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may 2010 - portugal - "mocktails: memories of a night of fun"

On May 8th, 2010, for the second consecutive year, Dianova launched, a health promotion initiative during the Week of Youth, in partnership with the Portugese municipality of Torres Vedras, the municipal police, the Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Portuguese Institute of Youth and Red Bull, as well as with various restaurants, bars and clubs, and many individual volunteers. 

The original flier in the Portugese language may be downloaded by clicking here

The risk behaviors associated with the use of a legal psychoactive substance such as alcohol, represent one of our most damaging social problems, with neurological, physiological and behavioral repercussions.

An estimated 20% of the Portuguese population 15 to 64 have alcohol-related problems, and a review of the Unit of Nutrition and Metabolism (Institute of Molecular Medicine) emphasizes that alcohol-related liver disease is responsible for 3.8% of mortality, or 1.25% of the total, national health expenditure.

Dianova wished to repeat the acknowledged success of its 2009 initiative with the launch of a second version of the promotion, dedicated to promoting the health issues described in the paragraph above, and with the theme, "Mocktails, Memories for a night of fun".

The event took place on May 8, of this year in Torres Vedras. Each club participant committed to offering its customers one alcohol-free drink in order to promote a healthy entertainment and likely to be remembered the following day by both young and adults.

After experiencing the positive impact of last year's event, in terms of quality and enthusiasm of our partners, Dianova again counted on a delivering a positive message regarding the importance of health in general, and especially the health issues indicated above. People, as well as businesses and the community at large, were involved and committed to sharing knowledge and good practices dedicated to improving health and reducing health inequalities.

"Mocktails: Memories for a night of fun" was to increase the social perception of the risks associated with excessive consumption of alcohol, which include, among other undesirable results,  car accidents, poor scholastic performance and/or school dropout, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and more. The initiative also aimed to foster a culture of cooperation, and a spirit of prevention, within a network of partners united in the common social cause of establishing equality in positive health practices.

This year's initiative has seen the number of its network partners increase significantly with the increase of restaurants, new bars and clubs, and the outstanding cooperation from local police, who set up awareness campaigns in collaboration with Red Bull Portugal. The initiative rallied nearly 50 volunteers, and Dianova partners of health promotion.

Again, the initiative resulted in an acknowleged success, with 28 partners, 40 participating volunteers, and nearly 3,000 young people reached!