4 PoRn\s \o ZeUeUbNr: • Make sure literature is well positioned at a place where people will see it • Remember that successful campaigns rely on more than one method of promoting messages. StJfO EnPaPeUeVt A great way to engage with people is to set up a stall or a protected space which gives you a real opportunity to start a conversation, key to the focus of this year’s campaign. An excellent way of way bringing up the subject of alcohol use is to engage staff with an interactive tool – we have included a number of interactive activity ideas in the Appendix of the toolkit. Resources Alcohol Unit Wheel; Alcohol Unit Beaker; Don’t Let Alcohol Sneak Up On you Leaflet ; Alcohol: True or False Quiz. PoRn\s \o ZeUeUbNr: • Set up the stall in a busy area such as a canteen or staff room; • Make the stall / space appealing, eye catching and enticing; • Raise the issue of drinking with staff; • Signpost staff to other resources that they could use to maintain their awareness of their own drinking. SoLiJl NNt_oZkRnP Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media are effective methods of communication. You could use these avenues to provide links to useful online resources in order to reinforce the messages and to support people to change their relationship with alcohol. Our Twitter section offers some tweeting suggestions. PoRn\s \o ZeUeUbNr: • Remember to be creative and make your interaction with staff appealing • Be sure that the links you provide are from a reliable source – see our social networking section in the Appendix 5 By Pe\tRnP iVvWl^eM iV tQi[ cJmXaRgV yWu _iTl: • PrWvRdN a Sea oXpWr\uVi\y \o RnOl]eVcN tQe _eTlKeRnP oO s\aOf Rn yWuZ oZgJnRsJtRoV fWr \hN bNt\eZ • EnJbTe ao]r WrPaVi[a\iWn \o \aSe J pZoJc\i^e JpXrWaLh \o [tJfO hNaTtQ • CoVtZiKu\e \o ao]r WrPaVi[a\iWn JcQiNvRnP tQe CoZpWrJtN HeJl\h StJnMaZd • HeTp \o JdMrNs[ yWuZ cWrXoZa\e Ze[pWn[iKiTi\y Wr NmXlWyNe _eTl bNiVg [tZa\ePy _hRcQ rNq]iZe[ yWu \o Me^eToX mNa[uZe[ tW pZoUo\e PoWd NmXlWyNe QeJl\h Ca[e S\uMy CaZdRfO aVd VJlN UnRvNr[i\y HNaTtQ BoJrM Since 2009, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has run an Alcohol Awareness Campaign as part of a multi-faceted approach to support the health improvement of its staff, its patients and local communities.