Press Release

Youth Alcohol Plan - AHA comment

2 June 2008

Professor Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance and RCP President, today welcomed the launch of the Youth Alcohol Action Plan.
He said:

"The current industry standards of best practice to prevent alcohol being sold to young people should become mandatory.

We welcome the comprehensive communications campaign to be run by the DCSF - the results of the review of alcohol and drug education in schools, reporting in June, should be fed into the development of this campaign.

We also welcome the drive to improve alcohol treatment services for young people by addressing issues of access and quality, but this should also include addressing the level of resources available and the appropriateness of the service which is currently mainly aimed at adult drinkers.

While this Plan was not expected to address the price of alcohol, we hope that the forthcoming review into the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm will recommend strong action on price and availability, as they are the key drivers of consumption."