Clampdown on Youth Drinking Widens its Impact

An award-winning campaign aimed at tackling underage drinking by raising awareness of the negative effects and offence of buying alcohol for under 18s, known as a proxy purchase, is now running in three new areas of Scotland, with more aiming to come on stream.

The ‘You’re Asking For It’ campaign was first trialled in Motherwell and Wishaw in 2015, followed by Leith in 2016 and was delivered North Lanarkshire wide in 2017. At an event in Motherwell earlier this year campaigners shared experience of delivering the campaign and its impact. The event with attendees from local authorities, Police Scotland, retail sector, alcohol producer’s health workers and more also saw the launch of the website www.youreaskingforit.com aimed at supporting those areas who wished to roll out the campaign. As a result the campaign is currently running across Glasgow; Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire and Burntisland, Fife with more areas looking to run the campaign, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverclyde.

John Lee, Chair of the SAIP Campaigns Group and Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish Grocers’ Federation said:

Interest in the campaign has been high. It is great seeing other parts of Scotland picking it up and rolling it out.  We know from our evaluation this campaign has a positive impact in tackling underage drinking. We will be assessing the results from the new areas running the campaign to feed into our plans for 2019. Our aim is to see it rolled out nationally