Council staff pledge to give up booze

Two lunchtime events were held to promote Dry January to Plymouth City Council staff and in total 70 colleagues have signed up.

The events were held at Ballard House refectory on Wednesday 7 January and Windsor House reception area on Thursday 8 January. Members of our Public Health team gave out information on Dry January, spoke to staff and encouraged them to pledge to give up booze for 31 days.

This year is the first time Public Health has partnered with Alcohol Concern to promote Dry January, and it forms part of our Alcohol Strategy.

Dry January is a national behaviour change public health campaign developed by the charity Alcohol Concern and supported by Public Health England. It seeks to challenge people to give up drinking alcohol for the month of January. The aim is to talk about, reflect upon and ultimately curb risky drinking behaviours, whilst realising some short-term benefits (better sleep, weight loss, saving money, feeling better).

Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Public Health, said: “It’s really good to see so many staff giving Dry January a go. It is often the small step changes that make the difference to people’s lives.”
In 2014, 17,312 people signed up online to take part in Dry January, with 80 per cent of them saying they'd cut down on the amount they'd drink for the rest of the year.

The Strategic Alcohol Plan for Plymouth 2013 to 2018 prioritises changing attitudes to alcohol and reducing levels of harmful drinking. It also forms a key part of our Thrive Plymouth initiative which recognises excessive drinking as one of four lifestyle behaviours – along with smoking, inactivity and unhealthy diet - that lead to 54 per cent of deaths in Plymouth. By signing up for Dry January we will be able to get a feel for drinking habits in Plymouth and find out how many people are signing up locally.

To find out more about Dry January as well as support and information on alcohol issues and what we're doing in Plymouth, visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/alcohol