Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) is running “Don’t Drink and Drown”, a national campaign to reduce substance related drownings across the UK and Ireland. The campaign video is blunt on purpose: drinking near water is dangerous, and a simple “good mate” choice, like walking a friend home, can prevent a tragedy. A key message is to avoid waterside routes after drinking, and to take responsibility for friends who have had too much.

RLSS UK points to why young adults are a priority group. Based on WAID data (2018–2023), alcohol and or drugs were present in 46% of accidental drowning deaths among 18–25 year olds. RLSS UK also highlights that many young adult drinkers underestimate the risk, with survey findings that 3 in 4 think it is okay to drink alcohol and get into the water, and that young adult drinkers were 3 times more likely than older adults to have entered the water after drinking in the last year. Alcohol makes this worse in predictable ways: it lowers inhibitions and judgment, slows reactions, reduces coordination and muscle control, and can numb your senses, all of which can turn a “small decision” near water into a fatal one.

The campaign also ties into winter water safety, when the risks stack up fast: colder water increases the danger, daylight is shorter, and banks can be slippery. RLSS UK notes that 21% of UK drownings happen in winter, and stresses practical precautions like sticking to well lit routes, keeping back from edges, never going onto ice, and staying together on walks (especially with children and pets). In an emergency, the guidance is clear: call 999, do not enter cold water or ice to rescue, try to reach from the bank with something that extends your reach, and if you fall in, stay calm, float on your back, and call for help.

Find more from www.rlss.org.uk/dont-drink-and-drown (UK, December 2025)