Drinkaware - evaluation of ‘City Pilots’ project

Drinkaware has published the independent evaluation report of their City Pilots project, which aimed to help people identify high-risk drinking. This focused on two key areas, Salford and Bolton in Greater Manchester, identified as having higher levels of alcohol harm compared to the national average.

A partnership between Drinkaware, Achieve (an NHS community addictions service) and Budweiser saw teams take to the streets, inviting passers-by assess their risk limits when it comes to their drinking habits and identify high-risk drinking in the area.

More than 435 people completed the digital Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) assessments, and of those that took part and completed the digital IBA, 31% were high-risk drinkers compared to the national average of 13%.

Where it was identified that people may need further help with their alcohol use, staff from Achieve were on hand to provide information, advice, and referral on to the most appropriate support and treatment.

The behaviour change impact on some of the participants was positive, with a participant from Salford saying, "It turns out I was a bit ‘over the limit’, and now I can cut down. It really enlightened me!".

Examples of the positive changes included swapping one drink on a night out for a non-alcoholic version, switching to drinks with fewer units, and discovering non-alcoholic versions of their favourite alcoholic beverages.

Drinkaware CEO, Karen Tyrell, said: “It is important that on a personal level and as a nation, we can speak openly and without stigma about drinking habits. And, working together with organisations like Budweiser and Achieve will allow us to strive towards tangible changes to the UK’s drinking culture so more people can lead healthy and happy lives.”