UWE's Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Week ( 17th - 24th of November 2025) saw The Students' Union at UWE run our annual programme of engaging students in conversations about drug and alcohol usage.  

UWE Bristol and The Students' Union at UWE do not condone or condemn the use of drugs including alcohol; we are focused on providing students with the knowledge to be safe and feel supported. We operate a policy of harm reduction that prioritizes the welfare and wellbeing of our students and wider community.

As part of Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, we promoted the Students, Alcohol and Drugs Survey created by NUS/SOS-UK. We are committed to improving student wellbeing on campus and wanted to get as many answers from our student as possible to inform our approach.
We even hosted a pizza party on each campus, where we discussed the survey in person with our students while handing out pizza!

Why Is This Survey Important?

These results are valuable because they help inform our work, campaigns, interventions and harm reduction information provision around drugs including alcohol for UWE students.

Drink Rethink

Another important campaign included in our Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Week is Drink Rethink.

Drink Rethink is a preventative approach empowering students to reflect on their drinking, allowing them to consider the risks associated with excessive drinking, and the benefits of cutting down. The intervention is delivered by fellow students who have been trained to use a nationally recognized evidence-based behaviour change tool AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). This activity was run by The Students' Union at UWE in collaboration with SOS-UK. Our student ambassadors gave out freebies such as sweet treats unit measure cups and even mocktails, while educating students on the project.

Dry January

Whether your New Year’s resolution is all about health and wellness, or you have yet to decide on one, why not try taking a break from drinking with Dry January?
Dry January is the UK’s one-month alcohol-free challenge brought to you by Alcohol Change UK, a charity driven by a vision of a world with no serious alcohol harm. Their goal is to change the way people view drinking, making it a conscious choice rather than a default. Find out some of the benefits of taking a break from drinking and how to have a great sober night out!

Know your units

We advise students to try to have several drink-free days each week and to be mindful of the units they consume every week. Men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week. You should try to spend your units out through over 3 or more days rather than consuming all units in one day. Read what the NHS says about units here.

Alcohol unit reference

One unit of alcohol

• Half pint of ‘regular’ beer, lager or cider
• Half a small glass of wine
• One single measure of spirits
• One small glass of sherry
• One single measure of aperitifs

Drinks more than a single unit

• Pint of ‘regular’ beer, lager or cider
• Pint of ‘strong’ or ‘premium’ beer, larger or cider
• Alcopop or a 275ml bottle of regular lager
• 440ml can of ‘regular’ lager or cider
• 440ml can of ‘super strength’ lager
• 250ml glass of wine (12%)
• 75cl bottle of wine (12%)

We ask students to be aware of their usage and to use the resources available to them. Find out our polices and the resources available to you below.

UWE Bristol Policies

• Drugs including alcohol policy (PDF) 
• Drug and Alcohol Referral Service Privacy Notice (PDF)
• Fitness to study policy (PDF) 
• Professional suitability policy and procedure (PDF)
• Student conduct policy (PDF)

Information leaflets

• Alcohol (PDF)
• Cannabis (PDF)
• Cocaine (PDF)
• Ketamine (PDF)
• MDMA (PDF)
• Harm reduction at UWE Bristol (PDF)

Resources

• UWE Students Union: Harm reduction
• Drugs + Me
• Drug science
• Drugs Meter
• Alcohol Change
• Drink Aware

External support

• Bristol Drugs Project
• Developing Health & Independence
• SMART Recovery Online Meetings

Dangerous drug alerts

• Know Drugs App
• Wedinos