Diageo and the next generation
Diageo has always been at the forefront of campaigns for responsible drinking. Whether it means signing up a Formula 1 driver to be an ambassador for an anti-drink-driving campaign in Spain, or making it easier for Canadians to order a safe cab home after a night out, Diageo is working everywhere to improve safety and promote responsible choices.
In the long run, it’s much better for us and for society if people drink responsibly. To some extent that’s simply good business: we don’t want to be associated with problem drinking and we don’t ever want people to regret buying our products. But we can and do go further.
Drinking while pregnant can be dangerous. We know that, and it’s a message we want to spread to everybody in society. That’s why Diageo has given its backing – and its funding – to a project to educate midwives in the issues surrounding alcohol and pregnancy.
We started in 2010 with a training programme for 226 midwives. We had expected some criticism, however the positive response from stakeholders has been extremely encouraging. An astonishing 94% of the people we trained didn’t just believe that it was useful, but felt that it should be compulsory for all midwives in the UK.
So this year we announced that the pilot programme would be vastly expanded. We’re providing the funding to train 10,000 more midwives in how to explain the dangers of drinking while pregnant. That will mean better advice for one million pregnant women, and hopefully better health for all those babies.
So this year we announced that the pilot programme would be vastly expanded. We’re providing the funding to train 10,000 more midwives in how to explain the dangers of drinking while pregnant. That will mean better advice for one million pregnant women, and hopefully better health for all those babies.