A new smartphone app shows how awful you could look in 10 years if you exceed the weekly alcohol limit.
The “drinking time machine” app has been designed to shock people, especially women, into cutting down on their drinking.
It can be downloaded free as part of the Scottish Government’s Alcohol Behaviour Change campaign, which is launched this week.
The app uses photo-manipulation technology to predict the cumulative effects of alcohol consumption on a regular drinker’s face over 10 years.
It combines a person’s picture with details of their drinking habits to reveal the ugly truth.
Setting the app at its maximum level – of regularly drinking about three large glasses or a bottle of wine a night – results in a plumper face, red patches across the cheeks and duller hair and eyes.
Auriole Price, who designed the app, said: “The main aim is to shock people into drinking just a little bit less. We are appealing to people’s vanity as the effects of alcohol can include red, broken veins on the cheeks, bloodshot eyes, a bloated face and deeper wrinkles.”
The campaign, aimed at women, highlights the health benefits of breaking drinking habits and advocates small changes such as having alcohol-free days and alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks or water.
The campaign includes a national roadshow and uses the slogan Drop A Glass Size to promote the health benefits of staying within recommended drinking guidelines.
The Drinking Time Machine app is available for free at www.drinksmarter.org throughout February.
Just download the app to your mobile phone, upload a current photo of yourself and follow the instructions.
