Conference focus on responsible drinking

HEALTH experts, politicians and business leaders are coming together to discuss ways of encouraging responsible drinking.

The Leeds Alcohol Challenge Conference on Monday will discuss what local organisations can do to reduce alcohol-related harm in the city.

Their main aim is to promote a “safe drinking culture”.

Organised by NHS Leeds and Leeds City Council, the conference will build on previous reports which showed that Leeds’s night time economy creates jobs but that alcohol misuse has hidden costs.

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The chairman of the Healthy Leeds Partnership, Coun Mark Dobson, said: “Organisations working in Leeds, including business and industry, must take the lead in making the reduction of harm caused by alcohol a priority – and we all have a responsibility and a part to play in promoting a sensible drinking culture that reduces violence and disorder, and improves health and wellbeing.”

Dr Ian Cameron, director of Public Health for Leeds, said: “The Leeds Alcohol Challenge Conference will give us an opportunity to have an open and frank debate featuring a wide range of organisations that have an interest in ensuring that we encourage responsible drinking in the city.

“The conference gives local business leaders a chance to see what role they can play in addressing the challenge we are faced with. I look forward to seeing some positive outcomes.”

Lee Le Clercq, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The pub and club sector in Leeds, enjoyed safely and sensibly by hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors every year, directly employs around 15,000 people and contributes more than £270m annually to the city’s economy.

“However, when alcohol is misused the potential dangers to individual health and family stability and, on our streets, the impact on crime and disorder rightly concern us all.”