- WORKINGTON’S award-winning Pubwatch scheme has helped police cut violent crime in the town by more than 25 per cent. It is proving so successful that drinkers are now said to be more frightened of being banned from their favourite watering holes than being banged up in police cells. The turnaround has been helped by the upgrading of CCTV cameras as well as new security lighting. News & Star
- Research published by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory, based on figures from 2004 to 2006, shows that across all of England, 18.2% of adults binge drink at least double the daily recommended level in one or more sessions a week, based on the week in which they were questioned. But the biggest binge drinkers lived in the North East and North West (23% of adults) compared to those in the South East, South West and East of England (less than 16%). And experts warned that Britain had gone from a nation "enjoying a harmless tipple" to one developing "a dangerous alcohol addiction". In Newcastle upon Tyne, Liverpool and Durham, more than 27% of adults said they binge drink, compared to areas such as East Dorset, where less than 10% of adults do so. The Guardian BBC story here.
Comments by Mark Bellis appearing to blame the situation on drinking withing the night time economy have been criticised by some in the on-licensed trade, who argue that 60% of alcohol is bought in supermarkets. Morning Advertiser [The link to the research hasn't been published yet; more on this shortly]
- Binge drinking has spread to women in their forties, a survey says. Middle-aged women are missing work through hangovers and even passing out after a night's drinking, like people half their age, as they struggle to cope with stress. The survey of 1,000 readers of a women's magazine suggests that the increase in drinking among older women could be part of a culture learned when they were younger, but a third of women aged over 30 said they were drinking more than they did in their teens and twenties. The Telegraph
- Almost half of all fire deaths in Tayside last year occurred as a direct result of alcohol, it has been revealed, as a campaign was launched to highlight the dangers of fuelling fire with drink. There were seven fatal fires between April 2005 and March 2006, with three a direct result of alcohol consumption. Tayside had the second highest alcohol-related fire deaths in Scotland, behind Strathclyde where there were 15. All Scotland’s fire and rescue services joined forces to launch the new campaign, which includes a TV advert, to raise awareness of the direct link between alcohol misuse and accidental deaths. The campaign is targeting males between 30 and 59, as statistics show they are at higher risk of having an alcohol-related fire in the home. Evening Telegraph. Evening Telegraph on a Glasgow fire death. Previous post on alcohol related fire
- United London has been appointed by the Department of Health, in partnership with the Home Office, to handle its £3.5m multimedia sensible drinking campaign. The activity is aimed at encouraging sensible drinking among young people - the campaign will target 16- to 24-year-old drinkers in England. The drive is part of the government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy and is the first step in a push to change the drinking habits of young people. Launching in the autumn, the campaign will include TV, cinema, radio, press, online and ambient advertising, supported by a PR strategy. Creative Bulletin
- Scotland: Children as young as eight are being referred to the children's reporter with drink and drug problems, figures have revealed for the first time. Referrals are made if social workers, the police or school teachers are sufficiently worried, about the welfare of individuals. The number of children 16 and under coming before a hearing because of alcohol or narcotic abuse fell from 219 in 2003-4 to 160 the following year. But the figures for 2004-5 revealed a worrying rise in very young children with drink and drug problems, with a small number of children under ten being referred to the panel, compared with none the previous year. Scotsman
- Scotland: More than 30 licensed premises have been reported for selling alcohol to under-age customers in the first month of a pioneering police project using "undercover" children. Supermarkets, pubs and corner shops were among those caught in the operation in Fife, the first of its kind in Scotland. The operation is likely to be introduced throughout the country next year following the year-long project. The Herald
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