Cheaper to get drunk than to go to the cinema?

A new report published by Balance, the North East Alcohol Office and Alcohol Concern has found that young people are being encouraged to drink to get drunk because of cheap alcohol promotions and adverting showing drinking as a social activity.

The report, 'Binge-Drinking to get drunk', has been launched as part of November's Alcohol Awareness week and surveyed one thousand 16 to 24 year olds from the North East.

The young people who took part in the survey concluded that the way that alcohol is promoted encourages excessive drinking - with some saying that it is often cheaper to buy a three litre bottle of cider than it is to buy a ticket to go to the cinema.

The focus group who were surveyed in the North East said that advertising tended to portray drinking as a social activity essential to having fun, and often sold drinking as the right choice to make when socialising.