The Oregon Health Authority recently launched a campaign called Rethink the Drink, to change the way people talk about alcohol, especially during the holidays.
Dr. Tom Jeanne from OHA will explain the second phase of the campaign.
Dr. Jeanne said “Yeah, so this is really a statewide effort by the Oregon Health Authority to, as you said, change the conversation.
And we’re really focused on excessive alcohol drinking, we want to help create supportive and healthy environments for communities around Oregon.
And we really are highlighting what the harms of excessive drinking are.
Many people living in Oregon really may be drinking too much alcohol, but not realize it.
So it’s harmful for individual health and the health of our communities.
More than one in five people in Oregon are drinking excessively.”
The First part of the campaign ran this summer.
Dr. Jeanne said, “We were thrilled with the results of our first campaign.
You know, we had millions of Oregonians who saw the campaign.
We had ads on social media, cable, TV, radio, and newspapers.
Based on an evaluation that we did, from that first campaign, we know that people who saw the campaign had more conversations about their own drinking, friends and families drinking, and what excessive drinking is.
They thought more about their drinking habits, and they were more likely to plan on cutting back their drinking than those who didn’t see the campaign.”
Dr. Jean thinks this is a great opportunity for people to think about how they want alcohol to play a role in their lives.
They aren’t telling people not to drink.
They recognize the economic benefits in Oregon from the wine and beer industry and the many traditions and celebrations that can involve alcohol.
They just want to change that default and make sure that people are thinking about all the ways alcohol may be having negative effects.
Alcohol is associated with many cancers, injuries, car crashes, heart disease, and stroke.
Find out more at the website, Rethinkthedrink.com.
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