The DCSF is carrying out consumer insight research aimed at establishing which messages will be most effective for reaching under-18s. Once the research is completed in the spring, it will develop a campaign that is likely to combine advertising with grass-roots activity. It is likely that agencies will be appointed by the COI to pitch for the business at this stage.
Under consideration is the establishment of an umbrella brand similar to the drugs-education initiative 'Talk to Frank'. The DCSF aims to appoint agencies to roll out the campaign before the end of the year.
Underage drinking hit the headlines recently after a Warrington man was kicked to death by drunk teenagers.
A report published last week by social inclusion programme Positive Futures and charity Crime Concern revealed that 42% of young people in deprived communities began drinking when they were 13 or younger. Some 39% drank up to 20 units of alcohol a week, while 15% drank more than 20, which is deemed to be in excess of safe drinking levels.
A £10m Home Office binge-drinking campaign aimed at adult drinkers is due to be rolled out in the next few weeks. The work, created by VCCP, will focus on building awareness of the negative effects on health of excessive drinking and what constitutes one unit of alcohol.
The activity will also seek to stress the social harm done by binge-drinking and urge people not to tolerate drunken behaviour from others.
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