Alcohol

Citation

(2011), "Alcohol", Health Education, Vol. 111 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2011.142111daa.001

Alcohol

Article Type: Internet review From: Health Education, Volume 111, Issue 4

If you live in the UK and are old enough, you may well remember the “clunk-click, every trip” advertisements, that were supposed to make everyone wear seat belts in their cars. As we now know, these advertisements were an abject failure and eventually the government had to legistlate to make the wearing of seat belts compulsory. Likewise with alcohol. At the time of writing, the UK government is trying to persuade the alcohol industry to behave more responsibly through the “Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network”. The health organisations that have been involved in this claim that the government plans do not go nearly far enough. Alcohol Concern, the British Medical Association and the British Liver Trust, amongst others, are arguing for more legislation, “more stick and less carrot” to use their terminology.

Persuading people to change their behaviour, without using the force of the law, has not had a good track record over the years. Whether it be smoking in public, eating more sensibly, or drinking within limits, we do not find it easy to persuade people to adopt healthier lifestyles. However, now we have the internet. No longer need people be passive recipients of health messages. They can now interact with the message, play games, take quizzes, all sorts of different modalities that were never available to traditional forms of public health advertising. But are they likely to work? In this review of UK-based web sites, we will focus on the problems of excessive use of alcohol and the extent to which the internet can help with this problem.

Drinkaware: www.drinkaware.co.uk/

Would you trust a web site designed to help you drink more sensibly, if it was sponsored by Bargain Booze Ltd! Well that is what you are being asked to do here, but it is not only Bargain Booze who sponsor this web site, but practically the whole of the UK alcohol industry and alcohol retailers also seem to be involved. Is this a problem? Well as long as the user is aware of this then they can take it into consideration when evaluating the content of the web site.

Despite the reservations voiced above, the Drinkaware web site is really rather good. It has masses of information on how alcohol impinges on different aspects of your life, be it your work, relationships, family and of course your health. Even though the web site is sponsored by the drinks industry, the section on “Are there any health benefits to alcohol?” is treated quite critically and is also well written and referenced.

The “Facts” section is just that, a list of links dealing with all the usual issues, alcohol dependence, binge drinking, drink driving, diseases and cancer, even fertility, quite rightly, gets a mention.

The quality of modern web sites is often assessed by the degree of interactivity available, and the “freebies” on offer. This web site scores well on both of these. The freebies, in the form of Factsheets are extensive and are available online, in a format suitable for printing, as a pdf, or they can easily be shared with others via social network sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Interactivity is offered through the section on “Tips and Tools” that provides an alcohol unit calculator, tips on cutting down, and of course, how to deal with a hangover! This section also has links to a number of other tools that are offered by rival web sites. Finally, in terms of interactivity, a section labelled “MyDrinkaware”, is a form of online diary that can be used to keep track of your drinking and it will also work out what your drinking is costing you, what it is doing to your weight, and a whole host of other depressing facts designed to foster a more responsible outlook to alcohol use.

Interestingly, there is also a section on “Grants” where eligible bodies, community groups, charities and so on, can apply for grants to support initiatives aimed at promoting sensible use of alcohol. They also include examples of grants that have ben awarded in previous years.

It is difficult not to be impressed by this web site, the content and design are excellent as is the degree of interactivity, but the fact that it is sponsored by the drinks industry does need to be considered, especially for health education professionals who might want to use this web site in an alcohol education campaign.

Down Your Drink (DYD): www.downyourdrink.org.uk/

Down your drink sounds more like a web site that promotes drinking rather than trying to reduce alcohol consumption! However, it has impecable credentials being sponsored by Alcohol Concern, the Medical Research Council, and University College London amongst others. The staff team includes a clinical psychologist, an alcohol treatment researcher, and a general pracitioner, so users can be confident in the advice that is provided. One of the most annoying features of this web site is that before you can access he content you will have to register a username, password and provide an e-mail address where a link to access the full web site will be sent. The reason for this is that the content of the web site is database driven wih users entering information that is stored and can later be retrieved. Unfortunately this is never made clear and the need for registration will undoubtedly put some people off. That aside, is it worth a look?

The first thing to realise about this web site is that it is far more than a simple information source. What we have here is in effect an online therapeutic programme and to gain full benefit users must treat it in that way. This is not a quick fix, there is a great deal of information and advice provided and with the high degree of interactivity it will take users some time to work through the whole programme.

The programme itself is divided into three phases, the first assessing whether the user needs to or indeed wants to change their drinking habits. The scond phase is concerned with actually making the change, how to plan the change and how to cope with the inevitable difficulties. The web site also provides a number of tools to help with this change process. These include a drinking episode diary, a blood alcohol calulator that gives you an indication of how you are likely to be affected by different levels of alcohol in your blood stream. There is also a rather clever tool for examining how alcohol consumption is influenced by your relationships. After entering details of up to five people, including their drinking behaviour, the web site produces a graphical representation of this that allows users to examine these relationships and how they impact on alcohol use.

The third phase of the programme is called “keeping on track” and deals with the problems of relapse and how they can be avoided. Again, this section is interactive and includes exercises to help users cope with the problems they will face if they are to avoid relapse.

The sheer amount of information and the complexity of this web site makes it very difficult to do it justice in a short review. This is an excellent resource for people who want to learn more about problem drinking, to examine their own behaviour or to actually change their drinking behaviour. It is highly recommended.

Alcohol Concern: www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/

Alcohol Concern is a campaigning organisation whose aims are to reduce alcohol misuse through the promotion of effective alcohol policies. Unlike the web site above (DYD) which is very much about helping individuals directly, this web site takes a much broader overview in terms of the information that is available. Yes there is a limited amount of information provided, for example on what a unit of alcohol is and how it is calculated. There is also a simple list of alcohol related medical problems, but no detail is provided. For a user who wants detailed information or indeed actual help, Alcohol Concern directs them to other resources, e.g. the telephone based service, Drinkline.

One resource they do provide on this web site is a list of publications, mainly policy documents and the like, but they are free and could provide useful background information for health educators who want to develop an alcohol health education programme.

A very good web site for those seeking information at policy level, less so for individuals seeking help for themselves or someone they know.

Alcoholics Anonymous: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/

Alcohol Anonymous or AA is where it all began in the USA back in the 1950’s and is probably the oldest organisation devoted to helping people with drink problems. Interestingly, although it has a web presence, AA does not appear to believe that the internet can help a great deal with alcohol problems. The web site does provide (very limited) information on alcohol problems and it also has a link to a national helpline, and e-mail support, but what the AA is really about is getting people to attend AA meetings.

The “tone” of this web site is very similar to what you might expect of a religious organisation, and indeed this is one of the questions posed in the FAQ section. The AA even has its own “bible”, known as The Big Book and this can be purchased in the AA online shop. The word “Fellowship” is how they describe themselves, again implying religious overtones. The AA would deny this although they do acknowledge that religion is important for some of their members in helping them control their excessive alcohol intake.

The basic philosophy of the AA is that alcoholics can help other alcoholics manage their drinking behaviour. This is the purpose of the meetings and details of times, venues and places can be accessed through the search engine provided. The web site is very good at explaining that happens at these meetings, what they cost (free or a donation), what an individual can expect and how they might be helped. The web site provides an AA Fact File as an introduction for newcomers, as well a very good video which is worth watching.

For people who were expecting online help from this web site, it will be something of a disappointment. Similarly, there is very little here that will be of direct practical interest to health educators, unless they want to recommend this particualr approach. However for individuals who prefer this type of face to face group work approach then this web site will be of use, if only for finding details of a local AA group.