What do you mean by responsible drinking?

In a nutshell, it means drinking in moderation. And only by adults who can do so, in situations where it is permissible. This means that three groups are completely excluded from alcohol consumption: minors, drivers and pregnant women. Of course, there are more such groups, including people who are at work, taking care of children or engaging in sports. However, we focus our efforts on the three groups mentioned above, and generally promote moderate consumption of alcohol.

What does it mean in practice?

We run programs within the framework of which we actively seek to shape norms related to alcohol consumption. In recent years, we have particularly focused on two phenomena. The first area is combating alcohol consumption by drivers. The second one is combating alcohol consumption by pregnant women. Since last year, we have also been promoting moderation.

It seems to me that the issue of driving under the influence is a never-ending story…

Unfortunately, we are still dealing with drunk drivers, but it is worth noting that their number is consistently decreasing, which is the result of numerous campaigns, including educational ones. We have been conducting them for over a dozen or so years, and for almost a decade now, we have been present at major mass events sponsored by our brands. Initially, we were there with our 'sober bus,' but over the years, this initiative has grown into the 'Check Your BAL' zone. We want the participants of those events to return home safely, so we provide them with the opportunity to use professional breathalysers. We care about them enjoying our products – I will use this word again – responsibly.

Within these zones, apart from providing breathalysers, we show people how their bodies react to alcohol. Using fun games and exercises with the use of a reflex-meter or a maze to be navigated while wearing special alco-goggles, we demonstrate how much perception changes when under the influence of alcohol.

In recent years, your efforts focused on drivers have also entered the digital world.

Two years ago, we started intensifying our digital activities. We launched an innovative campaign called 'Alcohol and Car, That Doesn’t Rhyme', which was quite ground-breaking for Polish standards. We invited internet users to submit their rhymes referring to the campaign slogan. We then collaborated with Polish rapper Pih, who incorporated these lyrics and rapped them together with Piotr Fronczewski aka Franek Kimono. Our ambition was to create a summer hit. [laughs] We did not quite manage to achieve that, but we still reached a wide audience and received a lot of positive feedback.

We have already discussed preventing drunk driving. The second phenomenon you mentioned in the context of your activities is combating alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

This is a particularly important issue because alcohol consumption by pregnant women can lead to the development of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). It results in a range of deficits - from milder forms to those requiring specialized care for the child throughout their life, even in adulthood. It encompasses a wide spectrum of negative changes - from concentration problems to physical appearance alterations or mental impairment. Alcohol consumed by pregnant women is particularly dangerous for unborn children, which is why for the past five years, we have been executing the FAS/OFF program in cooperation with the ‘Dom w Łodzi’ Foundation.