The Promile INFO service has been supporting responsible alcohol consumption for five years already

In the first year of its activity, the Promile INFO service answered monthly about 2,900 requests, where in 2010 the monthly average was 4,600 requests. Also the number of requests via Internet is increasing. In 2009 users sent 42% of requests via the Internet; in the first eight months of 2010 it represented more than half of the requests (54%). Therefore the service wants to expand into so–called smart phones, like the iPhone, for example.

Awareness of the service and use of it are increasing thanks to campaigns at summer festivals. The support of the service by their partner, Plzeňský Prazdroj, is also a big help.

Statistics from the five years: young people are more responsible

The average user of the service is 30 years old. The most common users of the service are people between 25 and 34 years old (approx. 35%). The second largest group today is people aged 18–24 (over 27%), and providers of the service consider this to be a positive trend: youth awareness is increasing.

„About a third of alcohol consumers do  not have any alcohol in their blood when they send the request, and close to two thirds of all users fall into a category with actual level of 1%. This proves that the Promile INFO campaign is successful in promoting safe alcohol consumption and there are a lot of users of the service who consume alcohol responsibly,“ says Jiří Richter, managing director of the civic association SANANIM, which runs the campaign.

More than 80% of users are men. The largest number of requests is received on Saturday. While men, based on surveys and statistics, consume a  larger amount of alcohol during the end of the week – which means, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – women use the service the most at the beginning of the work week – that is Monday and Tuesday.

Plzeňský Prazdroj is helping mainly with promotion of the service

The main partner of the service for the past three years has been Plzeňský Prazdroj, leader on the Czech beer market and a company with a  comprehensive and long-lasting policy of being a responsible alcohol producer. „Plzeňský Prazdroj isn't only contributing financially; it is mainly trying to raise awareness about the service. We look for different ways to bring Promile INFO to beer consumers,“ says Ivan Balogh, director of Corporate Relations and Human Resources of Plzeňský Prazdroj. Prazdroj placed information about the service and instructions about how to use the service on 3.3 million beer coasters for Gambrinus and Pilsner Urquell brands, which were distributed to pubs that serve these beers.

This service started in May 2000 in Finland, and in 2005, the Czech Republic became only the second country in the world to launch it. Thanks to work done by SABMiller, owner of Plzeňský Prazdroj, this service also operates in
Slovakia and Poland.

Civic association SANANIM
The civic association SANANIM is one of the oldest in the Czech Republic (established in 1990) and today it is also the biggest provider of non-governmental services in the field of prevention, care, treatment and integration of addicts addicted to non-alcoholic drugs. Currently it administers eleven main centres – field programmes, a contact centre, specialised outpatient services CADAS, a daily social welfare institution, the Karlov and Němčice therapeutic communities, an aftercare centre with apartments and a workshop, the Centre For People In Conflict With Law, the Agency for Employment and Social Services, a  consulting room for parents – and offers a number of supplementary projects or programmes, some of the most important ones belong telematic consulting and information services (the drug information centre, Promile INFO, Alkotest etc.), the field programme for the Roma and a  programme for mothers with children. Other projects focus mainly on education, primary prevention, publication of articles and international cooperation.

Plzeňský Prazdroj as a responsible beer producer
Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s. takes an active part in the prevention of negative consequences of excessive or of unacceptable alcohol consumption and helps advocate responsible attitudes towards alcohol consumption, whether it be independently or as part of the Initiative of responsible breweries. With total sales of 10.5 million hectolitres in the 2009 calendar year (including licensed production abroad) and with exports to more than 50 countries, Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s., is the leading producer of beer in the Czech Republic and the biggest exporter of Czech beer. Plzeňský Prazdroj is a member of the SABMiller PLC, one of the world's largest beer companies.

For more information:
Josef Šedivý, civic association, SANANIM
Email:
Ph. no: +420 602 311 799

Jiří Mareček, Public relations officer, Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s.
Email:
Ph. no: +420 724 617 219

 How does Promile INFO work?

• The service is run via text messages, WAP or the Internet, www.promile.info
• How can you use the service from your cell phone? Based on simple guidelines through the JAVA application, the user will send a text message with a request, with information about his/her sex, age, weight, when he/she began consumption of alcoholic beverages, what kind of alcoholic beverages and what amount.
• Within a minute, the user will receive a response with information about his/her current level of alcohol in the blood, together with an approximate time when his/her level will drop to zero. Part of the response is also brief information about the risks tied to the level of alcohol in one's blood.
• One “Promile INFO” costs 9 Czech crowns (0.50 USD). The money will support programmes for the prevention and treatment of addictions at the SANANIM civic association as well as development and management of the actual service.
• The main partner of the service is Plzeňský Prazdroj, the leading beer company in Central Europe, which promotes responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Prague