Promoting positive drinking

At Guinness Nigeria we recognise that, when consumed moderately and responsibly by adults who choose to drink, alcohol can be part of a balanced lifestyle and play a positive role in social occasions and celebrations.

Responsible Drinking Hero

At Guinness Nigeria we recognise that, when consumed moderately and responsibly by adults who choose to drink, alcohol can be part of a balanced lifestyle and play a positive role in social occasions and celebrations. We are however cognizant of the risks associated with alcohol misuse and abuse, therefore we deliver a variety of initiatives which promote a culture in which adults who choose to drink alcohol, do so responsibly.

We work in partnership with governments, individuals, non-governmental organizations and other companies to tackle the misuse of alcohol including excessive drinking, drink-driving, and underage drinking. We also adhere strictly to the Diageo Marketing Code and local guidelines that ensure our brands are advertised and marketed responsibly.

*

Annual ember months responsible drinking campaign

Our flagship responsible drinking programme called the Ember Months’ campaign in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) is aimed at creating awareness and enlightening commercial motorists and the general public on the dangers of drinking alcohol while driving. Each year, we visit popular motor parks across the country to give talks and share information in local languages with commercial vehicle drivers, transporters and motorcycle operators on the negative consequences of drink-driving and how to drink responsibly.

Guinness Nigeria has been running the Ember Months’ campaign in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps for 14 years and it has evolved into an impactful platform, making it possible for both parties to jointly spread life-changing responsible drinking messages that potentially reach millions of Nigerians every year.

DRINKPositive campaign

The DRINKPositive is an internal awareness drive amongst employees of Guinness Nigeria. The aim of the initiative is to leverage our role as employees to connect with our value of promoting moderation and tackling harm that results from irresponsible consumption of alcohol. Guinness Nigeria has a proud heritage of striving to ensure people have positive experiences with alcohol. During the DRINKPositive campaign employees are encouraged to share stories about how they, through their roles, help consumers to DRINKPositive by sharing tips on how people can make informed choices about drinking, or not drinking

*
*

Donation of breathalysers

In March 2018, we donated 2 digital breathalysers to the Federal Road Safety Corps as part of our efforts in promoting safety on our roads. The donation of these state of the art alcohol testing kits is part of our efforts towards safeguarding motorists and other road users by stemming the tide of accidents caused by drink-driving. This donation brings to four (4) the total number of breathalysers that have been donated by Guinness Nigeria to support the work of the FRSC.

Promoting responsible consumption

In 2017, Guinness Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Youth Service Corps. The MoU marked the beginning of Guinness Nigeria's partnership with the NYSC on programmes that promote the responsible consumption of alcohol. In March 2018, Guinness Nigeria trained NYSC Desk Officers drawn from Nigeria's 36 states and the FCT. These Desk Officers have in turn delivered responsible drinking training sessions in NYSC orientation camps across the country. Corps members trained as part of this scheme have so far organised many responsible drinking outreach programmes using the DRINKiQ resource materials in communities across the country.

DRINKiQ is Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, providing information, tools and resources to help people better understand the role of alcohol as part of a balanced lifestyle and to make informed choices about drinking - or not drinking. www.DRINKiQ.com was first introduced in 2008 when Diageo led the industry in launching a responsible drinking website.

*
*

Preventing underage drinking - SMASHED

In February 2018, Guinness Nigeria partnered with Rue 14 Studios, a leading theatre and arts company to launch the SMASHED initiative for the first time in Nigeria. Smashed is a Diageo Plc initiative targeted at tackling the issue of underage drinking amongst youth using drama and interactive educational tools. The initiative is aimed at enabling students to understand the facts, causes, and consequences surrounding alcohol misuse and under-age drinking. It was launched in the UK more than a decade ago and has now been delivered in 15 countries around the world. The pilot program in Nigeria involved 28 government and private schools in Lagos State and reached over 6000 students and teachers in classes SS1 – SS 3.