Big Drink Debate reveals big drink problem in Worcestershire

7:00am Saturday 29th November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Worcestershire has admitted it has a drink problem, according to the latest survey results from the West Midlands Big Drink Debate campaign. Early results show that 60% of respondents answered 'yes' when asked if they thought the local area had a problem.

People who live and work in the region have one month left to come forward and let us know their opinions about the drinking habits of the West Midlands. Once the survey has been completed, the information will be presented to Government Departments and will be used to develop a more informed regional alcohol strategy.

Other results to come out of the survey included an almost even split over the question of whether the drinking age in the UK should be raised to 21. 44% were in favour of the move.

When asked about measures to control access to alcohol, 35% of respondents also thought alcohol was too cheap in the UK with only 13% in favour of increasing tax on drinks. Just over 42% were also against putting cigarette-style health warnings on bottles and cans.

However, when it comes to a change in the drink driving laws, six-out-of-ten people want to see the blood alcohol limit cut from 80mg to 50mg.

Dr Jammi Rao, Deputy Regional Director of Public Health said: "These results show the people of Worcestershire do have concerns about the amount of alcohol that is consumed. But while these concerns do exist, people do seem to appreciate the dangers involved - 85% of respondents know what one unit of alcohol is, and people's drinking habits seem to generally be in moderation, with 69% of people drinking once or twice a week, or even less.

"What was interesting were nearly two thirds of people wanting to see the drink drive limit cut, showing the campaigns are working and that people are taking this message seriously."

The challenge now is to get as many people as possible involved in the ongoing debate - log onto www.bigdrinkdebate.co.uk to complete the short survey, join the online forum and play the game.

Dr Rao added: "Anti-social behaviour, crime, health and the cost to the NHS, drink driving and absenteeism are all major issues that can have their roots in alcohol misuse. We're trying to build up a picture of which of these concerns the public the most, so we can put help in place to deal with it.

"If Worcestershire does have a drink problem, it will ultimately affect the lives of people living in the area, regardless of whether they drink or not and that's why we are urging the public to get involved."