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Thinking about drinking

Western has launched a drinking survey for students to check up on their booze habits.

Unlike other surveys, Check Your Drinking University gives alcohol consumption some context by comparing it to calories consumed or money spent. After students finish the questionnaire, they receive a four-page report showing calories represented as equivalent pizza slices and lost money as laptops and vacations.

“By simply doing the [questionnaire], it reduces problem drinking with people because you become more aware,” Bob Gough, assistant director of residence education at Western, said. “[Drinking] is so much a part of our culture that we don’t think about it as a toxin and a drug.”

Gough helped bring the tool to Western and hopes students will find it informative.

The tool has already been used in residences during floor meetings. Students were asked to leave the room to complete the survey, then had the option to share their thoughts about the report.

Western is the first school in Ontario to participate in the pilot project. Researchers hope the project will spread to other universities, creating a database of first-hand accounts about drinking.

The report also compares drinking patterns to other university students to give context into how much students really consume.

“We’ve got some good data showing problem drinkers will reduce their drinking after taking the screener,” said Rachel Fournier, vice-president of Evolution Health Systems, which developed the tool.

The survey may also make its way to high schools, where Western law professor, Robert Solomon, said drinking patterns begin.

“The earlier you begin drinking, the more likely it is you’ll face alcohol-related injury and have alcohol problems later in life,” he said.

Solomon was not involved with the project but researches cases of alcohol-related trauma deaths. He criticized some alcohol information programs for not being effective.

“There [are] other programs that are primarily about awareness, phrased in general terms like the alcohol industry’s ‘drink responsibly’ and it means nothing,” he said. “It purports to provide information and advice on drinking but it in fact has no impact on drinking habits.”

He also questioned the emphasis on calorie counts in Check Your Drinking University, saying the risk of injury is more important than looking good in a bathing suit.

Stephen Hamilton, a third-year law student, said he wouldn’t change his drinking habits if he knew yearly calorie counts, but would if he knew how much it cost.

“I don’t watch calories but I watch my money,” Hamilton said.

Fournier said, if anything, the tool gives context to the habits of other students in Canadian universities.

“I think people overestimate how much their peers are drinking. Once they have that information they’re able to act on it.”

Visit uwo.checkyourdrinkingu.net to get your customized report. Share your thoughts about the report in the comments section. Were you surprised by the results?

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