The tie-up is launched alongside new research that indicates that many 18-24-year-olds think that it’s socially unacceptable not to drink alcohol on a night out, and that one in five young adults (21%) believe pressure from their peers influences them to drink more.
Of the 5.8m 18-24-year-olds in the UK, more than 1.3m are students and the Drinkaware/NUS partnership is set to launch in time for the new wave of ‘freshers’ starting university in the autumn.
By working together, the two organisations will develop training programmes for bar staff and students’ union officers and codes of conduct for ‘Fresher’s Week’ activities. The multi-year partnership will also target and help universities struggling to combat excessive alcohol consumption.
A ‘development and policy officer for students and alcohol’ has been appointed to coordinate activity between the two organisations. NUS will also be partners in delivering the Drinkaware ‘Why Let Good Times Go Bad?’ campaign from September 2010 onwards.
The research, which surveyed 2,000 young adults, shows that 16% feel that asking for a glass of water in a pub or club is socially unacceptable. At the same time, almost a quarter (23%) of 18-24-year-olds believe their friends will ridicule them for drinking a non-alcoholic drink on a night out.
Source: Drinkaware
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