The designated driver role gets a modern update, covering dangers from COVID-19 to social media

The designated driver (DD) is a successful public health strategy dating back to the late 1980s. To better reflect the realities of today’s society, now is a good time to evolve the initiative to help mitigate the harms tied to broader substance use and beyond drinking and driving. The promotion of “buddy circles,” as an expanded harm reduction strategy, is one possible way to achieve these ends. Similar to the DD, the aim of the proposed buddy circle initiative is to challenge norms and promote behaviour change in order to reduce harm. The buddy circle concept, however, expands on that of the designated driver, taking into account other substances and risks — including COVID-19 and social media — in order to build a more comprehensive harm mitigation strategy for the 21st century. The designated driver and beyond In North America the concept of designated driving began in 1988 as part of Harvard University’s School of Public Health’s Alcohol Project. The project involved a partnership with major television networks and Hollywood studios. Over the past 30 years this program has achieved its goals, integrating the DD into our language and culture. According to Jay Winsten, founding director of the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, there were two crucial elements involved in the successful promotion of the DD to the public. The first was that it was framed as a positive message, one that “lent social legitimacy to the option of refraining from drinking and created social…

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Source : Marijuana.com
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