About Alcohol Awareness Week

16-22 November 2020.

Alcohol Awareness Week is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking. It’s a week of awareness-raising, campaigning for change, and more. The theme for Alcohol Awareness Week 2020 is ‘Alcohol and mental health’.

Alcohol Awareness Week is coordinated by us, Alcohol Change UK. Over 2,000 public health teams, workplaces, GP surgeries, pharmacies, hospitals, charities and other community groups across the country took part in and organised events for Alcohol Awareness Week 2019. It's easy to get involved - just follow the sign up link below!

For Alcohol Awareness Week 2020, we will be discussing the link between alcohol and mental health and the best ways to look after ourselves and those we love during a year of great change and uncertainty.

Around 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year and drinking too much or too often can increase our risk. But many of us are unaware of the link between alcohol and poor mental health and it’s often the first thing we turn to when we’re feeling low, stressed, worried or unable to cope.

Yet drinking too much or too often can mask or enhance underlying mental health problems - such as anxiety and depression - and prevent them from being properly addressed.

Alcohol and our families, communities and society

Alcohol doesn’t only impact on individuals who drink. During Alcohol Awareness Week we will get people thinking about how drinking affects our family and friends, our working lives, those living within our communities, and our society more generally.

Time for change

Finally, we’ll be calling for change. Alcohol harm can affect any one of us, from any walk of life. But with improved understanding, forward-thinking policy and better support and treatment we can change and save lives.

The key message for Alcohol Awareness Week 2019 on the theme of 'Alcohol and me' was that alcohol can have a big impact on our bodies, our lives and those we love, even without us realising it. And by making changes to our drinking we can become healthier and reduce our risk for many serious health conditions including seven forms of cancer, mental health problems, and liver disease.

Throughout the week Alcohol Change UK and our partners worked to:

• Raise awareness of the health risks associated with drinking
• Share information on the Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines
• Share tips on ways to cut down
• Look at the impact of alcohol harm on individuals and their families
• Signpost people to help and support, and encourage them to access it
• Communicate the wider picture of alcohol harm in the UK
• Encourage collaboration to make change happen