‘Three As’ strategy to beat alcohol problem

A NEW alcohol strategy will be introduced in an attempt to tackle a Yorkshire town’s drinking problems – which are as likely to affect stressed professionals as they are to involve street drinkers.

Statistics for alcohol abuse show that almost one per cent of hospital admissions for men in Barnsley can be blamed on alcohol and although the figure for women is lower, both are significantly higher than the national average.

Work is being finalised on a new alcohol strategy by Barnsley Council’s public health unit, which aims to introduce a ‘three As’ approach to drinking, tackling affordability, availability and acceptability. Public health bosses have stressed they understand the social role that alcohol plays in today’s society and want to ensure drinking is done within safe and acceptable levels. The head of public health in Barnsley, Diane Lee, said acceptability was a difficult factor for the public to address, adding: “I think that is the hardest one for us, as individuals, how acceptable we think it is to go out and get drunk. “Some people go out with the sole purpose of getting drunk as quickly as they can and some people have grown up thinking that is normal. The profile of people who drink excessively is changing.” She admitted that changing cultural outlooks on such issues can take decades. “These things sometimes take a long time, it can be a generational issue,” she added.