This campaign will run through till March 2011 and will focus on delaying the age at which children start to drink, and then reducing the amount consumed if they are drinking. In developing the campaign we found that parents remain key to young people’s attitudes and approach to alcohol but that most parents leave it too late to start discussing alcohol with their children (typically up to a year after they’ve started drinking) and often don’t have a clear approach to tackling the issue (often backed by a lack of information).

The campaign website can be accessed here: http://whyletdrinkdecide.direct.gov.uk/

The campaign will focus on changing this and taking a preventative approach with younger children who haven’t yet established their approach to alcohol. It aims to highlight the risks associated with drinking at a young age, particularly those that are major concerns for parents.

TV and Radio ads will be running from January through to March, with press advertising running primarily from May onwards.

About stakeholder engagement

To help stakeholders develop local activity over the course of the campaign, we developed a stakeholder section on the website which includes a range of support materials available both online and as hard copy for stakeholders to use, as well as a library of advice and information to accompany the campaign. The stakeholder website can be accessed at http://whyletdrinkdecide.direct.gov.uk/stakeholders/

From that section of the website, you can register as a stakeholder in order to get regular updates.