Through the European Alcohol and Health Forum, the spirits sector has committed to support prevention activities across Europe to help reduce alcohol-related harm and to report about them on a regular basis. This is what our sector does since 2007 and the Forum highlighted how by working together in a transparent, participative and accountable manner, we can make real progress tackling irresponsible drinking. Time alone does not change behaviour. It requires focus on the real issues, that is to say, harm is the target and not the consumption per se. It requires a shared vision and working with all the relevant stakeholders in partnership and not in silos. It requires proper measurement and evaluation of actions and strategies to quantify progress made and adapt if needed.
A very good example of a prevention programme including all the ingredients just described has been presented last week in Brussel. In 2007, the European student organization Erasmus Student Network (ESN) and Pernod Ricard (one of our member company) launched a unique pan-European programme called Responsible Party. This collaboration targets in average 50.000 European students per year and aims to limit excessive alcohol consumption through peer-to-peer interventions and the promotion of a balanced lifestyle.
The efficiency of Responsible Party programme was measured over the past 2 years through an independent scientific evaluation carried out by the Catholic University of Louvain. The report has demonstrated positive outcomes (e.g. 33% of the students decreased their binge drinking score during the programme), showing that smart peer-to-peer prevention works and that information sharing is key to significantly decrease harm during student parties.
More examples of the work done by the spirits sector across Europe is available on www.drinksinitiatives.eu where you can see for each campaign who are the parties involved - either public and/or private - the objectives (underage drinking, drink-driving, illicit alcohol, etc), the tools and messages used as well as the impact and the evaluation results. Certainly, a source of inspiration for those who really want to act!
