Families and health chiefs have backed calls for national action to help tackle the negative impact of alcohol in Newcastle.
A new report by the region’s anti-alcohol program Balance claims problem drinking is costing the North East £1.5 billion a year, with the vast majority of adults believing booze is a problem for the area.
However, new research also suggests over 60 per cent of people are trying to cut down their drinking, and more than one in seven are now teetotal.
Alice Wiseman, Newcastle’s Director of Public Health, said: “For too long the harms of alcohol have been soaring – but a lack of national regulation and a free pass for the alcohol industry to keep people drinking at risky levels has failed communities and hit our public finances.
“Many alcohol harms are preventable. We simply can’t afford for alcohol to be taking such a toll on individuals, families and communities and it is staggering to see the impact on frontline services across the North East.
“We now need to balance the profits of the alcohol industry with protecting local communities.
“Action within the region can only take us so far – we need a national conversation and evidence-based action to grapple with this alcohol crisis.
“The health and wealth of our region depend on it and we implore national Government to take this problem seriously.”
A blueprint for change
In response to its own research Balance – which is part funded by Newcastle City Council – has put forward a “blueprint” to reduce alcohol’s effect on health, social care, crime and the economy.
Published in its Reducing Alcohol Harm report, the organisation recommends that the Government:
- commit to introduce an evidence-based national alcohol strategy for England, free from industry influence
- raise awareness of alcohol harms, through public education campaigns
- introduce mandatory health warnings and nutritional, unit and calorie information on packaging
- set a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol in England and design a fairer alcohol duty system, that keeps pace with inflation
- restrict alcohol marketing to protect children and vulnerable people
- make public health a licensing objective and consider a wider overhaul of licensing laws
- invest in prevention and early intervention, improving access to specialist support for at-risk drinkers
Recommendations have widespread support
The blueprint is supported by the Alcohol Health Alliance, the Institute of Alcohol Studies, North East directors of public health, police and crime commissioners, the region’s NHS integrated care board, and the mayor of the North East Combined Authority.
It has also received backing from individuals who have directly experienced the harm alcohol can cause.
Newcastle mum of four, Karen Slater, who grew up in a home negatively affected by alcohol and who later had her own issues with booze, said: “Alcohol advertising and the pressure to drink is insidious.
“There are millions of people trying to battle or escape alcohol and yet it is everywhere – every night on TV, on billboards, on sport, social media and stockpiles at the front of supermarkets.
“For someone having a bad day or a bad moment, that can trigger a relapse.
“My reality and many others is the exact opposite of the allure of alcohol promotion. It’s about drink-fuelled isolation, domestic violence, child neglect and A and E being overrun by people under the influence of alcohol.”
What Balance’s research found
Balance’s research found that in the North East:
- 82 per cent of people believe alcohol is a significant problem both nationally and regionally
- 83 per cent of people support measures to limit children’s exposure to alcohol promotion
- nearly 45 per cent feel that national government has not done enough to tackle alcohol harm
- 67 per cent feel the government has a responsibility to try to protect people by raising awareness of the risks and encouraging people to drink within guidelines
- 22 per cent of people have been negatively impacted by alcohol consumption in some way in the last year alone
Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh and Balance said: “The impact of alcohol is being felt on our health, criminal justice system, on our economy and across society with harms at record levels – this is an avoidable crisis but it has been ignored for too long.
“This is a unified call to action from leaders and real people based in the North East for positive and evidence-based action to reduce alcohol harm.
“Four out of five people in the North East see alcohol as a big problem regionally and nationally, and yet awareness of its health risks is still worryingly low.
“It is clear that reducing alcohol harms must be at the forefront of the Government’s efforts to build a healthier, safer and more economically productive country.
“And for the sake of local families, we need more action to prevent vulnerable people from becoming ill and dying from alcohol and to reduce the burden on our NHS and emergency services.”
Drug and alcohol support
For more information about the help available for people struggling with their drinking see: