Football pundit Chris Kamara took to the airwaves recently on behalf of alcohol education charity Drinkaware to support its ‘Have A Little Less, Feel A Lot Better’ campaign. Speaking openly about his own recent experience of cutting down on alcohol, Kamara took the message about moderate drinking to nearly nine million listeners across 19 regional and national radio stations.
The ‘Have A Little Less’ campaign encourages midlife men – aged 45-65 – to reduce their routine drinking, by showing them how small reductions in their alcohol intake can make a big difference to their health.
In his interviews, former professional footballer Kamara talked about how he realised he was drinking too much after using the Drinkaware DrinkCompare Calculator, and how he has started to cut back by having more alcohol-free days every week.
His advice to BBC Radio Humberside listeners wanting to follow his example was, “Just cut back, one or two days a week, you don’t have to drink every night of the week. Don’t cut out altogether, because I know I couldn’t do that.” He also acknowledged that his wife had been telling him to cut back “for a long time”, and the figures from the DrinkCompare Calculator had proved she was right.
As well as appearing on large regional stations, Kamara was a guest on Talksport’s Hawksbee & Jacobs show. Over the summer, the popular presenters had themselves used the DrinkCompare Calculator to help them to cut back on their drinking over a six week period.
Drinkaware Chief Executive Elaine Hindal said, “The Have A Little Less campaign aims to help the third of middle aged men in the UK who are drinking above the low risk unit guidelines to make better choices about their drinking and Drinkaware is grateful to Chris for his support.
“Having such a well-known and likeable figure, that many men will relate to, talking so honestly and openly about his own drinking habits and encouraging them to join him in cutting back was very powerful. It has hopefully inspired men up and down the country to cut back and feel a lot better.”
The ‘Have A Little Less’ campaign is one of Drinkaware’s key initiatives. Earlier this year, Drinkaware became a preferred partner to Derby County FC, and the ‘Have A Little Less, Feel A Lot Better’ message is now prominently displayed everymatchday on hoardings and screens around the ground, reaching some 13 million consumers by the end of the 2017/18 season.
Drinkaware research indicates that around a third of midlife men are drinking above the low risk unit guidelines, and the health impacts of this are compounded by the fact that many are also inactive and/or overweight.
ends
Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. Drinkaware has more than 100 funders, including UK alcohol producers, on-trade and off-trade retailers and wholesalers.
For further information visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
Issued on behalf of: Drinkaware
By: ShielPorter Communications
For further information: Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com or 07841 694137
John Porter: john@shielporter.com or 07734 054389