This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Next steps in alcohol plan
18/03/2002
A major £1.5 million communications
campaign is to be launched next month as part of the
Executive's Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems.-
A £1.5m campaign - featuring television, radio and
billboard adverts - will be launched next month as part of
the Scottish Executive's Plan for Action on Alcohol
Problems.
Tackling binge-drinking among the 18-35 year-old age
group is to be the major focus, featuring television,
radio, and billboard adverts aimed at changing the
country's deep-seated cultural attitudes towards
alcohol.
Speaking in Glasgow at a conference organised by the
Executive, Alcohol Focus Scotland and the National
Association of Alcohol Action Teams, Deputy Health Minister
Mary Mulligan said:
"Drinking in moderation is compatible with a healthy
lifestyle and does not cause a problem for most people.
However, what we are increasingly seeing - and what the
Plan for Action is seeking to address - are worrying trends
in excessive and harmful drinking. Trends which
particularly affect the younger population.
"Next month, we will be launching a well-researched
campaign which will aim to challenge the myth that binge
drinking is harmless fun, clever or 'cool'. It aims to get
individuals who are drinking at harmful levels to start
thinking about the short and long term effects on
themselves, on those around them and society as a
whole.
"I know that many people would think twice about sinking
five or six drinks each night of the working week, yet many
young people appear less concerned about binge-drinking on
a Friday or Saturday night. Drinking patterns which can
lead them to behave in a completely uncharacteristic
manner, ranging from making a fool of themselves, to going
home with someone they don't know or becoming involved in a
bar-room brawl.
"While, our Plan for Action is not anti-alcohol, we need
to remember that excessive drinking is not 'harmless fun'.
Alcohol problems are costing Scotland at least £1 billion a
year - including around £96m to the NHS. And alcohol
contributes to public safety, crime and economic
productivity problems.
"The Executive is already moving forward on the
commitments made in the Plan to address these and other
alcohol-related issues. Work is underway to develop a
framework for alcohol support and treatment services,
establish an expert group on alcohol-related brain damage,
create a national information resource, review gaps in
research and evaluate what works in terms of tackling
alcohol problems.
"We have also issued guidance to NHS Boards, local
authorities and other key partner agencies on the local
delivery of the Plan. These measures - together with our
forthcoming communications strategy - will help us make the
first crucial steps toward ending Scotland's historic but
potentially damaging relationship with drink. The message
must be clear that drinking until you are drunk is not
funny, its not clever and its not acceptable."
Jack Law, Chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland,
said:
"We are delighted to see that binge drinking is at the
heart of the Scottish Executive's new Alcohol Action Plan
and commend the Executive's swift action on the commitments
made in the plan. We hope the £1.5 million campaign will go
a long way towards tackling the problems of binge drinking,
and believe our DrinkWise Project will continue to be part
of this in it's final year.
"However, it's not just about binge-drinking. Let's not
forget the harm caused by other forms of alcohol misuse.
Many of our 30 local councils on Alcohol, which provide
more than 42 000 counselling sessions free each year,
regularly pick up the pieces of people's lives which are
affected by their own or another person's alcohol
problem.
"We are heartened by the Executive's commitment to more
widespread training for bar staff and licensees who are
vital to the success of responsible drinking. Our ServeWise
Training programme is already playing a key role in this
and will continue to promote good serving practice within
pubs and clubs throughout Scotland. Responsible drinking
messages must come from every quarter and we believe the
Licensing Law Review will also have an important part to
play in this."
Peter Brunt, Chair of the National Association of
Alcohol Action Teams, said:
"The publication of the Plan for Action is a major step
forward in addressing one of Scotland's most serious
problems. Its implementation will demand considerable
determination and effort at both national and local level,
to achieve the cultural sea-change and truly co-ordinated
action envisaged. Successful delivery will depend heavily
on the Action Teams.
"It will also require an overall rise in the profile of
alcohol issues through communication and education
initiatives, like the forthcoming campaign."
The Executive's Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems was
launched by Mary Mulligan on January 18. In addition to the
communications strategy, key actions within the Plan
include:
- better and more widespread training for bar staff
and licensees on their responsibility to encourage
sensible drinking
- specific action targeted at children and young
people, including new resources for parents to discuss
alcohol issues with their children, better education in
schools, promotion of healthy alternatives to drinking,
and better early support when problems arise
- better support for local alcohol action teams -
doubling funding to £1 million, publishing a framework
for alcohol support and treatment services, and
appointing a National Alcohol Liaison Officer to
support their work
- better information on patterns of problem drinking
to help develop future policy - including more
consistent recording of problems by GPs, consultants
and other health professionals to get a better picture
of the extent of the problem
- raising with the UK Government concerns over the
advertising and marketing of drinks
The Plan was drawn-up after extensive public
consultation and evidence gathering, with advice from the
Scottish Advisory Committee on Alcohol Misuse (SACAM),
which includes representatives from the voluntary sector,
the police, the licensed trade and the drinks industry.
Today's conference at Hamden Park aims to bring together
those with a role in delivering the Plan to discuss its key
components and the development of local alcohol problems'
strategies