You will already be acutely aware of alcohol's influence on health, crime and disorder and the economy. As a region we are sleep-walking into problems with alcohol and there is a serious price to pay, for all of us:
- The North East is home to 12 of the top 20 areas for binge drinking in England
- Alcohol misuse costs the region more than £1billion a year
- The North East has the second highest number of incapacity benefit claimants in England due to alcohol
- It has the highest number of teenage conceptions
- 46% of all crime is alcohol related
- We have some of the highest rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the country.
Balance, The North East Alcohol Office, will launch The Big Drink Debate in June to find out more about peoples' drinking habits and their attitude towards alcohol. At this stage, Balance is not trying to change people's behaviour - it wants to engage with the public and gather views through genuine debate.
To do this successfully we need your help.
To give you a flavour of Balance's aims and to identify how we can work in partnership to start a regional debate on alcohol, we would like to invite you to join us at one of our exclusive preview events taking place in June 2009.
Dates, times and venues:
Thursday 4th June 2009
Newcastle United Football Club
St James' Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
9.30am to 12.30pm
Wednesday 10th June 2009
The MTLC
Cargo Fleet Lane
Middlesbrough
9.30am to 12.30pm
What can I expect on the day?
A chance to hear from high profile speakers including Chief Constables, senior Government Office staff, leading front line clinicians and managers of treatment services.
Your opportunity to join in the debate and be among the first to see The Big Drink Debate campaign before its public launch.
Take away an information pack and Big Drink Debate campaign materials which you can use within your own organisation.
To find out more visit balancenortheast