Alcohol advice in schools and universities ‘normalizes drinking and downplays the risks’, health experts warn
Schools and universities should be banned from using alcohol industry-funded materials that ‘normalise drinking and downplay health risks’.
Public health experts want an end to the ‘selective’ advice given in education by charities such as Drinkaware.
They found that students as young as nine are shown materials that, while intended to discourage underage drinking, also normalize alcohol.
Meanwhile, university students are being handed industry-backed freshers’ week survival guides, funded by Diageo, one of the world’s largest alcoholic beverage companies.
Public health experts want to put an end to the ‘selective’ advice given in educational settings by charities such as Drinkaware (Stock Image)
They found that students as young as nine are shown materials that, while designed to discourage underage drinking, also normalize alcohol (Stock Image)
Other examples include advice from Drinkaware, such as eating carbohydrates or proteins before going outside and drinking enough water.
The recommendations were issued alongside a free cup to measure alcohol units and a wheel showing units and calories in popular drinks, according to research by the British Medical Journal.
In Wales, universities were given a toolkit to assess whether they are protecting students from alcohol made by the Welsh Government, NUS Wales and Drinkaware.
Mark Petticrew, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the information was all focused on the short-term effects of getting drunk.
He said: ‘Food is not relevant to the long-term harms of alcohol, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.’
He accuses the authors of the Welsh toolkit of ‘misinformation’, saying it omits any information about the long-term risks of injury, illness and death associated with alcohol.
He added: ‘The design of the whole document is to preserve the reputation of the industry and not to protect young people at universities from harm.’
It follows a successful campaign in Ireland which led to the removal of alcohol industry-funded education programs from schools.
The Department for Education said universities are private institutions and the government does not have the power to review material distributed to students in England.
Drinkaware defended the cup and wheel, saying it was designed to “help people understand how much they drink.”
Chief executive Karen Tyrell described the charity’s work at British universities as ‘a pragmatic and valuable contribution to reducing alcohol-related harm in the UK’.
She said: ‘We work with public opinion and treat people as adults capable of making informed choices.
‘While some may not like it, alcohol is part of our society and there is currently no public desire to change that.
“We make no apologies for delivering a range of activities that support our charitable and organizational objectives.”