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In Focus: The Monthly AFS CEO Blog - Why we need an Alcohol Action Day in Scotland

“Delighted”.  

It’s a word I challenge myself never to use. If you regularly share news on social media, as I do, then you’ll know it’s the adjective we all tend to reach for – but it can’t always be true. If you took my LinkedIn feed literally, you’d believe everyone is wildly thrilled about absolutely everything, all the time. 

But this month I did let myself say it. Because I really was delighted to announce that Thursday 12 November will be the first annual Alcohol Action Day for Scotland.  

As you know, I joined Alcohol Focus Scotland in February, and one of the first questions I was asked was why there wasn’t a Scotland-specific date bringing together everyone affected by the issue. And I couldn’t think of a good reason. After all, there’s a day for just about everything else – from deeply serious issues such as cancer or MS to more light-hearted matters. Like cheese. I’m not kidding, there is a National Cheese Lovers Day (it’s 20 January, in case you’d like to celebrate).  

So why not alcohol? After all, there’s no question that we need action. Alcohol affects every part of Scottish life. Deaths from alcohol are at near-record levels, with fifty people dying every week. Drink drives crime, fuels family breakdown and drains up to £10 billion from our economy every year. And that’s before you consider the hangovers, anxiety, accidents, sleep deprivation and bad decisions that many of us have experienced after drinking.  

We need to talk about it. And we need to make sure information and help is available for everyone. That’s why the theme for this year is “support”. We’ll be thinking about what support is needed, what’s already out there, and how those of us working at a national level can offer support to the whole population.  

We’ve been delighted – there, I said it again – by the response to this idea. Organisations up and down Scotland have already signed up to be part of the day, and we hope to see lots of local events taking place to mark the occasion. And we hope you’ll join in, too. You can sign up here to receive our toolkits, information and resources ahead of the day - so don’t miss out.  

Alcohol Action Day is on its way. And I’m delighted to be part of it. 

Find out more about Alcohol Action Day and sign up to take action!