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Alcohol treatment services in the north-east of England are to be boosted by a new £5 million funding programme.

The Better Health, Fairer Health programme will be launched by minister for the north-east and Newcastle East and Wallsend MP Nick Brown on Friday.

Mr Brown told the Evening Chronicle: "Sadly, drink consumption has been growing and we need to reverse that.

"We need to win the hearts, minds and livers of local people. The health of people living in the north-east has been too poor for too long. We are consistently top of the health league for all the wrong reasons, partly as a legacy of heavy industry and partly because of our lifestyles.

"Within 25 years we want to improve the health of the North East from one of the poorest in the country to the best."

He added: "One of the things we will be focusing on is the growing booze and binge drinking culture."

As part of the programme an alcohol office will set up be based on the Fresh – Smoke Free North East campaign.

Commenting, Newcastle liver specialist Dr Chris Record, told the same paper: "We need a different approach as the north-east has one of the worst rates of alcohol consumption. This would be a very positive step towards addressing these issues."

Article published on 31/01/2008 by DryOutNow.com

DryOutNow.com provides highly practical help for people with alcohol problems, their friends and relatives. DryOutNow.com also provides free resources for healthcare professionals such as medical information and alcohol treatment guidelines.

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