Alcohol expert drops in to tackle bingeing

A Leading expert on alcohol abuse will be in Cumbria next month after a survey pinpointed the county as one of the worst in the UK for binge drinking.

Professor Mark Bellis, who works with the World Health Organisation as the representative for England and advises the Home Office, will address the annual meeting of Cumbria Drug and Alcohol Advisory Service (Cadas).

Prof Bellis, who is based at Liverpool John Moores University, co-wrote two reports which revealed alarming levels of binge drinking – particularly among teenagers – in the north.

Around one-in-five people in England drink twice the daily recommended level in one or more sessions a week, the first study showed, and Copeland has the highest number of women admitted to hospital for drink-related conditions.

The second study, which was released yesterday, revealed that nine out of 10 teenagers in the north west drank alcohol.

Forty per cent of the 15 and 16-year-olds questioned admitted binge drinking.

Prof Bellis told the News & Star that binge drinking was escalating because of a variety of factors.

Deprived areas suffer from high levels of alcohol abuse, he said, but the issue was more wide-ranging than that.

“People sit at home and think it’s young people out in cities who are the culprits,” he said.

“But they are sitting there, drinking a couple of bottles of wine.

“The level of alcohol we are consuming as a nation is going up, and people are starting to drink earlier, particularly young girls.”

He said drinks promotions were a factor, together with the amount of drinking shown on television.

“The soaps are riddled with pictures of alcohol and people drinking,” he added.

“Even if the adverts are aimed at the over 18s, they are not just being absorbed by that market.”

Yesterday’s study revealed that children whose parents introduced them to alcohol in a responsible manner at home – known as the Mediterranean method – were less likely to develop dangerous drinking habits.

Prof Bellis said: “Parents can legally set a good example about drinking in moderation.

“We know the vast majority of 15-year-olds are drinking – they will either gets their role models from parents or peers.

“It’s not a case of stopping all drinking by children, we don’t want to stop them having good role models.”

News & Star