For many around the world and especially on this little Island, Friday spells Happy Hour for those who indulge in some liquid satisfaction.

It is usually the time of week when one can finally let their hair down, relax and leave the work week behind.

But tomorrow, as Alcohol Awareness Month comes to an end, the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (CADA) wants drinkers to abstain from drinking in a ?No Alcohol Day?.

Chairman of CADA, Anthony Santucci, described his passion for responsible drinking during an interview last week.

His hopes were that the day would encourage people to think about their alcohol consumption and refrain from drinking and driving.

Also he would like for residents to understand that they can go out with friends and colleagues and have fun without consuming alcohol.

?We are not advocating prohibition by any stretch of the imagination,? he said.

?What we are asking is that individuals make the decision for themselves. We encourage you to continue with your usual Friday evening activities but simply consider the elimination of alcohol for that day.?

To encourage people to participate in the initiative people are being asked to text 441-747 CADA (2232) or visit www.cada.bm tomorrow.

Participants will have to answer the question of whether they will have a drink tomorrow. Asked if he indulged in a few drinks, Mr. Santucci said: ?I am not an alcoholic, but do I drink.

?I sell food and drink for a living at Tucker?s Point. I like great Pinots, but specifically from Russian River. I don?t like Oregonian Pinots.

?So yeah, I drink. I don?t drink and drive, but I absolutely drink.

?But if I do drink, I either drink at home or at friends? houses so that I can just stay where I am. I try to be a little pragmatic about it.?

His thoughts were that the message of not drinking and driving was not getting through to the Bermuda public.

?Historically, in Bermuda I don?t think the whole drink and drive message has ever resonated as much as we as a community understand,? he said.

?It hasn?t hit home. We have been going at this for a month now and people have said, ?you are absolutely right ? I know this, but I just never really thought about it?.?

But as a culture we see people drink on a regular basis and it is considered normal, but he said then there were a few people who went a little further like his late cousin Rocky.

?When we were young we had a cousin named Rocky and he was always drunk. He would show up at my grandmother?s door, she would sit him down, feed him and wash his clothes.

?Cousin Rocky lived down the slip in this little boat and that is where he hung out and got pleasantly inebriated. Then I saw cousin Rocky through what had to have been a rehabilitation process, because I remember he got married and on his wedding day he was all cleaned up and looked sharp.

?At some point things deteriorated and he ended up back on the boat and drunk again. That was his evolution and it was no surprise when cousin Rocky died at the slip.?

The organisation Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have statistics that have shown that the gateway drug is not marijuana, but alcohol.

?One man at the press conference said that at five-and-a-half his uncle sat him down and they started drinking beer together.

?There is your gateway drug and for our teenagers, alcohol is the gateway drug. We have to understand that when you have a beer in the fridge, it is not your beer, it is their beer and if there is scotch in the cabinet, it is their scotch in the cabinet, because it is readily available.

?Don?t think it is just for you. It has to be communicated that alcohol is a drug.?

It amazes Mr. Santucci that there are so many alcoholics in Bermuda.

?It is just so ingrained in who we are,? he said.

?Like last summer?s favourite song, Bootsie?s hit, ?Bermudians Love to Drink?. We drink, we drive and we have a good time on every occasion, but we just don?t drink responsibly.

?I don?t know why, but I say because we were rum runners historically and pirates, so alcohol has been a significant part of our evolution as a country.?

But he thought that bartenders could help in the process by being trained free of charge in the Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPs). But when asked if that defeats the purpose of the bar, restaurant or club, Mr. Santucci said: ?I had the luxury of opening the Wine Cellar at the Fairmont Southampton, and we made a conscious decision to say that 60 people was the maximum, although we could get 120 in there.

?We did that because when you go to a club and it is ten deep when you are trying to get a drink it is not a positive experience for anyone. But if you reduced your numbers and managed your customers, you will find that they would make just as much money if not more.?

?You make the life a lot better for the patrons, who are going to like coming to your club because they are not standing around with drunken, screaming people. Bars can still achieve their objectives, while being socially responsible. They just can?t be here just to make money ? that is just not reasonable.

He thought that bartenders could also suggest to the patron that they have had enough and say that they are going to pace the drinks so that the person does not become drunk.

PreVents are another way in helping patrons not to drive drunk.

?We are in the process of sending out thousands more and ultimately it is how they work them into they ongoing campaign,? said the chairman.

?Everyone has been really responsive to them, but they are not inexpensive and we have to look for support from other partners to continue to produce this product.

?They are great little tools for bartenders and bouncers when a patron says, ?oh, I am not that drunk?. They can just say, ?blow in it, now make the right decision?.?

Asked about CADA?s efforts in the next year, Mr. Santucci said: ?I want people to say that they we need not to drink and drive and it is a bad thing.

?The Police won?t have to stop so many people for drunk driving.

?In terms of the TIPs training, if we can get half of the restaurants and bars to be certified that would have a drastic impact on drunken driving and other instances that come about because of drinking.

?We haven?t spoken to that fact, but when people get drunk they start to fight. But if you cut him off three drinks before it would have made all the difference and that $15 you made really wasn?t worth it.

?And it is absolutely illegal to serve someone who is intoxicated. Bartenders are breaking the law everyday.

?The message is clear, the message is simple ? just don?t drink and drive.?