A new health campaign is urging people to have an honest discussion about their drinking habits.
The Big Alcohol Conversation will run until the end of February and a bus tour roadshow will visit Victoria Square this Saturday (November 17) from 9am to 5pm.
The campaign has been developed by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC) to gather the views and experiences of thousands of people across the region.
New statistics show that alcohol related crime, social care and health problems cost Greater Manchester £1.3bn a year, the equivalent of £500 per resident.
Feedback from the campaign, including Saturday’s roadshow event, will be used to develop a new safer alcohol strategy for Greater Manchester.
More than 15,000 Greater Manchester children live with alcohol dependent adults while drinking accounts for 22,000 hospital admissions in the city region every year.
Studies also show that higher earners are more likely to drink more than the recommended alcohol limit, increasing the risk of developing a range of illnesses including cancer, heart and liver disease, brain damage and dementia.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Cllr Debbie Newall, said: “Alcohol related harm puts a serious strain on our local services and represents a major threat to the health of individuals and the wider community.
“Saturday’s Big Alcohol Conversation event in Victoria Square is your opportunity to help us understand the full scale of the problem and help develop a plan to fix it.”