Trafford residents are being urged to help tackle the harm caused by alcohol, following alarming new figures concerning the cost of abuse to our society.
Harms associated with alcohol are costing Greater Manchester's public services £1.3 billion a year, new figures announced today reveal. Amounting to almost £500 for every resident, this is the annual amount we are paying through health, social care, crime and work costs because of the way we drink.
The stark figure was announced by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership as they launched The Big Alcohol Conversation, a major new initiative exploring alcohol-related harm across the city region.
A Big Alcohol Conversation bus tour roadshow is visiting Trafford to promote the initiative. It will be at Stretford Mall on Saturday 8 December from 9am-5pm to enable residents to get involved.
Cllr Judith Lloyd, Trafford Council Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:
It is worrying that thousands of children in Greater Manchester live with alcohol-dependent or binge-drinking adults, causing anxiety, worry and stress. This roadshow can educate people on the need to manage their drinking sensibly and reduce the devastating and costly impact alcohol can have on our families and communities across the region.
More than 22,000 Greater Manchester hospital admissions a year are directly caused by alcohol, while almost a quarter of our residents (23%) say that there is a big problem with people being drunk or rowdy in public places. Regularly drinking beyond 14 units a week increases the risks of a range of illnesses, such as cancers, heart and liver disease, brain damage and dementia.
Meanwhile, over 15,000 Greater Manchester children live with alcohol dependent adults. In addition, almost one in three under 16s have previously been estimated to live with at least one parent who binge drinks – the equivalent of 165,000 children across the city region.
In response to these findings, the Big Alcohol Conversation is examining the scale and nature of alcohol-related harm across Greater Manchester and identifying how it can best be reduced. The wide-reaching engagement exercise is looking to gather the views of thousands of people across the city region, learning more about the role of alcohol in their lives and communities and their opinions on ways in which a safer approach to alcohol can be secured.
A number of new potential options are available to help tackle alcohol-related harm in Greater Manchester. These include additional restrictions on the marketing and sale of alcohol, increased information and education around related harms, greater opportunities for people to socialise without alcohol, and easier access to high quality support.
Any new measures would build on some innovative steps already introduced across Greater Manchester. These include a pioneering Communities in Charge of Alcohol programme through which local volunteers are trained as community alcohol health champions to provide advice and help create a more responsible approach to alcohol in neighbourhoods.
In addition, the Mayor and his night-time economy advisor Sacha Lord has announced funding for an extra 150 Drinkaware 'crew' staff members in bars and clubs to help those who may be vulnerable as a result of drinking too much alcohol.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
Greater Manchester is an amazing place to live and to visit, with a vibrant nightlife and a strong sense of togetherness. No-one is saying that people shouldn’t enjoy themselves with a drink, but it’s also true that alcohol abuse is causing more harm to people and communities than is often recognised. I’m calling on residents and businesses to join in our Big Alcohol Conversation as we seek to minimise alcohol harm.”
James Carter, a Communities in Charge of Alcohol (CICA) volunteer alcohol health champion from Salford, said: “
I started drinking with friends in the 90’s. It was just a bit of fun and it didn’t seem a problem – but it became every day. After I had an internal bleed, I thought ‘I’m not going to drink anymore’. The first year was really hard, I didn’t seek the help I needed.
When I did go to my local support service, it was a slow process, I was fighting a battle and just hoped I could make it through. After I received so much help I thought I want to use the knowledge I’ve got to give something back’.
The Big Alcohol Conversation is running until the end of February 2019. People can get involved by visiting www.thebigalcoholconversation.org, using #GMbigalcoholconversation on social media, or by attending a Big Alcohol Conversation bus tour roadshow which is calling at 20 prominent locations across the city region. The first round of visits is as follows:
• Friday 16 November, 10am-6pm – Salford Shopping Centre car park, Pendleton Road
• Saturday 17 November, 9am-5pm – Bolton Town Hall, Victoria Town Square
• Sunday 18 November, 9am-5pm – Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
• Wednesday 21 November, 10am-6pm – Oldham Market
• Friday 23 November, 9am-5pm – Ashton Markets, Bow Street, Tameside
• Saturday 24 November, 9am-5pm – The Rock shopping centre, Bury
• Sunday 25 November, 11am-7pm – REDROCK centre, Stockport
• Wednesday 28 November, 10am-6pm – Smith Street, Rochdale
• Saturday 1 December, 9am-5pm – Bradshawgate, Leigh Town Centre, Wigan
• Saturday 8 December, 9am-5pm – Stretford Mall, Trafford
Views gathered during the Big Alcohol Conversation will contribute to Greater Manchester’s ‘Ambition for Alcohol’, a high-level plan of action for tackling alcohol-related harm across the city region due to published during 2019.
Posted on Friday 16th November 2018