Reclaim Your Weekend - drinkaware

We're drinking less, we're drinking less frequently, but when we drink, we drink too much and too fast drinkaware.ie launches ‘RECLAIM YOUR WEEKEND' initiative to encourage us to PACE our DRINKING

We're drinking 20% less overall compared with a decade ago and we're drinking less often, but when we drink, we drink too much and too fast. And while we are nursing a hangover and feeling the worse for wear, life and all it has to offer sails by.

By pacing our drinking, that is drinking less and more slowly on an occasion of drinking, we enable ourselves to get more out of our night or our weekend. In order to encourage consumers to adopt a pacing strategy when drinking, drinkaware.ie has teamed up with Microsoft Networks (MSN) to identify upcoming events and activities around the country that consumers can participate in: the result is ReclaimYourWeekend.ie, a mini website/app which offers information on things to do and places to go that cost nothing at all, as well as exclusive, attractively priced deals on events and activities across Ireland. ReclaimYourWeekend.ie also offers links to handy hints and tips on how to pace your drinking.

'Reclaim Your Weekend' is being launched on the back of the drinkaware.ie 'Pacing' campaign launched in April.

Fionnuala Sheehan, drinkaware.ie Chief Executive said, "While drinkaware.ie's campaigns to date have sought to confront society generally, and young people in particular, with the consequences of excessive drinking in public, especially for the sober innocent third party, this campaign has a particular focus on our style of drinking in Ireland.

Empowering consumers to take control of their own drinking and motivating them to adopt a more moderate drinking style by promoting the benefits of a slower pace is the focus of our recently launched PACING campaign. 'Reclaim Your Weekend' has been created as a practical application to encourage and motivate people to pace their drinking on a Friday or Saturday night and in return enjoy doing something with friends or family the following day rather than doing nothing but nursing a hangover."

Ms. Sheehan said that while there is clear evidence of progress in our attitude to excessive drinking, there is still a need to address our style and pattern of drinking in Ireland. She added "Research has shown that while we drink relatively infrequently compared to our European counterparts, we drink a relatively large amount on an occasion of drinking, and we drink at a faster pace. According to the 2009 Euro barometer Survey published in 2010: 3% of Irish adult drinkers consume alcohol daily compared with 43% of Portuguese, and 69% of European drinkers consume 2 drinks or less on a drinking occasion."

Ms. Sheehan referred to research by Millward Browne Lansdowne (MBL) in January, 2012 which found that, the average number of drinks consumed by adult Irish drinkers during their last drinking occasion was 5.6 in the pub/club, and 4.2 at home, with younger drinkers consuming larger amounts, and there is an increase in the speed of drinking the longer the drinking occasion lasts.

Visit ReclaimYourWeekend.ie.