Policy & Practice: Soapbox - We must join together to combatunderage drinking

The not-so-good news? The March announcement was predictably strong on hopes and ambitions but less clear about detailed means of getting to grips with the issue.

We should use this period after the launch of the strategy to help ministers fill in some of this detail. This can be achieved by forging effective partnerships between the youth and alcohol fields to tackle the increasing problems.

That these problems exist is beyond dispute. Statistics show that underage drinking has doubled in the past 10 years and that young people who drink outnumber those who don't by the age of 13. They also reveal that 56 per cent of 15- to 16-year-olds binge drink at least once a month, and that young people are more likely to have risky sex when they've overdone the drinking.

Problem drinking among young people rarely requires specialist treatment and for many it is only one facet of a troubled life. It is vital that non-specialist professionals are able to pick up on it.

Any initiatives also need to adopt a harm-reduction approach that accepts that young people in the 21st century come under pressure to drink, and helps them to identify and deal with risky situations rather than lecture them.

The strategy provides an excellent opportunity to develop and promote good practice in two of its key themes - education and crime and disorder.

In the former, the strategy looks at the innovative Blueprint project as a way of changing attitudes and behaviour. The project works with 11- to 13-year-olds, parents and the community and it is a good start.

The crime and disorder element of the strategy focuses too much on symptoms without dealing with root causes. Fixed penalties for antisocial behaviour have their place, but so do arrest-referral schemes that divert young people away from drunkenness.

In short, the alcohol strategy provides a big opportunity for those concerned about young people's drink problems.

This will require new alliances between the alcohol field and organisations working with young people. If any readers of Young People Now want to join us in forging such alliances, we'd be delighted to hear from them.

- Got something to say in Soapbox? steve.barrett@haynet.com or 020 8267 4707.