Alcohol Awareness Week is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking. Led annually by UK charity Alcohol Change UK, Alcohol Awareness Week runs from 7-13 July 2025 and this year’s theme is ‘alcohol and work’.
Alongside thousands of charities, community groups, local authorities, GP surgeries and businesses, Spark will be heading out to visit local businesses in Blackburn to share advice, tips and alcohol support available.
These visits will encourage people living in Blackburn to reflect on our own unique relationship between alcohol and work, to better understand how these aspects of our lives are linked and explore ways to improve our health, productivity and happiness.
Around 10 million of us are regularly drinking alcohol in ways that can harm our health and wellbeing.
From headaches, hangovers and sleepless nights to lower productivity and symptoms like anxiety and depression worsening over time, alcohol affects us in so many ways.
At the same time, the world of work is constantly changing. Lots of us are working longer hours, feeling more stress and experiencing a blurring of lines between work and home, while alcohol-centric workplace cultures are still a reality for so many.
Moving in and out of work, whether planned or unplanned, can also affect us and our drinking habits – from unemployment and retirement to parental leave and caring responsibilities.
These transitions can sometimes leave us feeling unsettled, bored, isolated and lonely, causing us to drink more alcohol and face additional challenges with our physical and mental health, relationships, finances and more.
That’s why, from offices and factories to shift-work and front-line services, this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week seeks to unravel the complex relationship between alcohol work and celebrate the benefits that individuals, organisations and communities can unlock through fostering healthier, safer and more respectful workplace cultures across different industries, sectors and types of work.
Spark provides dedicated alcohol and drugs support for people of all ages,
families and children in Blackburn with Darwen.
We’re a local partnership who have the skills, training and lived experience needed to help individuals, families and communities create a life beyond drugs and alcohol. Our diverse team is made up of medical professionals, support workers and experienced volunteers, so we are able to provide an effective, confidential and judgement-free service you can rely on.