Annapolis Valley Health hopes a new video will encourage Nova Scotians to talk and think about their alcohol consumption.
The WHEN video, which went on display in Empire Theatres throughout Nova Scotia March 5, features Nova Scotians sharing a common message about “changing the culture” of drinking in our province.
The video is also available on the Changing the Culture campaign website, www.changingtheculture.ns.ca, where visitors can share thoughts, engage in discussion and post their own “WHEN moments.”
The video, a collaborative effort between South Shore, South West Nova and Annapolis Valley Health; will be in theatres for the month of March, and will also be shown on Eastlink Channel 10 for the same period.
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem If, the video encourages Nova Scotians to “give us their ‘WHEN moments’,” says AVH Prevention Health Promotion coordinator Gwenyth Dwyn.
Dwyn and Samantha Cukier, Social Marketing Coordinator for the Tri-District Addiction Services in Western Nova Scotia, launched the 90-second video (a 60-second version will be shown in theatres) for staff March 4 at the AVH office in Kentville.
Dwyn and Cukier noted some interesting statistics: five per cent of Nova Scotia Grade 7 students admit they have been drunk at least once within the past 30 days.
“Nova Scotia leads the Atlantic provinces in this race - that we do not want to be winning,” Cukier said.
In addition, 33 per cent of Nova Scotians asked say they have been hurt, either verbally, physically or otherwise; by someone else’s drinking.
These are startling statistics that, according to addiction treatment professionals in Western Nova Scotia, “deserve a second look.”
Five per cent of Nova Scotia Grade 7 students admit they have been drunk at least once within the past 30 days. -
Dwyn suggests, while the numbers “aren’t really unusual or exceptional, they are alarming in terms of the potential harm. The earlier people start drinking, the more chance there is for harm later in life.”
The “Changing the Culture” campaign is aimed at Nova Scotians in their late 20s to late 30s. As Cukier pointed out, “we know there’s a problem with youth drinking, but we also know that youth tend to mirror the behavior of their parents or other adults.”
The video is based on a similar production by health professionals in New Zealand.
“Their alcohol strategy is about five years ahead of us, and they have a similar population to ours. They had developed a video we felt we could adapt to a Nova Scotia context, so we got permission to copy it.”
WHEN features a variety of Nova Scotians from throughout the province, ranging from famous faces to ones that might even be recognized locally. All the participants “freely gave of their time to take part.”
Addiction prevention professionals hope the video will make a difference.
“The culture as a whole is starting earlier and earlier,” Dwyn noted. “One of our main goals as addiction workers is to delay onset.”
Alcohol, she suggested, “is part of a cultural norm” in Nova Scotia.
“That’s not going to change, but if we can delay onset so we’re taking better care of one another,” that will be a step in the right direction.
