Welcome to our November newsletter
This month, Alcohol Awareness Week took place with great success. A huge thank you to everyone who took part! Read on to find out more about some of the highlights from the week, including an APPG on Alcohol Harm meeting.
Also in this newsletter, free resources to help you organise Dry January, recruitment for Consultancy and Training Manager, a new Try Dry app feature, the latest alcohol news, and more!
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Alcohol Awareness Week – thank you!
For this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week, over 5,000 communities, organisations and local places signed up to take part and join us in talking all things alcohol and relationships. A huge thank you to everyone who shared, engaged, and got involved with the campaign.
Some of the highlights from the week include:
If you took part in the campaign and would like to tell us what you did, we’d love to hear from you!
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Marking Alcohol Awareness Week in Parliament
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Alcohol Harm met on Monday 15 November to mark Alcohol Awareness Week, with a briefing about alcohol and relationships. The event was well attended by Parliamentarians and third sector professionals. We heard from several speakers whose own relationships have been affected by alcohol harm, including from Natalie Needham, a textile artist who launched her #StitchAwayTheStigma exhibition in York. Attendees also heard from OnePlusOne, Adfam, Nacoa and Alcohol Change UK Community Champions. Recordings from this and previous events are available to watch on our website.
We also invited campaigners to email their MP, asking them to help mark the week in Parliament and their constituencies.
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It’s nearly time for Dry January!
Have you been stuck on pause?
Many of us feel that way. Things have been a little unpredictable, meaning many of us have been in limbo, not knowing what to do next. No more stop-starting. Now’s the time to press go! Dry January can give us the best possible start to 2022.
31 days alcohol-free. Your chance for a break. A total reset for the body and mind. This isn’t about stopping drinking forever. But it’s about more than January. It’s about you, year-round. It’s about learning that you don’t need alcohol so that for the rest of the year you’ve got a real choice. It’s about making 2022 the best it can be.
Dry January isn’t about giving anything up. It’s about getting something back. Get your time back. Get your fun back. Get your calm back. Get your YOU back.
Alcohol Change UK is here to help. By downloading our free app or signing up for coaching emails you double your chance of having a totally alcohol-free month and getting amazing benefits that last.
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Running Dry January in your community or workplace? We can send you free digital resources.
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You can also buy low-cost printed materials from our shop.
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We’re recruiting!
We’re looking to fill the position of Consultancy and Training Manager. Working in the Fundraising and Engagement team, you’ll be working with dozens of clients a year, and managing our small team of skilled associates. You’ll both help to win work and get involved in delivering projects. Applications close Friday 3 December, 9am.
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Call for participants: Investigating seasonal variation in alcohol consumption
A research team at the University of Sheffield is looking for volunteers to take part in a series of surveys investigating seasonal variation in alcohol consumption.
If you drink alcohol at least once a week, live in the UK, and are aged 18+, they would love to hear from you.
Take part now for your chance to win a £50 Love2Shop voucher with a total of £1250 in prizes up for grabs for participants who complete all follow-up surveys.
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New Try Dry app feature: introducing Missions!
Recently we launched a new feature for our Try Dry app: Missions. There are 18 new Missions to be completed, designed to help you stay dry in situations that are often associated with drinking alcohol. You can choose to take these on at any time.
- Pick a Mission to complete – for example, having a go at navigating a birthday bash alcohol-free
- Collect your virtual badge
- Smug grin kicks in, mission accomplished!
Why not try a Mission yourself? Download the free Try Dry app to find the full list in the ‘badge’ section.
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Alcohol tags for offenders launched
From this month, offenders released from prison face being banned from drinking, under what has been described as "world-first plans" to curb alcohol-fuelled crime. Serious and prolific offenders will be tagged with devices which monitor alcohol levels in sweat if their probation officer thinks they will be more likely to reoffend when drinking.
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Four million people affected by loved one’s drinking
Around 5.5m people in England and Wales are negatively affected by a loved one’s drinking, drug taking or gambling, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by the charity Adfam. Four million of those are affected by a loved one's drinking. The findings are included in a new report which highlights how the pandemic had worsened the situation for many families and friends trying to cope with a loved one’s drinking, and in some cases had acted as a trigger.
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Alcohol advertising at sports venues gets the red card
New measures have come into force in Ireland to prohibit alcohol advertising in or at a 'sports playing area' during a sporting event. It is the latest phase of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, which prescribes a wide range of measures regarding availability, price, marketing, labelling and advertising of alcohol, and which have been implemented gradually since November 2019.
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Emma’s story: “I miss my sister every single day”
Emma’s sister passed away when she was just 43 years old after struggling with her drinking for fifteen years. In this blog, Emma shares the impact her sister’s drinking had on her and their relationship.
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Alcohol-related brain damage: The other dementia
Head injuries are in the news, but there's one group of people with brain injuries whose illness remains shrouded in shame and stigma - those with alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD).
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