Homer Simpson is reputed to have said ‘beer is the cause and solution of all of life’s problems’. This sums up the paradox at the heart of the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. These substances bring pleasure and are identified with celebration and enjoyment. Yet, every day, the media tells us about millions of people, including children, who suffer because of their use.

Christian drug awareness charity Hope UK has warned that role models and practical action are needed to turn the tide of binge drinking in the UK. The charity says that alcohol-related hospital admissions have risen 7 per cent in one year and more than doubled in 12 years, whilst in 2007 alone, 5,000 young people under the age of 18 needed to receive emergency treatment after drinking alcohol. Liver disease caused by alcohol, meanwhile, has increased by 200 per cent in 10 years.

Hope UK says, ‘It is clear that information campaigns are not enough to counter the culture of excessive alcohol consumption in the UK.’ ‘Hope UK is convinced that practical action, including peer influence and role modelling, is needed to change the prevailing attitude that alcohol is somehow indispensable for having a good time.’

Hope UK runs sessions across the UK for school children and teenagers, as well as parents, highlighting the benefits of making drug and alcohol free choices. All of its voluntary drug educators are asked to make a personal commitment to live a life free from the use of alcohol and other drugs. Hope UK also encourages the church to include alcohol and other drug issues in its outreach to local communities.

Hope UK recently launched a new three-year strategy to increase the number of its educators from its present 209 volunteers, to 1,000 by the year 2011. Hope UK calls on society to make a commitment to assess their attitude to drinking at the individual level, saying that it was still possible to turn the current trends around.

‘Changing attitudes in society takes time and it takes commitment from all those who want to see a reduction in the harm caused by alcohol. Every individual has the potential to influence those with whom they come in contact.’