Alcohol And Drug Use Policy Initiatives

Alcohol And Drug Use Policy Initiatives



Alcohol And Drug Use Policy Initiatives

Introduction

Promoting healthy lifestyles for people in England and Wales is an important governmental responsibility. The Department of Health runs initiatives to help people quit smoking, eat better and exercise more, as well as health screening projects and training and skills programmes.

Policy on Drug and Alcohol

From the Department of Health the prevention package raises the focus on prevention as a means of ensuring good health, well-being and independence in later life, by promoting and encouraging uptake of comprehensive health and social care services for older people. The prevention package: brings together information on existing health 'entitlements' including sight tests, flu vaccination and cancer screening; promotes best practice around falls prevention and effective fracture management; introduces measures to improve access to affordable foot care services; updates national intermediate care guidance; summarises existing progress on audiology and telecare.

A new hard-hitting £1m TV and online Frank advertising campaign which shows the dangers of cocaine has been unveiled by the government. The campaign is centred on Pablo the drug mule dog', who died as he was being used to smuggle cocaine into the country. Waking from the dead, he goes on a mission to find out the truth about the risks and consequences of taking the drug. The adverts, which will launch on Channel 4, satellite channels and online are aimed at 15-18 year olds and signpost young people to the Frank website. Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said, "The new hard-hitting adverts emphasise that the harms caused by cocaine can be wide-ranging. Taking cocaine can have serious consequences, legally and socially, as well as from a health and environmental point of view. "Young people need to be aware of the dangers and Frank is the ideal messenger for this as an established and trusted service" he continued. Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said, "There's a darker side to using cocaine which this campaign exposes. Addiction, personality change and the risk of heart attacks even at a young age can ruin the health and lives of cocaine users and their families."

Frank will also launch a new action pack to help those working with young people to understand the complexity of issues surrounding cocaine and how they can link their work to the new campaign. Full of information, facts and statistics and activity ideas, it explains what the law says, why cocaine is a problem and the dangers associated with its use.

Frank is the United Kingdom government's national anti-drug campaign. The campaign was established in 2003 and is principally aimed at teenagers. It is advertised and promoted through TV, radio, and the web. Frank provides the following services for people who seek information and/or advice about drugs Frank has also been accused of presenting misleading, and in some cases entirely false, information about drugs. One example occurred in 2007 when the site had to remove an article entitled "Cannabis Explained" after several groups pointed out glaring errors in the information ...