Plan confronts binge drinking
Plan confronts binge drinking
According to a recent report by the Government's Strategy Unit, binge drinking costs the British economy around £20 billion a year through crime and disorder, injuries and illness. Approximately 70% of weekend Accident & Emergency admissions are currently alcohol related.
Title: Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England
Author: Strategy Unit
Date published: 15 March 2004
Number of pages: 100
This has prompted the Government's Strategy Unit to unveil a plan to combat England's culture of binge drinking. The "Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England" - published today by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit - aims to target alcohol-related harm without ruining people's enjoyment.
The paper proposes measures to deal with alcohol-related disorder in town and city centres, clamp down on irresponsible alcohol promotion by the industry and provide better information and treatment. The Government has accepted all its conclusions.
Key measures include:
Putting a "sensible drinking" message clearly on bottles along with unit information;
Using a codes of conduct set at a local level by a partnership of the industry, police, and licensing panels, and led by the Local Authority;
Greater use of fixed-penalty fines for anti-social behaviour;
Better enforcing existing rules on under-age drinking; and
Creating alcohol education programmes for schools
Download the full version of Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy For England 
PDF 407 KB
Last update: Tuesday, September 05, 2006