The alcohol education charity developed ‘what’s in your glass?’ kits, which included an alcohol unit measure cup, calorie and unit wheel and information booklet, as part of a campaign with Berkshire Public Health and the Local Pharmaceutical Committee. Customers in 151 local pharmacies were invited to pick up the kit during Alcohol Awareness Week last year to measure how many units and calories they consume.
Now Drinakware said it will look into how the kit can be evolved to support further behaviour change and it plans to roll out the kits in GP surgeries later this year for another pilot campaign. Focus group participants suggested distributing the kits in pubs, but Drinkaware said there are currently no plans to extend the campaign to the on-trade.
Out of the 300 people who filled out a survey on the kits or took part in a focus group during the pilot, more than one in six (63%) said it helped them cut back on the number of units they drank, while more than half said they switched to lower-strength drinks (58%) and reduced the number of days they drink alcohol (52%).
The vast majority (93%) said the kits helped them visualise how many units there are in alcoholic drinks, according to Shared Intelligence, which evaluated the results.
Moreover, 83% said it helped them understand unit guidelines, and three in four said they became more aware of their own drinking habits.
Partnership working
Chief executive Elaine Hindal said: “The results demonstrate that, by giving consumers the right support and information, we can achieve real and sustained positive behaviour change – something that Drinkaware as a charity is striving for across all our work.
“The partnership-working model with Berkshire Public Health and the Local Pharmaceutical Committee is one of the key reasons for the success of this campaign, and I am grateful for their guidance and support during the trial.
“We will learn from this evaluation and continue to help people make informed choices, and support them to change their drinking behaviour for the better.”