Dear all
The Irish Community Action on Alcohol Network (ICAAN), together with Alcohol Forum Ireland, has created a petition calling on Drinkaware to cease all education-based activities with Irish Schools.
This week, the HSE, the Department of Health and most recently the Taoiseach have all indicated their position that organisations funded by the alcohol industry should not be involved in the education of our children. (https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/national/taoiseach-i-dont-think-the-drinks-industry-should-be-near-schools/ar-AA12xP5J)
We have been campaigning on this issue for a number of years and there is growing concern in communities across Ireland about the delivery of a Drinkaware schools-based education programme which has been provided to 15,000 students in Irish secondary schools to date.
Petition Statement, if you support this statement, please click on the link and add your support.
‘We the undersigned are calling on Drinkaware, an organisation with close funding ties to the alcohol industry to cease all activity relating to schools-based education in Ireland. Drinkaware has indicated its intention to continue with the provision of teacher training and of their schools-based education programme against the advice of the Taoiseach, the HSE and the Department of Health. The WHO advise against the involvement of alcohol industry funded organisations in the delivery of education, prevention and public health information. Our children deserve better. Organisations funded by the alcohol industry have no place in Irish schools’.
PLEASE SIGN The PETITION: https://chng.it/DKGvtg7tGZ
In March of this year, we launched the ‘I-Mark initiative: Supporting Independence from Alcohol Industry Influence’. Raising awareness about the inherent conflict of interest where industry funded initiatives are involved in schools-based education was one of the key industry strategies that we sought to challenge through the I-Mark movement.
At a global level, research and analysis of schools-based education programmes and materials point to there being a common thread across industry funded programmes a strong focus on ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘personal choices’, neglecting the impact of wider environmental factors including advertising, price and availability which play a much stronger role in influencing youth alcohol consumption. Public health experts strongly recommend that individuals, schools and organisations do not use educational or other materials from alcohol industry funded sources, a position that is supported by the World Health Organisation.
Let’s get as many people as possible to sign this. It only takes a minute, and your support is hugely appreciated.
Please Sign and Please Share through your networks
If you need any further information on this important campaign, please get in touch with: paula@alcoholforum.org
The Alcohol Forum Ireland is a national charity dedicated to preventing and reducing the physical, psychological and social harms caused by alcohol.
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Alcohol Forum Ireland | Enterprise Fund Business Centre | Ballyraine | Letterkenny | Co. Donegal | Ireland
