DrinkSense campaign urges Albertans to booze in moderation

Edmonton Journal

By Claire Theobald

February 15, 2017

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission is hoping a new game will make young adults take responsible drinking seriously.

In its latest DrinkSense campaign, the liquor commission is bringing a two-metre-tall Drinko game to campuses across Alberta over the next six weeks to start conversations with students about responsible drinking habits.

“This isn’t a campaign about shaming or trying to scare anyone. The reason that it is designed this way is so it will catch kids’ attention, and it’ll be done in a way that will make kids want to engage and want to start talking about it,” Bill Robinson, president and CEO of the liquor commission, said Wednesday.

Much like Plinko, popularized on the game show The Price is Right, students at the University of Alberta were invited to drop plastic discs through the Drinko board, where they bounce between pegs until they land in a slot at the bottom.

Should the number of playing pieces landing in slots marked by alcoholic beverages exceed the number of alcoholic beverages recommended by Canada’s low-risk drinking guidelines, it’s game over.

“This is a way of speaking to young people in a really unique way and getting them to understand that you can have problems if you over-consume,” said Robinson.

Canada’s low-risk drinking guidelines recommend men consume no more than three drinks per day, up to four on special occasions, not exceeding 15 drinks per week.

These guidelines suggest women limit their drinking to two drinks per day, three on special occasions, up to 10 drinks per week. Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive shouldn’t drink any alcohol at all.

“The majority of people in the province consume alcohol responsibly — our surveys tell us over 85 per cent — but there is a concern with binge drinking,” Robinson said.

According to statistics released in a report from Alberta Health Services, in 2012, nearly 30 per cent of Albertans surveyed between the ages of 15 and 24 were heavy monthly users of alcohol, consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in a single sitting at least once a month.

While Robyn Paches, vice-president of operations with the University of Alberta Students’ Union, said most students are already well aware of responsible drinking practices, he still sees merit in the campaign.

“It’s adding a bit more of an easily tangible way to talk about this, specifically in making sure to maintain your drink sense while you are out,” Paches said.

Robinson says this latest DrinkSense campaign — featuring an online quiz that gauges a participant’s drinking habits based on their empties — differs from other more aggressive campaigns by encouraging positive drinking habits rather than using scare tactics to preach abstinence.

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