Better education can beat binge drinking

Better education and a focus on partnership schemes are the ways to reduce harmful drinking, says a major report on alcohol misuse among young people in London.

The report from the London Assembly concentrates on the role of various agencies, including central and national government and the family, rather than targeting solely pubs and the off-trade.

The report, Too Much Too Young?, makes a series of recommendations for the mayor to reduce underage and harmful drinking in the capital.

This includes piloting a community alcohol partnership at one borough, like that in St Neots, where council and police work with the trade to reduce underage drinking.

It wants an "alcohol harm reduction champion" by March 2010 at each borough where alcohol-specific hospital admissions for under-18s are below the national average.

They would set local performance targets and ensure local services are effectively co-ordinated.

The report wants alcohol education to have the same prominence as drugs in the national curriculum. A national campaign focusing on the impact of drinking, mirroring the Frank campaign about drugs, should begin by June 2010.

A city-wide marketing campaign to reduce alcohol harm, co-ordinated by the Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance, should start by December 2010.

It also wants an investigation, running from 2009 until 2012, to see if recent rises in drinking among young women and Londoners of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin are part of on-going trends,

James Cleverly, chairman of the Health and Public Services Committee, told the MA: "We don't want to produce recommendations that alienate the licensed trade. This is very much about working together.

"Our view was there's much more to be gained by the various parts of society working together. The licensed trade is part of that."

The report says the equivalent of 180,000 bottles of lager is drunk by 15-18 year-olds in London per week.