E-Malt.com News article: 4148

United Kingdom: Addaction, the leading UK drug and alcohol treatment charity, has received support from international brewer, SABMiller, to help develop an education resource pack for schools focusing on alcohol education. The ‘Know Limits’ resource pack was an initiative of CADA. The Cornwall Alcohol and Drug Agency. Launched in Cornwall in 2002, the resource was well received by local schools.

Addaction which runs several alcohol services across the country merged with CADA in 2004, and recognised the educational value to schools across the country if the resource could be developed. Addaction, who have long believed that the alcohol industry should be encouraged to support alcohol treatment, sought funding from SABMiller.

Peter Martin, CEO of Addaction said: “We had this fantastic and comprehensive educational resource for children and young people which would also be useful for teachers delivering Public Health and Social Education (PHSE) in schools. But we had no money to develop and market it further. We therefore decided to take the initiative and open up a dialogue with SABMiller. SABMiller have not worked with an alcohol treatment charity in the UK before, were new to the UK, and were beginning to consider local CSR initiatives. We wanted to enter into a dialogue with them to influence their thinking around alcohol risk, education and responsibility from our perspective in treatment. This is a first for us in the treatment sector.

“In the run-up to the publication of the Government’s alcohol strategy, Addaction has made public its view that the drinks industry must share the risk that alcohol poses in society. For many years, CSR money has been directed away from treatment charities and we have been struggling to get financial support for specific alcohol work. The support is a step in the right direction, and it will enable us to deliver a pilot evaluation of the pack in another part of the country.”

Mary Greener, Addaction’s area manager for the south west said: “We are aiming to evaluate the resource in schools in an area of the country which reflects a mix of urban and rural demographics. We are currently looking at market-testing the resource in Bristol and Avon. This work will be a useful adjunct to our direct involvement in providing substance misuse services to young people in our eleven young addaction projects, and ultimately we hope, add to our range of publications aimed at supporting young people and families.“

Sue Clark, Corporate Affairs Director of SABMiller commented: “SABMiller has a proud history of actively promoting the responsible use of our products and addressing the problems of alcohol misuse. In addition to having a strict Code of Commercial Communication which regulates all our marketing activity worldwide, we support underage drinking prevention initiatives, drink driving prevention campaigns, life-skills education and, in South Africa, we are a founder and the major sponsor of an independent research organisation that is undertaking cutting-edge research into Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. We deemed it appropriate to begin to consider how we could extend to the UK the work we do around the world to support education in trying to prevent misuse, and we are delighted to be able to make a small contribution in this regard through an organisation of the standing of Addaction”.

Initial research has shown that there is a dearth of quality materials in the education resource market place that are specific to alcohol, and that have been produced by experts working with children and families with alcohol problems.

The aim of the pack is to help young people to make informed choices about alcohol, and may be used in any youth setting, not just in schools. The resource includes three manuals aimed at three groups: young people aged 11–17 years , at parents and carers, and at workers and professionals.

The evaluation, funded by SABMiller, will provide the basis for a marketing plan to promote and distribute the pack, and incorporate changes that will need to be made to the resource to make it as effective and user-friendly as it can be.

The evaluation set-up phase will begin in the Spring of this year and the roll-out will encompass the school year from Autumn 2005 through to 2006.

Addaction will be presenting its findings to Government departments at the Home Office and at the DfES.

SABMiller plc is one of the world’s largest brewers, with 2003/04 lager sales volumes in excess of 137 million hectolitres. It has a brewing presence in over 40 countries across four continents and a portfolio of strong brands and leading market shares in many of the countries in which it has brewing operations. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.


05 February, 2005