Plymouth celebrates Dry January success

Mary
Authored by Mary
Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - 16:58

Plymouth has been celebrating the success of its first ever Dry January campaign which has been run in partnership for the first time by Alcohol Concern and Plymouth City Council.

In Plymouth, 1822 people signed up to Dry January as a result of the local and national campaign. The results were presented at the latest meeting of the Alcohol Programme Board, which is made up of representatives from a range of statutory, voluntary and community organisations in Plymouth.

This year, taking a ‘Dry January’ has become the norm for people across the UK, as the campaign from Alcohol Concern, supported by Public Health England, has seen over 50,000 people sign up. On top of the popularity of people taking a month off alcohol, having a ‘Dry January’ has become part of everyday language, generating over 57 million impressions online and #dryjanuary mentioned 42,000 times on Twitter and producing over 80,000 engagements on Facebook.

Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Public Health at Plymouth City Council, said: “We are delighted with the success of the Dry January campaign in Plymouth.

“Excessive drinking is one of four lifestyle behaviours – along with smoking, inactivity and unhealthy diet – that, together, contribute to 54 per cent of deaths in Plymouth. That is why we are prioritising tackling alcohol harm as part of our Thrive Plymouth public health strategy.”

Among those taking up the challenge this year was Tommy Clift, 19, a business apprentice in the Public Health department of Plymouth Council. Citing that he would save money and also looking to prove to himself that he didn’t need to drink every weekend, something Tommy had done since turning 18, Dry January provided the ideal opportunity for him to take up the challenge.

Tommy said: “At first it was hard as I felt I was missing out socially, but by getting friends involved and also keeping myself busy I succeeded. I also had a far healthier bank balance at the end of the month”

The notion of starting the year with a ‘holiday from the booze’ has caught the psyche of the country, and has seen many celebrities take up the challenge, including: Chris Evans, Mel C, Emma Bunton, Sarah Harding, Professor Green, Millie Mackintosh, and Hollywood star, Anne Hathaway.

Dr Kelechi Nnoaham, Director of Public Health at Plymouth City Council, said: “The Strategic Alcohol Plan for Plymouth 2013 to 2018 prioritises changing attitudes to alcohol and reducing levels of harmful drinking. Dry January gave a good opportunity for people in Plymouth to think about their drinking habits and make changes that will improve their health in the long run.

“This is the first time we have partnered with Alcohol Concern and there are some very interesting findings which we will use to help inform our future work.”

Jackie Ballard, Chief Executive at Alcohol Concern, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled at the success of this year’s campaign. We’ve had over 50,000 people taking part in Dry January which is nearly 3 times as many as in 2014.  We are grateful to all the local authorities who have taken on the campaign and made a positive contribution to the health of their local population.

“Many participants are telling us that their holiday from booze in January has made them feel great. We’ve also heard that lots of people are planning to cut down their drinking for the rest of the year after finding out more about the way they drink and why.”

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