Diageo tries to nip problem drinking at colleges

By Bahk Eun-ji

Diageo Korea has launched a responsible drinking campaign for the college festival season.

The global beverage maker kicked off the “Cool Drinker Campus Campaign” at Konkuk University Wednesday. It will continue until next month at 20 other college campuses.

The campaign, the company’s seventh, will urge students to “drink slowly and moderately” during the college festival season when alcohol consumption rises dramatically. It is hosting lectures and workshops as part of the push

The company recruited 50 “Cool Drinker Ambassadors” in January and 15 of them visited Konkuk University to coordinate various activities highlighting responsible drinking.

According to the “2016 Campus drinking culture” survey that Diageo Korea recently conducted with 1257 students, 68.3 percent, or 848 individuals, pointed to problems associated with college students’ drinking habits. The survey found 54 percent of respondents, or 668 students, began drinking without any proper education on alcohol consumption.