A SHORT film has been made in Bridgwater to help warn young people about the dangers of drinking.

The short video, produced by students of the Media Academy at Bridgwater College and funded by EDF Energy, aims to highlight some of the risks of excessive drinking.

Sedgemoor District Council’s Community Safety team is also behind the project to warn young people how easily a fun night with friends can turn into something darker when people are under the influence of alcohol.

The launch of the film has been chosen to coincide with Alcohol Concern’s Alcohol Awareness week which this year has the theme ‘Facing our alcohol problem: taking back our health and high streets’.

Alcohol Concern highlights the following national statistics in relation to excessive drinking:  

  • Younger people tend to drink more heavily (exceeding eight units for men and six units for women) on a single occasion than older people.
  • Six% of men aged 65 and over had drunk heavily on at least one day in the previous week, compared with 19% of men aged 45 to 64, 24% of men aged 24-44 and 22% of men aged 16 to 24.
  • Among women the corresponding age groups were 2%, 12%, 16% and 18%. 
  • Alcohol misuse costs England approximately £21bn per year in healthcare, crime and lost productivity costs.
  • Alcohol is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including: mouth, throat, stomach, liver and breast cancers; high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver; and depression.
  • Alcohol-related crime costs £11 billion per year (2010-11 costs, England).