Drink Free Days campaign one month on

We used the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month to reinforce to women the importance of taking regular drink free days as part of a healthier lifestyle, and to reduce the risk of developing serious health conditions, including breast cancer, in the future. You might have heard our medical advisor, Dr Sarah Jarvis, MBE and TV presenter Kate Garroway, talking about our campaign on radio stations across the country. The campaign continues to resonate strongly with the public, with overall key performance indicators exceeding our expectations.

Since the campaign launched on 10 September:

• 1 million people have visited the Drinkaware website, a third more than in the corresponding period a year ago;
• 160,000 of them have accessed the Drink Free Days campaign page; and
• more than 28,000 people have downloaded the Drinkaware App or PHE’sDrink Free Days App designed to reinforce the campaign’s key messages.

We can’t, of course, know yet what impact the campaign will have had on their drinking, but both we and PHE are committed to carrying out full evaluations of the campaign.

In the light of this incredible consumer response, it has been disappointing to see an open letter initiated by Sheffield University gain some coverage in The Times this week. We were nonetheless delighted by the support for the campaign in the same paper’s Leader article and to see Drinkaware’s contribution to an important story about changing drinking trends make the front page.

We have responded by letter to the academics in question, refuting in the strongest terms their criticism of Drinkaware; our letter is published on our website and Twitter.

In the face of the utterly misplaced negativity from a vocal minority, we continue to be grateful for the continued support of our partners, who are working with us to encourage older drinkers to reduce their alcohol consumption by taking several drink free days a week.

Thank you once again to all those who have been in touch and for your messages of support.

As ever, if you have any questions or you would like further information; do please contact us at Drinkaware on 0207 766 9900 or email me at ehindal@drinkaware.co.uk.

With best wishes,

Elaine Hindal, Chief Executive