New research on protecting young people from alcohol harms

New research from Drink Wise North West shows that almost nine in ten people (89%) in the North West want to see the Government do more to protect young people from alcohol.

The Drink Wise Challenge research is part of Drink Wise’s ‘Let’s Look Again At Alcohol’ campaign which aims to protect young people from alcohol harms and focus on how children can be affected by the excesses of other people’s drinking.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has backed the campaign locally with staff and partners taking part in the Drink Wise challenge which surveyed people’s knowledge of alcohol advertising and asked if more should be done to protect young people from it.

The Council has also promoted a Drink Wise film and piloted a third element of the campaign – ‘See What I See’ which gives children and young people a voice on the issue by drawing or creating pictures of how alcohol makes them feel. As part of this, a local school and early years children aged 3-8 in Blackburn with Darwen’s children’s centres were worked with closely to put together a portfolio of pictures to help Drink Wise with its drive against alcohol marketing being a prevalent and normalised part of childhood from an early age.

On top of the Drink Wise work, the Council also launched its own young person’s alcohol campaign – ‘Totally Wasted’ which presented a series of short films to highlight how, if you’re young, alcohol can ruin more than just your profile – it can mess with your life.

Brian Taylor, Lead Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said:

The latest research from Drink Wise highlights that the public are very concerned about the important issue of alcohol misuse, particularly the harm caused to children. It is clear that we must do more to keep alcohol out of childhood. We need to continue to educate our youngsters about the dangers of alcohol but we also need to acknowledge that children are surrounded by a world of drink. Children as young as ten are avid consumers of alcohol advertising and sponsorship. Key to tackling our alcohol culture is addressing the way in which alcohol is priced, promoted and made available.

Dominic Harrison, Director of Public Health for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:

Through no fault of their own, it is often innocent children who bear the brunt of the problems that can come with alcohol. This campaign has aimed to ask the public to look again at alcohol and ask what more we can do to help to protect children.

Click below to watch the Totally Wasted film: