This new document from the North East alcohol program underlines the critical need for stronger measures to curb alcohol-related harm across the region and the UK, and reveals the latest statistics to demonstrate how the public sees alcohol impacting on daily life.

The blueprint is supported by the Alcohol Health Alliance, the Institute of Alcohol Studies and prominent leaders from across the North East—including Directors of Public Health, Police and Crime Commissioners, the NHS Integrated Care Board for the North East and North Cumbria, and the Mayor of the North East Combined Authority – as well as by individuals who have directly experienced the harm alcohol can cause. It outlines key actions to alleviate the strain that alcohol places on the NHS and wider emergency services.

Stark Statistics Highlight the Need for Action:

• Alcohol contributes to nearly 980,000 hospital admissions and secondary diagnoses in England each year, including conditions such as cardiovascular disease, mental and behavioural disorders, cancers, and liver disease (1).
• Alcohol is a factor in around  525,000 alcohol-related violent incidents a year in England and Wales (2).
• The financial cost of alcohol is immense, with the North East alone incurring costs of around £1.5 billion annually in health, crime and disorder, social care, and economic costs (3), and nearly £27.4 billion across England (4).

Blueprint Aims for Healthier, Stronger and Safer Communities: “Reducing Alcohol Harm” seeks to foster safer, stronger, and healthier communities, empowering people to live free from excessive exposure to alcohol promotion and pressures to drink from the alcohol industry. It calls for a co-ordinated and evidence-based national approach to reduce the damage alcohol inflicts on society and to support individuals in making healthier choices. The blueprint presents compelling evidence of the scale of alcohol-related harm and its impact on community wellbeing, while proposing steps for policymakers, health professionals, and community leaders.

New research highlights the urgency of this call to action:

• 82% of people in the North East believe alcohol is a significant problem both nationally and regionally. (5)
• 83% of people in the North East support measures to limit children’s exposure to alcohol promotion and marketing. (6)
• Nearly 45% feel that the government has not done enough to tackle alcohol harm on a national level. (7)
• 48% support the introduction of a Minimum Unit Price in England (7)
• 67% feel the government has a responsibility to try to protect people from alcohol harms by raising awareness of risks and encouraging people to drink within low risk guidelines. (8)
• 59% say government has a responsibility to try to protect people from alcohol harms by introducing regulations and licensing laws. (9)
  22% of people have been negatively impacted by alcohol consumption in some way in the last year alone. (10)
• Despite record levels of alcohol specific deaths and hospital admissions, regional figures do show some positive signs of change. 62% of people in the North East now are actively taking steps to cut down on their drinking (11), while 15% now abstain from alcohol entirely — the highest rate of non-drinkers recorded in the region (12).