Young families are being targeted as part of a alcohol campaign by NHS Highland.
The board’s director of public health Dr Hugo van Woerden revealed that children as young as three-years-old begin to develop a relationship with alcohol based on attitudes within their family.
He was speaking as he discussed his annual report, in which he branded drinking levels in the north “extremely worrying”.
He found that almost three quarters of young people in Highland have drunk alcohol by the time they are 15-years-old and, although there has been a 10% reduction since 2010, Highland remains above the national average despite recommendations that those under the age of 15 refrain from drinking.
The report also revealed that NHS Highland had to pay out just under £7million each year for alcohol related treatment, while accident and emergency departments deal with an average of 1,052 cases each year.
Speaking after presenting his findings to the board, Dr van Woerden found that children as young as three began to “subconsciously” form their views on alcohol.
He said: “The attitudes of parents and family members are absolutely crucial in forming what children think of as normal when it comes to alcohol.
“Children as young as three-years-old are already subconsciously forming attitudes which will be with them later in life.”
The health board are involved with a campaign which will target families, dubbed “Meet the MacPhersons” which has been created to try and tackle underage drinking.
Deborah Stewart, coordinator for Highland Alcohol & Drugs Partnership explained that families played an important part in helping reduce the level of underage drinking.
She said: “Underage drinking remains a concern as it contributes to a range of negative health and social outcomes. There is also evidence that shows early alcohol use is associated with increased risk of dependency in adulthood and chronic diseases associated with excessive drinking in adults.
By reducing underage drinking we can reduce the risk of alcohol problems developing in adulthood and families can play a part in that by modelling sensible drinking, communicating risks associated with drinking and participating in positive activities. That’s why we would like families to ‘Meet the MacPhersons’.”
The campaign will look at the influence of parents peer pressure and social occasions have on a young person’s decision whether to drink or not.
Cath King, health policy manager with Highland Council who are partners in the initiative said; “The campaign will compliment the substance misuse framework we have developed for schools and the on-line substance misuse toolkit that anyone can access for information.”
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