The Evening Star has an interview with Suffolk’s Director of Public Health, Dr Amanda Jones. She says:
“Thirty per cent of 15 to 16-year-olds reported binge drinking on at least one occasion in the previous month. The message is no one is trying to stop people drinking. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying alcohol in moderation, but misuse actually is a serious problem.
“Although many young people now drink in an uncontrolled way at times, they do drink less often. They don’t tend to drink every day like older adults, but we know that when they are under the influence it has a much wider effect. It has an affect on crime, anti-social behaviour and sexual behaviour. It has led to a rise in sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies.”
To illustrate the point Dr Jones said there has been a three-fold rise in chlamydia in the past ten to 15 years.
Dr Jones goes on to call for an integrated strategy, pointing out:
“Individual agencies are very limited in what they can do. What we need to do is work jointly. We need a comprehensive strategy which allows us to address all aspects including education, crime and treatment.”
I’m sure that we’d add something about prevention to the list that the strategy needs to cover.
