ࡱ> *,)7 bjbjUU . 7|7| ldddddddx<<<8t x"$M m f<d<ddQ"dddd zUSx<"g0  xxddddND piece March Nick, weve got a bad front page, have you got a story for us? Nick Tegerdine, Executive Director of apas, would like to encourage better informed media advocacy. I think that we can say that the media have caught the lets discuss alcohol bug. I think that I was on TV more times than George Bush last month and obviously talking a lot more sense. However, have the media really got hold of the real issues? Whilst the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity is not a bad one, I am very very concerned about a number of things. Firstly, the clamour and potential for all products containing alcohol being subject to excessive taxation. Why? Tax up, consumption down, problems down is the mantra. Not so simple though is it? Why would we discourage people from using pubs by enabling supermarkets to sell drink cheaper than water? Why is the price differential between on and off trade increasing? Why do we raise taxes on beer but not on ciders, especially the so obviously problematic products that are aimed at dependent drinkers and bottled in the apple growing capital of the UK, Milton Keynes. I worry that the media are not encouraging the Chancellor to think smart in the next budget. Secondly, the health promotion messages and harm reduction. Theres no doubt that you have too much of a good thing, but is society really concerned about that? It is anyone elses business if you indulge your passion for a substance that alters your mood, whether you drink it, inject it, snort it, pop a pill or administer it the French way? We can debate that, but I maintain that the majority of people are concerned about how you behave when youve done it rather than the fact that you have done it. So, lets not get silly about quantities, lets accept that harm to the individual is not bothering politicians and civil servants as much as harm to profile and a probable reduction in votes. The media have got an angle here that has not yet been fully exploited. I wont preach health promotion by the way, but if I did Id be preaching about alcopops and strong ciders, additives in beer and packaged food, not the difference between the safe limits and hazardous consumption. Finally, I worry about the lack of attention given by the media to what I consider are the real problems. Ill identify just two for now: serving people who are drunk (and age is not an issue here), and then advertising (and here I do worry about age). So, and to my many friends in the media, lets film what happens in poorly run pubs, those that are owned by Pubcos and with a simple focus on the bottom line. Lets see people crawling out of city venues, having lost control of their bodily functions and having been over-served vodka and stimulant drinks at two quid for a double. Lets then expose the scandal of just how much promotional material is aimed at kids. After all that very respectable company whose name I can never spell, Doggio or something like that, appears to have a real interest in YouTube for some reason. Obviously they are not trying to influence future consumers are they? It would be helpful to promote good pubs where responsible people can enjoy themselves. There are a few left, but many of them are struggling. Lets celebrate them and their role in the community. We know, from our work at apas, what the problem drinks are and where they are sold, and who by and who to. Lets get at the real problem, its staring us in the face after all. That would make a really good front page. Media, its over to you. PAGE  PAGE 2 Rx| $ 0JmHnHu0J j0JU5\ 56\]6]QR78 @A&`#$&`#$,1h. A!"#$%  i@@@ Normal CJOJQJ_HaJmH sH tH 2`2 Heading 1$@&5\<A@< Default Paragraph Font*B`* Body TextCJ , @, Footer  9r &)@& Page Number QR78   @ A 0000000000000000000000000@0@0@0@0@0@0    !!: >  @      $ > ? A X e p laurencebC:\Documents and Settings\nickt\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of Document2.asdlaurenceZ:\CAMRA\March.doc@? ? \? ? `@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial"hy4Æ4Æ k  Bk  B!r0d  2ND piece MarchlaurencelaurenceOh+'0|  8 D P\dltND piece MarchD p laurenceMarauraur Normal.dotr laurencetr1urMicrosoft Word 9.0@hx@y@J9k ՜.+,0 hp  apaseB   ND piece March Title  "#$%&'(+Root Entry Fp5ZS-1TableWordDocument. SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8!CompObjjObjectPoolp5ZSp5ZS  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q