Senior Welsh clergy and police call time on binge-drinking

|PIC1|Senior leaders in the Church in Wales and the Welsh police force are uniting in a campaign aimed at overturning the nation's binge drinking culture.

The "Enough is Enough" campaign will target all areas of excessive drinking, from out-of-control revellers in city centres at the weekend to those who enjoy one too many bottles of wine in the evening at home.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan will lead the campaign together with the six other Welsh bishops and the four chief constables of Wales.

People concerned about how much they drink will be invited to make a pledge online to cut down the amount they drink and to stop before they have had too much. After signing up, they will receive a card to remind them of their commitment and give them support against peer pressure.

Dr Barry Morgan stressed that the pledge was not a challenge to give up alcohol altogether but to give up binge drinking.

"Alcohol isn't the problem - it is our attitude to it that counts," he said. "Drinking can be an enjoyable part of our social life but not when we abuse it - harming ourselves and others.

"The challenge is to change our own thinking and the prevailing culture and attitude in Wales which equates a good night out, or even a good night in, with drinking to excess.

"This is what needs challenging and this is why we are saying Enough is Enough."

Enough is Enough, to be launched today at Cardiff University Students' Union, will see the widespread circulation of posters and leaflets highlighting the damaging effects of excessive alcohol consumption and the huge toll binge drinking takes on people, their families and friends, and society as a whole.

The campaign is being backed by Cardiff University Students' Union and the Licensees Forum, and supports the Welsh Assembly Government's Substance Misuse Strategy.

The launch will be joined by South Wales Police Chief Constable, Barbara Wilding, who said, "The aftermath of binge drinking can be clearly seen during the early hours of any Saturday and Sunday morning in A&E waiting rooms across the country, but perhaps more worrying is the fact that in the run up to Christmas and the New Year these waiting rooms will get even busier.

"When people drink to excess they are far more likely to be involved in an accident, or assault, commit a criminal offence, or make themselves sexually vulnerable.

"Something quite clearly needs to be done to change the 'culture' that exists in Wales where drinking to excess is widely accepted."