100 million campaign for smart drinking opens in Britain

The ancient greeks advised moderation in all things, and all things in moderation, but in an age given to excess that may not be quite the mantra to live by. But British authorities seem to be rediscovering the virtue of moderation in at least one area – alcohol. Liquor may be quicker for the sucker who helps keep the alcohol industry on a roll but the British authorities have decided to play party pooper.

Britain's £30-billion drinks industry is now under increasing pressure to show it is ready to cooperate with the police and health service to lower the cost of servicing the country's drinking culture. At the same time the industry is desperately seeking to dissuade the government from introducing minimum prices for alcohol.

The alcohol industry funds a charity Drinkaware that promotes responsible drinking. According to its latest survey, one in three young adults has blacked out while drunk, half have vomited after drinking too much and a quarter have no knowledge how they got home.

The charity has now launched a £100 million Campaign for Smarter Drinking to tackle dangerous drinking levels by advising young people to eat on nights out, drink water and plan their journeys home well in advance.

The campaign slogan 'Why let good times go bad?' will figure on 13 million products including bottles and cans as well as thousands of advertising hoardings.

According to Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware, when people are drinking and having fun they may easily get carried away and fail to overstep the line and allow thing to take a turn for the worse. He adds that changing the drinking culture in Britain would not happen overnight, but with the right support, information and advice, young adults can be helped to change their own drinking patterns.