International Breweries Plc educates consumers on smart drinking

To further demonstrate its commitment to responsible drinking in Nigeria, employees of International Breweries Plc, a proud member of AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, have taken the message of responsible drinking to consumers, traders and the public in communities where they operate across the country.

This is in contribution to the United Nations Goal 12 which is centered around Responsible Consumption and Production and as part of the activities to commemorate the Global Beer Responsible Day, an initiative conceptualized by its parent company AB InBev and celebrated across its operations worldwide.

The Global Beer Responsible Day is a day set aside every year, specifically on September 13, to promote responsible consumption of alcohol. The theme for this year’s edition, “Drink Smart Today, Celebrate Tomorrow - Let’s Champion Smart Drinking Together” encourages consumers, bar owners and the public to make personal commitments around responsible drinking.

As part of this year’s Global Beer Responsible Day commemoration, the company re-enforced its strong commitment to reduce harmful use of alcohol by educating consumers on the dangers of drinking and driving; marketing its products responsibly; and discouraging underage drinking and consumption of alcohol by pregnant women.

Consumers were also advised to pace their alcoholic drinks to not more than one drink per hour, eat food before or while drinking alcohol, alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic beverages while drinking, avoid drinking and driving, and encourage others to not drink and drive.

In his words, Otunba Michael Daramola, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, said, “Responsible drinking is one of the key pillars of our business. It is a message that is dear to us and we constantly make out time to communicate this message in our sphere of influence. The turnout of our employees was great and we visited a lot of bars in many communities where we operate to interact with consumers, traders and the general public on the best way to consume alcohol responsibly”.

This year’s commemoration coincided with the company’s efforts under the auspices of the Beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to reduce underage drinking. The Beer Sectoral Group to which International Breweries belongs has collaborated with the Collingwood Learning Incorporated and Thespian Theatre to launch an underage drinking intervention program tagged Smashed.

Smashed global initiative is a theatre-in-education program aimed at breaking the culture of underage drinking and reducing alcohol related harm among youths. Smashed program instructs young people on the dangers of underage drinking.

According to Annabelle Degroot, Managing Director, International Breweries, “We are always taking steps to shift social norms and behaviors around harmful use of alcohol and ensure every experience with beer is a positive one. We’re committed to helping advance the World Health Organization’s target to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10% by 2025. Simultaneously, we aim to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of strengthening the prevention and treatment of harmful alcohol use. “Initiatives like the Global Beer Responsible Day and the Smashed Initiative are complementary projects which we think will do our society a lot of good in this regard” She added.