CEO Blog: Helping people make better decisions
With an estimated one in five people setting themselves a New Year’s resolution to lead a healthier lifestyle, which may include cutting back on alcohol, January is a particularly effective time for us to be promoting our Have A Little Less, Feel A Lot Better campaign.
Which is why, on a cold Friday in January, I joined colleagues from the Drinkaware head office on a trip to the Asda store in Watford to see our partnership with the supermarket group in action and to watch and listen as customers talked to the Drinkaware ambassador about a wide range of alcohol issues.
The Have A Little Less, Feel A Lot Better campaign encourages people to cut back on their routine drinking, by outlining the benefits that drinking less can bring from short term benefits like weight loss, brighter skin and improved sleep. In the longer term, cutting back on the overall amount of alcohol you regularly drink lowers the risk of serious diseases like cancer, liver disease, pancreatitis, diabetes and stroke.
The trained Drinkaware ambassadors in Asda provided information and advice to shoppers, and dispensed specially-created alcohol assessment scratchcards as well as Drinkaware’s alcohol unit measure cups and calorie wheels. They also talked to customers concerned about their own drinking, or that of a family member or friend.
Most of the shoppers talking to Bupal, the ambassador in the Asda Watford store, were women. According to Food Standards Agency research, 68% of women say they are responsible for most or all of the household shopping, so they are hugely influential in controlling how much alcohol comes into the home and helping their husbands or partners to make better decisions about their drinking.
Find out more about cutting down as a couple
Making better choices about alcohol doesn’t have to mean giving it up.
Drinkaware recognises that alcohol is a part of everyday life for many people, and can be enjoyed in moderation.
Have A Little Less, Feel A Lot Better got off to a good start in January and we’re grateful to Asda who, as one of Drinkaware’s funders, have helped us to take the message out to their customers. More activity under this campaign is planned for 2018, as we continue working to help people make better decisions about alcohol.