Watchdog sees successful trial

Portman Group's £1m drink campaign to go national

Drinks watchdog The Portman Group is launching the next stage in a £1million campaign to discourage excessive drinking.

The latest phase in the campaign will see posters and radio adverts rolled out nationally following the success of a trial scheme in Manchester.

The posters, which are targeted at younger drinkers, include the strapline "If you do do drink, don't do drunk" and are aimed at provoking a strong reaction.

The move follows increasing concern over the levels of alcohol abuse and binge drinking among young people.

The Portman Group, which is funded by the drinks trade, carried out a survey earlier this year which found that it had become almost the norm for young people in the UK to drink heavily on a night out.

This has in turn reflected badly on the pub and drinks trade generally, with licensees accused of failing to tackle the issue.

The Portman Group director Jean Coussins said: "This is a tough message to get across. Occasional excesses are part of a normal learning curve, but our research shows that a million young adults are drinking regularly just to get drunk.

"This campaign is the start of a long haul to change the image of drunkenness and the culture of excess around alcohol in Britain.

"Enjoy a drink, no problem. But getting drunk should be as socially unacceptable as drink-driving."

The new campaign has won the backing of health minister Gisela Stuart and will be running in parallel to The Publican Newspaper's own Setting the Standards initiative which aims to promote best practice among licensees in tackling the problem.

Stuart said: "This new campaign's message is an important one. It recognises that consumers have a choice between sensible drinking and drunkenness and addresses a number of serious issues which have adverse effects every day on the lives of a huge number of people."

Bob Cartwight, communications director at Bass Leisure Retail, said: "Visiting our pubs is a fun experience. We want to keep it that way.

"This campaign provides a timely reminder to our customers of the consequences of going too far. It has our full backing."

The government is expected to unveil details of its long-awaited national alcohol strategy by the autumn, although the announcement is likely to be delayed by the forthcoming General Election.

The Portman Group has already held talks with the Department of Health over plans for the strategy, which the trade feels should focus on the benefits of alcohol education in schools and the responsibility of parents for ensuring their children are not drinking to excess.

The campaign is due to officially launch today (March 19).