Alcohol awareness campaign
Tuesday, 03 Jun 2008 11:42
The government wants to clamp down on irresponsible drinking
A variety of measures to reduce alcohol consumption in young people have been launched by the government.
The need for a new alcohol strategy has been highlighted by figures showing that while the number of youths who drink has fallen, since 2000 the average weekly alcohol consumption among young people who drink has doubled.
Parents are at the heart of the new campaign, with plans to provide them with information about how much alcohol is safe to drink.
It is hoped that if a responsible attitude towards drinking begins in the home then later problems can be averted.
As well as educating parents about the harm alcohol can cause, the action plan will see the government working with the alcohol industry to reduce the sale of alcohol to under 18s and to make marketing and promotion of alcohol more responsible.
Police and the courts will be encouraged to make it clear that unsupervised drinking by under 18s in public places is unacceptable.
And publicity campaigns and education in school will be geared towards helping young people understand the impact of alcohol consumption.
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