Have your say in the Big Drink Debate
WHAT are your views on alcohol?
Why not share them with us in the biggest public health debate ever to be held in the region.
Drinkers and non-drinkers alike are being urged to take part in the North East Big Drink Debate, launched today with the backing of the Hartlepool Mail.
Balance, the North East alcohol office, has launched the study to assess the impact of drink on the region.
Read on to find out more.
WE'VE all got a view on alcohol and drinking.
But this is something new. This is a chance to make your view count.
The newly launched public health debate aims to provide a comprehensive study of the region's attitudes towards, and relationships with, alcohol.
It wants to encourage members of the public to fill in a questionnaire, now available at www.northeastbigdrinkdebate.org.uk
Colin Shevills, the director of new government alcohol office Balance, said: "The North East Big Drink Debate is about capturing the region's relationship with and attitude towards alcohol.
"To do this successfully we need to encourage people from all walks of life with all sorts of relationships with, and attitudes towards, alcohol.
"We want to hear everyone's opinions, from non-drinkers through couples who routinely drink a few glasses of wine a night, to those who are fixtures at their local bar.
"Whatever your age, whatever your drinking habits, we want to capture your views, so please fill in a copy of the questionnaire."
The questionnaire will be printed in the Hartlepool Mail next week and handed out by street teams across the region over the next six weeks.
It is anonymous and asks why people do or don't drink, how many units they consume over a typical week, where they purchase alcohol and what situations would make them reduce their consumption.
Alcohol plays a key role in the economy and culture of the North East – the food and drink sector in the North East employs around 45,000 people.
But while many jobs depend on the night-time economy, the region is suffering more health problems from over-consumption. A recent report highlighted that the North-East has the highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in the country.
Between April and December 2008, the three North East police forces dealt with over 4,500 domestic incidents which were alcohol related.
The North-East Big Drink Debate is supported by a wide ranging and high visibility communications campaign involving huge sections of the media including the Mail, Facebook and an email to more than 100,000 people in the North-East.
On-street teams helped people fill in the questionnaire in Northumberland Street, Newcastle, this morning and in Market Square, Darlington, this afternoon.
The team will be visiting high streets across the region over the next six weeks and attending a range of events, including:
The Hoppings, Newcastle on June 20;
Hotspur Festival, Alnwick Castle on June 28;
Hexham Carnival on July 5;
South Shields, Sunday Concerts on July 5;
Durham Miners Gala on July 11;
Middlebrough Mela on July 19;
South Shields, Sunday Concerts on July 26;
All the information gathered through the survey will be used to inform a State of the Region report, to be published in autumn.
Together with its partners, Balance will use the report to inform an updated regional alcohol strategy designed to encourage and help people reduce their alcohol consumption, so that in the region we have happier, healthier people living in safer communities.
Balance, the North-East alcohol office, was set up to inspire changes in the way we drink alcohol so that people in the region can still enjoy a good time while reducing their consumption, resulting in happier and healthier people living in safer communities.
It proposes to do this by raising the profile of alcohol-related issues and pushing for appropriate changes in laws, regulations and pricing policy.
Importantly, Balance's aim is not to judge or stop people enjoying a drink, but to help people find the right balance.
Success for Balance is about changing the drinking culture in the North East and that won't happen overnight.
It starts with helping people understand the problems caused by alcohol and encouraging them to review their own drinking habits.
It involves speaking with one voice across the region. It continues by helping the region to work together to implement the best programmes and treatment services. And it involves demanding a review of pricing, availability and promotional practices so that they do not unduly encourage excessive drinking.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 7 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
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