Students in Preston tackle binge drinking head on
Sat 1st Mar 2008
A new campaign has been launched in Preston today (Friday 14 March) to raise awareness amongst local students of the consequences of excessive drinking.
The campaign, devised by Lancashire Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) and Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety (LPfRS) is supported by both the national Know Your Limits alcohol campaign and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), will use a mix of street marketing, ad shells, billboards, posters and radio advertising to prompt students to think about the consequences of their drinking.
The campaign encourages students to:
- Enjoy their night out but not ruin it by drinking too much alcohol;
- Drink more water;
- Be aware of the possible consequences that can be caused by excessive drinking.
The creative concept behind the campaign has been developed and tested with local students, as new research carried out specifically for the campaign1 reveals that 43% of 18-24 year olds in Lancashire admit to carrying on drinking even when they know they’ve reached their limits, therefore increasing their risk of personal danger.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
“I welcome this partnership approach to delivering responsible drinking messages to Preston’s students. The scheme is designed to complement our existing publicity and safe drinking advice, driving home the message that excessive drinking is risky and can have extremely serious consequences for both themselves and those around them. As well as leading to serious health impacts, alcohol is a factor in around half of all violent crime.
“The Government has taken the lead in tackling the harm that alcohol can cause but individuals need to take responsibility too. This initiative makes a positive contribution and I look forward to seeing positive results flow from it.”
A team of young people will be in Preston city centre and UCLAN Student Union (SU) handing out prize draw scratch cards and unit counters, and free bottled water will be handed out at UCLAN SU’s end of term event ‘Night Vision’ on Saturday 15 March, to encourage students to alternate their alcoholic drinks with water. This will be followed by a two month period of radio, indoor and outdoor advertising.
Tom Woodcock, Strategic Director at Lancashire DAAT, says:
“This social marketing campaign has been developed in partnership with students in Lancashire and it reflects their own concerns at the potential consequences of excessive alcohol use. We are really pleased to be working with the Know Your Limits national campaign and recognise that some aspects of the current drinking culture need to be tackled with hard hitting messages that young people will listen to.”
A new website, www.makeyournightlast.co.uk, has also been developed to support the campaign.
UCLAN and the SU have been instrumental in developing the campaign due to a recent increase in student alcohol related disciplinary cases. In addition, 88% of Lancashire students admit to getting drunk on a night out with 87% choosing to walk home afterwards.
Know Your Limits is a Government initiative to highlight the negative consequences of drinking too much alcohol. The campaign stresses the need for young drinkers to know the transformation point that occurs between having a good drink and becoming a bad drunk and figuring out the consequences of excessive drinking.
References
1 LDAAT commissioned research in conjunction with Rock FM