Don’t let alcohol take centre stage of your life

As part of Alcohol Awareness Week, the Orkney Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (OADP) is shining a spotlight on alcohol harm and how it impacts people, families, and wider communities. 

Alcohol Awareness Week is managed and hosted by UK charity Alcohol Change UK and runs from 1 to 7 July 2024. They will be shining a light on the centre-stage role that alcohol plays in people's lives – whether through promotion as folk watch their favourite sports, on advertisements whilst travelling to work and strategically placed in popular films and TV shows. 

OADP is encouraging everyone to get involved in this year’s campaign by talking about the ways in which alcohol harm affects them, and the ripple effect among families, friends, communities and broader society. 

Alcohol is known to be harming people’s health and wellbeing on a daily basis - from the quality of the sleep to relationships with loved ones. Each year, thousands of people experience long-term health problems through their alcohol consumption or die from alcohol-related causes. 

The good news is – this is preventable. By opening up conversations about alcohol harm and helping to reduce it, it is hoped to create an environment where it’s easier for people to make informed choices about drinking. 

OADP Chair, Stephen Brown said: “In Orkney, we continue to see the influence and impact of problematic alcohol use. It’s great to see the collective approach from statutory and third sector organisations in attempting to minimise the impact of this on our community. 

“Pushing for change around issues associated with attitudes, stigma and consumption levels to name a few. We are keen to get on board with Alcohol Awareness Week and would recommend looking into the resources available from Alcohol Change UK or to contact a local organisation here in Orkney. Having open and honest conversations around alcohol is the first step to reducing stigma and help shift cultural views around its use in rural communities like we have here in Orkney.” 

Dr Richard Piper, Chief Executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: “Many of us don’t realise that consuming alcohol directly harms our health and negatively affects our friends, our partners, our children and our wider society. The reality is that over 10 million of us are drinking alcohol in a way that can cause health problems. Health harms do not just affect the heavy or dependent drinkers that we often think about. 

“But because of the centre-stage role that alcohol currently plays in our lives and society – with it being all around us, everywhere we go – it can be hard to cut back. By taking a minute to learn more about the harms of alcohol and by supporting better national regulations to prevent these harms, we can make life better for us all.” 

It is easy to take part in Alcohol Awareness Week: 

• Share experiences, events and activities on social media using the hashtag #AlcoholAwarenessWeek and tagging @AlcoholChangeUK. 

• Visit the Alcohol Change UK website and sign up for free resources to share across the week. 

• Use the Alcohol Change UK resources to highlight the issues and drive a conversation in your community.