Alcohol Focus Scotland in partnership with The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives are offering free training and support for managers on dealing with alcohol and drugs issues in the workplace.

Every year around 640,000 sick days are taken because of hangovers and the time off taken by people with alcohol dependency adds a further 1.2 million days of lost productivity.

The training sessions enable employers and managers to create a greater awareness around alcohol and drugs in their workplace. They offer advice on the impact of alcohol and drugs on their workforce and help in implementing appropriate policies to deal with any problems. Managers can also find out more about how to recognise the signs of alcohol misuse in employees and how to offer appropriate support.

In addition to the training sessions organisations can also sign up for free alcohol awareness interactive stands which can be set up in any workplace offering a range of leaflets, resources and activities to provide employees with the facts about sensible drinking.

These events have proved very popular and have been held in Fife Fire and Rescue Headquarters, Shotts Prison, Edinburgh University, hospitals and others workplaces either as part of health days or stand alone events. Interactive activities such as pouring measures of common drinks and trying out "beer goggles" have allowed employees to think about their own drinking behaviour.

Booking a stand is completely free. A Stand can be put up anywhere in the workplace, from the staff cafeteria to the foyer.

Phone David at The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives on 01224 558 528 to book your organisation today.

A one day conference Friday 26th March 2010
Hilton Grosvenor Hotel - Glasgow
Registration cost - £197 including lunch and refreshments

More than 10,000 children end up in hospital every year due to drinking and research tells us that 15% of young people think that it is normal to get drunk once a week. In addition, it is estimated that almost 1 million children live with an alcohol-dependent parent in the UK today, impacting on all areas of their lives and potentially encouraging social and behavioural issues.

Our expert speakers will provide you with knowledge updates, best practice and information on initiatives throughout Scotland and the UK.

This conference should be of interest to a wide range of professionals including those from education, social care and health settings, police, community safety teams, drug and alcohol teams, local authorities, youth offending teams, probation officers, academics and anyone with an interest in this area.

To book your place please contact Carolyn Fraser on 0141 201 9353

Conference Information Leaflet

Click here to book online

National Licensing Conference
8th - 9th September 2010
MacDonald Aviemore Highland Resort

Following last years biggest ever Licensing Conference, we will be returning to the MacDonald Aviemore Highland Resort for this year's event.

Put the date in your diary as its going to be a must attend event again this year. 92% of last year's delegates rated the event as relevent to their profession.

As a supporter of the conference, we are delighted to offer you an early discount booking. Complete the form and return by 31 March 2010 and receive £50 off per delegate.

Click here to download the booking form.

Conference programme will be available soon.

Date: 25 May 2010
Venue: ORT House Conference Centre, London NW1
About the conference

Government guidance on supporting people with co-occurring substance misuse and mental health problems was published in 2002. Yet many people in this group find themselves being batted between substance misuse and mental health services or receive no service at all. Too many end up living impoverished lives, excluded from their communities, denied an ordinary life and frequently in trouble with the law.

People with a dual diagnosis tend to have multiple and complex problems. They do not fit into the neat silos constructed by public services. Instead they need integrated support from a variety of providers in order for care to be effective.

This conference aims to address the issue of complexity and looks at both developing policy and practice to achieve real integrated services.

Aims of the conference

The conference will:

• explore policy and its implementation for people of all age groups with dual diagnosis and complex problems
• scan the horizons and look at future developments in this area
• look at best practice examples of providing integrated services
• look at commissioning for dual diagnosis and complex care in a variety of settings
• explore the interface with the criminal justice system for people with dual diagnosis
• explore the users' own perspectives on the care they get and the care they need.

Click Here for more information.

Tuesday 23rd March 2010
ORT House Conference Centre, London NW1

Since it was established in 1984, Adfam has worked to support families affected by substance misuse. Over the past year, it has been evolving into an umbrella organisation, committed to representing the views of its supporters to policy makers and opinion shapers.

As part of this development, Adfam has consulted with professionasl and volunteers across a wide range of sectors to gather information about the issues which are crucial to the future of family suport.

These issues inform Adfam's manifesto, and reveal the challenges and debates for anyone who works with families where substance misuse is a matter of concern.

For more information click here.

The University of Glasgow will be delivering two Postgraduate programmes in 2010, specifically designed for professionals working within the substance misuse field. These include:

Postgraduate Certificate in Addictions (click here for details and an application pack)

Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership of Drug and Alcohol Services click here for details and an application pack)

Both Postgraduate programmes will commence in September 2010 and will be taught at the University of Glasgow on a part-time basis over one academic year.

The tuition fee for the Postgraduate programmes in 2010-11 will be £1416, but there will be fully funded places available for specific areas of the Scottish workforce. Please see the application packs for details of our funding criteria.

If you are interested in applying for either programme, please visit www.projectSTRADA.org to download an application pack.

promoting Children's Health through Alcohol Misuse Prevention.

Founded in 2006, the Mentor UK CHAMP Awards is an innovative biennial awards scheme aimed at recognising and rewarding projects in England, Scotland and Wales that can help prevent children and young people of 14 or under from misusing alcohol - both now and in their future lives.

In 2010 Mentor are asking the public, professionals and young people to inspire them by nominating projects that promote healthy attitudes and behaviours and which help children and young people avoid the dangers of alcohol misuse.

Projects might be as diverse as, for example, young people developing their own websites, classroom work in schools, sports schemes, drama or mentoring projects in the community.

Awards will be made in three categories:

• For work in school
• For work in the community
• For projects led by young people

To find out more and to download an application form please visit the CHAMP Awards website at www.champawards.org.uk

Closing date - 21st April, 2010.

Tuesday 13 April 2010
Business Design Centre, London
Price: £20 in advance, £25 on the day, £80 for five tickets
Format: a one day event featuring:

• 50 stands from organisations working across drug and alcohol misuse
• 12 seminars exploring the future direction of policy and practice
• Arts Zone
• New Drug Awareness Zone
• Training and Development Zone

Networking with 1,000 drug and alcohol workers

Booking tickets:
online at: www.pavpub.com/DAAT2010
call Pavilion customer services on 08444 880 506

Alcohol Awareness Week 2009 took place from 4-10 October.

www.alcoholawarenessweek.com

It's easy to make a positive choice about drinking. There are small changes that can help you enjoy a drink without risking your health. The aim of the campaign is to drive awareness amongst Scots - and demonstrate - that by making positive lifestyle choices, changing drinking habits and drinking more responsibly will enable you to get more out of your day, week or weekend.

This year AAW was all about 'Get More Out Of'. The campaign aimed to show that by making a few simple changes to your drinking habits, you can manage the amount of alcohol you consume and make sure you get more out of your time, relationships, work and activities.

Alcohol Focus Scotland ran an information stand in Braehead shopping centre during the week to encourage shoppers to find out more about drinking responsibly.