HPB Trains Bartenders Bouncers And Waiters To Discourage Young Party-Goers From Binge Drinking

Singapore, 5 September 2012: The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is partnering popular watering holes such as Zirca to prevent binge drinking from becoming a health problem in Singapore.

2. In 2010, the National Health Survey showed that about 1 per cent of Singaporeans between 18 and 29 years old consume alcohol regularly, out of which about 16 per cent binge drink.

3. Binge drinking is defined as having four or more standard alcoholic drinks on one occasion for women, five or more standard alcoholic drinks on one occasion for men. (Please refer to Annex A for information on standard alcoholic drinks).

4. Young adults who binge drink may do so because they associate drinking with celebration and self-confidence. They might also perceive drinking as a rite of passage when they reach the "legal age", or they feel a need to keep up with their peers at social activities.

5. In addition to long-term consequences such as alcohol addiction, liver disease, kidney damage, stomach ulcers and brain damage, binge drinking can also temporarily cloud people‟s judgement, leading them to cause harm to themselves or others.

6. To promote responsible drinking among the young, HPB has been staging "Last Man Standing" roves at popular night entertainment outlets during festive periods and rewarding patrons found to have a safe Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level with incentives such as free movies passes. (Please refer to Annex B for more information on Last Man Standing)

7. Said Mr Ang Hak Seng, Chief Executive Officer, HPB: “As studies show that drinking establishments have the ability to influence drinking patterns, HPB decided to leverage the one-on-one interaction that bartenders, waiters and bouncers have with their customers to prevent young merrymakers from consuming too much alcohol. To promote Responsible Hospitality, HPB is working with popular night entertainment spots to train their service staff to identify early signs of intoxication, discourage binge drinking, know when to stop serving alcohol, and also on how to handle those who are drunk. The partnering outlets are also encouraged to get customers to substitute alcohol with non-alcoholic beverages by creating and providing "mocktails" as house specialities.”

8. In addition, HPB will be working with staff at these night entertainment outlets to conduct the Breatherlyser Test on customers who appear intoxicated and discourage them from driving home on their own.

9. HPB is already working with one training institute (TMS Academy) that currently offers bartending courses to include a module on Responsible Hospitality, and aims to have all seven such training institutes do so by the end of 2014. In the works is also a nationwide campaign targeted at underage youths to raise awareness of the harms of alcohol drinking and steer them to other ways of having fun. 

Issued by Health Promotion Board

Annex A: Standard alcoholic drinks

Annex B: Last Man Standing

Media Release

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