16 July 2015: Responding to research by Demos on young people and alcohol, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) said:
“The findings that our young people are consuming less alcohol are welcome one however more research is needed into what is contributing to this decline in order to better understand how to sustain this trend. There is no room for complacency, of those who are drinking, they are drinking at harmful levels and the UK still is one of the few countries in Europe where liver disease is on the increase.
“The figures on falling consumption in young people are based on very small numbers and fail to take account of key demographics such as the changing ethnic mix. Emergency Departments under siege in our hospitals at nights and weekends will not recognise the rosy picture that Demos is trying to paint.
“The alcohol industry should play no part in educating our young people about alcohol since they actively target them with increasingly sophisticated marketing messages via social media, during sporting events and even advertise in cinemas for under-18 certificate films”