Supporting Alcohol Awareness Week 2025
APCC Addictions and Substance Abuse Joint Leads are supporting Alcohol Awareness Week 2025 (7-13 July) to raise awareness of the potential harms associated with the consumption of alcohol. The theme this year is alcohol and work. Marking the week, David Sidwick and Joy Allen said:
“Alcohol lowers inhibitions and can affect a person’s behaviour, and its consumption is linked to significant amounts of crime and anti-social behaviour, placing a serious burden on policing and the criminal justice system.
“The theme for this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week is ‘alcohol and work’. Employers have a legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of staff in the workplace and should have policies in place to deal with alcohol-related problems. That might include testing the blood alcohol levels of employees whose roles involve driving, or those displaying signs of alcohol abuse.
“When it comes to driving, the evidence is clear: just a small amount of alcohol can impair a driver’s judgement and slow down their reaction speeds. In 2022, around 300 people were killed in crashes where at least one driver was over the legal alcohol limit, representing 18% of all road fatalities in Great Britain, demonstrating that too many deadly or serious incidents on the roads are linked to drink-driving, leaving families shattered and grieving.
“We must act to ensure motorists understand the severe risks of drinking and driving and reduce alcohol-related harm on the roads. This is why at the start of this year we backed the British Medical Association’s call to lower the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. It is imperative we get the message across that drinking and driving is dangerous and unacceptable.”
Notes
- Alcohol Awareness Week is coordinated by the charity, Alcohol Change UK.
- The BMA consensus statement is available via the BMA website.