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£100m responsible drinking campaign begins
16.07.09
A £100 million campaign to encourage young people to drink more responsibly is launched today.
The Campaign for Smarter Drinking will run for five years and see its slogan "why let good times go bad?" feature on beermats, advertising hoardings and signs in pubs, bars and off-licences.
Shepherd-Neame brewery chief executive Jonathan Neame is backing the campaign which is launched today with a full-page advertisement in The Times newspaper.
He said: "For years people have asked what needs to be done to encourage a responsible drinking culture in Britain and reduce alcohol misuse among young adults.
"This initiative is part of the answer and the drinks industry is in a unique position to deliver such a shift in our culture. In the end, we can only achieve change if people take responsibility for their own behaviour and this campaign will help them make informed choices."
Among the firms backing the campaign are brewers including Fuller's, Thwaites and Brains and supermarkets chains Tesco, Spar and Asda.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the country faced a growing public health problem caused by people drinking too much.
He added: "Clearly the industry has a responsibility to play their part in tackling this problem and I hope this campaign will make a real difference to people's attitudes to drunkenness and their drinking behaviour."
Commander Simon O'Brien from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said there needed to be a culture change in attitudes to binge drinking.
He said: "This campaign has our support as it asks people to think about their own behaviour, to drink sensibly, and to enjoy their time socialising."
Reader views (7)
If Tesco is so keen on promoting responsible drinking, perhaps it should stop selling its "Value Lager" for less than 23p a pint.
- David, London, UK
You can't persuade the majority of young people to act responsibly by appealing to their batter nature. Why not tell them, and show them, how ugly they will look in a few years if they continue to binge drink (and smoke). An appeal to their vanity will have far greater impact.
- Robert Nadler, London
Poor Gordn getting it in the kneck again, trying to educate the public on the danger of excess taxation, oh sorry! excess drinking. Being undertaken by the general public as part of the Gov's selling booze culture, raising tax revenue to pay for NHS and Police dealing with excess consumption.
- William, Hay~Heath UK
What a sad waste of mone, you could do so much with it, there is a book on the taxpayers alliance website, that shows how much is wasted each year, it frightening.
- P Staker, London
A great example of the true state of employment in this country. This 100mill campaign, and many others, simply provides jobs for lots of people, from those in the advertising companies, to those who manufacture the beermats, and to those civil servants that run the campaign, whether they're in a central govt dept or in a quango.
As a result, when you hear that the government directly employs approx 20% of the workforce, this may be correct. What it won't tell you is how many people it employs/supports indirectly in the private sector through campaigns such as this one. An example-a friend of mine's wife works for a stationary supply manager as an account manager. Her only account is the governent. She is not directly employed by them, but she might as well be. Truly worrying.
- Ted, London UK
Gormless Brown has strangulated the UK with a debt burden exceeding £1,400,000,000,000.00.
Where did the £100 MILLION come from to waste on a campaign which will do absolutely NOTHING to curb the drinking habits of young peeps?
More spin and waffle from this nanny government.
Meanwhile, MP's will be propping up the bars in the House of Conmen sipping subsidised gin and tonic and smoking the finest cigars.
HYPOCRITES.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK
£100m to state the obvious to immortel youngsters. Guess we must have solved the smoking, sex and drug issues with teens or is this just another way of helping supermarkets make more money while MPS have the cheapest booze in the country?
If MPS want to change then lead by example and pay more foe house of commmons booze.
- Gerry, Essex
