17/06/2008

Government Campaign Tackles Young Binge Drinkers

A new advertising campaign designed to shock binge drinkers has been launched today.

The £4 million Home Office campaign, aims to challenge attitudes and change behaviour among young people.

One of the ad's will show an attractive young woman smearing vomit through her hair and smudging her makeup, while another shows a young man who rips out his ear-ring, urinates on his shoes and pours a takeaway meal down his shirt.

The message that tags the ad campaign is: "You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it that way?"

The campaign is aimed at 18-24 year olds and will also feature online ads showing a woman getting into a car with a stranger and a man vandalising a kebab shop.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that she is "not prepared to tolerate alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder" and that the new campaign will "challenge people to think twice about the serious consequences of losing control".

Association of Chief Police Officers Licensing Spokesman Chris Allison said that "any initiative which grabs attention and stimulates action by parents, local agencies and young people themselves is welcome".

Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, also backs the campaign: "Young men and women form the group most likely to binge drink.

"In many cases lead to involvement in accidents and violence, but bingeing can also be a precursor to later, harmful drinking behaviour. It's vital that we challenge the attitude widespread among young people that socialising must always involve heavy drinking."

In other news, the Scottish Government has proposed a minimum price for alcohol to curb the country's binge drinking behaviour.

Other proposals include increasing the age from 18 to 21 for those buying alcohol in off-licenses.

See: Charity Supports 21 Limit For Buying Alcohol In Scotland

(DS)

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