Government urged to tackle alcohol addiction at its roots

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by Change | 19 Jun 2009

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Efforts to reduce teen drinking and alcohol addiction that can occur as a result need to focus on the price of alcohol rather than simply addiction treatment, it has been claimed.

Government efforts to tackle binge drinking among teenagers should concentrate on making it harder for young people to get their hands on alcohol rather than simply providing better addiction treatment services, it has been suggested.

Ministers have recently unveiled plans to spend £1.4 million on 69 youth crime priority areas across the country, with alcohol addiction one of the areas being targeted.

While the move to help more young people access rehab centres and other facilities designed to help them beat alcohol addictions has been welcomed, experts have also pointed to the underlying causes for people getting involved in binge drinking in the first place.

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said that while the move to provide greater addiction treatment is "helpful", it is also "a classic example of treating the symptoms of a problem rather than the cause".

He added: "The government can't hope to stem the tide of teen drinking without getting to grips with the underlying problem - the affordability and availability of alcohol."

Education secretary Ed Balls recently launched the nationwide crackdown on teenage binge drinking, responding to feedback from police and youth services who say that alcohol remains a major factor influencing low-level youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

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