National Trust partners with Coeliac charity for awareness campaign

by Becky Charles, marketingmagazine.co.uk 05-Feb-09, 09:45

LONDON - The National Trust has tied with Coeliac UK, the national charity that supports people with celiac disease, to raise awareness of the autoimmune illness.

A campaign called ‘Free for Tea' will run in National Trust tea shops, cafes and restaurants throughout May, providing information on coeliac disease and including gluten-free options on its menus.

Coeliac disease is a serious lifelong autoimmune condition, triggered by eating gluten, which can lead to other problems such as infertility, osteoporosis and bowel cancer. The only treatment is to keep gluten out of the diet, which makes eating out difficult.

The awareness campaign will run throughout May, with Coeliac UK holding an awareness week from 11-17 May.

More than 15m people visit National Trust properties every year and the campaign is expected to reach thousands of visitors by the end of May.

One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, however only 12.5% of these have been diagnosed.