Need to reduce your drinking? Kick-Start 2016 with the #SoberSelfie Challenge

Christmas has been and gone and New Year’s Eve is ‘done and dusted’ – now is the time to kick-start 2016 and take the Australian Drug Foundation’s #SoberSelfie Challenge – a way to say no to a drink for a weekend or a fortnight.

Here are some sobering statistics from the Australian Drug Foundation (ADF): 157,000 people are hospitalised every year in Australia due to alcohol and 5,500 people die from alcohol related injuries, illness and accidents.

It’s not easy telling your mates you’re taking the night off the booze – it’s generally followed by a barrage of questions, starting with ‘why?’ With peer pressure comes thinking it’s just too hard. So ADF have drafted Richmond Football Club Captain Trent Cotchin and Neighbours star Jenna Rosenow to help you to avoid the social embarrassment of falling down drunk and nursing a hang-over the next morning.

Trent Cotchin said there were so many things you could do instead of drinking or nursing a hangover.

“Like most young people in Australia, I’m not immune to peer group pressure but I’ll be taking the Challenge to prove to my mates it’s totally fine not to drink and take some time off the booze,” said Trent.

“I know when I have a weekend on the softies or water, I get so much done and I train better. It’s a no-brainer for me.”

Jenna Rosenow said she was guilty of going out and having a little too much to drink.

“I’ve been in the position where I’ve given into the pressure of my friends wanting me to go out when I haven’t really wanted to. But then again, I’ve also been the one who has made friends come out when they didn’t want to,” said Jenna.

“So that’s why I think it’s important for people to take the SoberSelfie Challenge — it’s okay to stand up to peer pressure and not feel bad for saying no to drinking!

“I feel like there’s definitely a culture in Australia where young people feel like they need to drink to fit in or to have fun. What’s not fun though, is a hangover! It’s always such a waste of a weekend after alcohol has been involved because you spend the next day feeling horrible. My weekends are always so much more productive when there is no drinking involved.”

While you’re enjoying all the benefits of being hangover-free, take a photo and post it on Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #SoberSelfie.

#SoberSelfie Challenge Campaign Manager Petra Keckeisen has said: “To reap the benefits sign up to ‘The Weekender’ or ‘The Fortnighter’. Avoid Groundhog Day this summer — work, drink, hangover, repeat – and reset your routine, save money and improve your health. It will help you spend less, feel better, get fitter, or all of the above.”

The #SoberSelfie Challenge has been funded as part of VicHealth’s Alcohol Innovation Challenge which sought ideas to help change Victoria’s drinking culture.

The campaign will run until 31 January 2016. You can register yourself or a friend anytime during this period for the ‘Weekender’ or ‘Fortnighter’ Challenge by visiting the website www.soberselfie.adf.org.au