Although the European Alcohol & Health Forum is no longer active - which we regret - we have kept our commitment to alcohol-related harm reduction fully alive. Our latest Annual Implemention Report shows the prevention work that has been done at local level in public-private partnerships throughout 2018.
The Report 2018 provides insights into the 119 prevention programmes that are ongoing across Europe. A majority of these aim to promote responsible drinking, using increasingly social media tools and approaches to reach the right people with the right message at the right time and at the right place. 36 prevention programmes are dedicated to fighting underage drinking, and we strongly believe that these have contributed to the significant decline in youth drinking that was highlighted at the KBS conference in April. The same is true for our long-term commitment to combat drink-driving. The use of the designated driver concept has become a widely understood and accepted behaviour among young adults and increasingly so among the older generation. The pressure of enforcement of rules by police forces has been instrumental to achieve this change in behaviour.
In addition, we are supporting gynaecologist unions with tools and materials to raise awareness among women not to drink when pregnant or breastfeeding. Moreover, we work with pharmacists to amplify responsible drinking messages to fight harmful alcohol consumption.
While a direct causal link between these campaigns and real-life harm reduction cannot be established, we trust and believe that – thanks to their multi-parternship and multi-annual nature – they have had a tangible impact and have contributed to drive positive change in a number of trends. Thanks to everyone involved in these important projects and: let’s keep up the good work!
Detailed informatin on all actions are available at www.drinksinitiatives.eu
