YWCA LAUNCHES BINGE DRINKING CONFERENCE

In a bid to tackle the reasons for binge drinking amongst teenagers, YWCA is holding a unique conference this autumn. They plan not only to invite professionals involved in the issue but also young women to explore solutions to the problem.

The charity, which works with disadvantaged young women across England and Wales , is concerned that teenagers who drink excessively are being exposed to risky situations. These may lead to unwanted pregnancies, anti-social behaviour, injury, assault and death.

“We believe that no one person or organisation has the solution and so we hope that by bringing together so many interested parties, including concerned members of the public, we will be able to provide effective solutions.” says Sarah Payne, Chief Executive YWCA.

“We have been planning this conference for some time now. But the recent tragic deaths in Newquay have made us all realise the urgency of the problem. Young people will always want to experiment with alcohol but what we need to do is to find a safe way for them to do so. They also need to know that drinking to excess is not necessary for having a good time.”

A unique feature of the conference will be that about 10 per cent of the audience will be young women. They will be there to voice their opinions and experiences. YWCA is also currently carrying out research into why young women binge drink and how well they understand the risks .The results of this never carried out before research will be presented at the conference.

Speakers include representatives from the Police, the alcohol and retail industry, the NUS and the Prison Service. Representatives from over 400 organisations associated with the problem have been invited to attend as delegates.

“We hope that by bringing together so many interested parties, including young women, we will be able to explore all angles of the problem and be think through some effective solutions which will then be taken forward to Ministers.” says Sarah Payne.

The conference will be held at Central Hall, Westminster , London on Wednesday 21^st October 2009. Booking a place and further information can be obtained at www.ywca.org.uk.

Foster: 1,000 under-14’s admitted to hospital with mental and behavioural disorders due to alcoholMon, 16 Mar 2009

Over 1,000 children under 14 have been admitted to hospital in England for mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol in the last year, according to figures revealed today by the Liberal Democrats.

The information, contained in a Parliamentary answer, shows that:

• 160,931 over 18s were admitted, a 56% increase from five years ago
• 5,223 children aged 14-17 admitted, a 30% increase from five years ago
• 44 under 10s were admitted, with 304 admissions over the last 5 years

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said:

"These astronomical figures show once again that binge drinking is out of control in this country."

"It's particularly shocking that so many of these admissions relate to children under the age of 10. It is now imperative that parents and schools get the resources they need to educate children from a very young age about the dangers of alcohol."

"When there are thousands of children in hospital for serious alcohol related conditions we cannot bury our heads in the sand about the consequences of our drinking culture."

"It is vital that the NHS is equiped to deal with alcohol dependency and other alcohol related conditions."

Non Binge-Drinkers: Kiss Your Rights Goodbye Too.

Anyone with an incling of interest in their fundamental freedom will of course have been concerned by the missuse of terrorism legislation since it was introduced by our Labour government. As well as being used to combat what we're force fed to believe by the government to be an omnipresent terrorist threat, the legislation has been used to curtail the right to protest and assembly. It's been used to increase detention powers of the police despite a total lack of justification and it's been used by local councils to investigate ambitious parents wishing to send their children to certain over-achieving or even just over-subscribed schools.

It should also then be of great concern to many that under proposed legislation to tackle binge drinking and presumably alcohol related anti-social behaviour in general that the government is proposing to allow the police to stop and demand ID from people on the street without any suspission of a crime being committed whatsoever. Presumably those "viz their papers in order" will be allowed to continue to go about their presumably sobre business. What worries me is what would happen to those "vizout their papers in order".

The net effect is that one could be walking along the street minding one's own business and doing nothing wrong, could be stopped and arrested or maybe fined for not having ID. If arrested, one could then be held under terrorist legislation for up to 28 days without charge. Now I don't know about anyone else but in an environment where targets are imposed on our police force by the government in a bid to prove to us, the public that things are actually being done, this has the potential to shift the balance of freedom even further away from us and that makes me livid.