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Southport Reporter® covering the news on Merseyside.

Date:- 20 August 2007

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TEACHING YOUNG PEOPLE NEW TRICKS

DOGS Trust Merseyside is delighted to be initiating dog training classes for young adults between the ages of 10 and 16. This Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme will aim to get each candidate up to scratch for their Kennel Club Bronze Test- in just 6 short weeks! On the last evening each candidate will take their test. The test compromises of the basic dog positions, for example: SIT-STAND-DOWN. They will also have to walk nicely on the lead and stay when instructed to.

Each class consists of just 6 candidates at any one time and will be run on a Wednesday evening between 19:15 and 20:00 throughout the year, starting on 22 August 2007. Using a variety of engaging activities the workshops are aimed to make learning about training dogs’ fun and also dips into being a responsible dog owner and caring for your dogs.

Hollie Sevenoaks, Dogs Trust Youth Education Manager comments:- “Responsible dog ownership is extremely important and through these Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme classes, young adults get to learn in a fun and enjoyable way. Students will also have the opportunity to air any concerns regarding dogs they may have and iron out any areas in training that may not have been as easy to do at home. These young adults are the dog owners of tomorrow and it is great to see them having strong opinions on responsible dog ownership and setting an example to their peers”

Dogs Trust has 17 Rehoming Centres across the UK, and the charity cares for 15,000 dogs every year. For further information and to sign up for this workshop please call Angela Madigan at Dogs Trust Merseyside on 015148956722. Please feel free to look at this website.

 

THE ALTERNATIVE GOURMET' JOINS LIVERPOOL FOOD LOVERS FESTIVAL

LEARN to eat yourself healthier and boost energy levels at unique food event.  A new food concept The Alternative Gourmet is coming to the Liverpool Food Lover Festival (3 September 2007 to 16 September 2007) with an imaginative food evening aimed at inspiring people to eat more healthily.

The brainchild of Nutritional Therapist Helen Turner, the event, which takes place on Wednesday 12 September, will provide food lovers with a unique four course meal, plus lots of advice on health and nutrition.  The meal will be designed specifically with no salt, refined sugar, trans fat, wheat or dairy ingredients but still is guaranteed to be a tasty experience, with the added benefit of being especially good for you.

Taking place at Deli Fonseca on Stanley Street, the menu has been developed in conjunction with Candice Fonseca owner of Deli Fonseca and her head chef Martin Cooper.

Helen Turner, comments:- “Many foods can contribute to ill health and on this evening we’re hoping to highlight how eating the right foods can actually be beneficial to our health and vitality”

The meal will cost £28, and will start at 7.30pm with a talk by Helen.

Cathy Valey of North West Fine Food who is organising the Liverpool Food Lovers Festival comments:- “We have chocolate fantasy evenings, the tallest sandwich attempt and a special dinner by London Carriage Works and now an Alternative Gourmet Evening. The Festival is proving to cater for all types of tastes.”

The evening is limited to 50 places and to reserve call 0151 255 0808.

Click on to find out more!

Alcohol affects poorer communities across England

WITH high levels of deprivation, the North West has more alcohol-related deaths and ill health than other English regions and the gap is increasing.  A new report for the Chief Medical Officer released by the (National) Association of Public Health Observatories reveals the full extent of the suffering experienced by populations across England as a result of alcohol consumption.  It identifies the North West region as having some of the greatest problems due to links with deprivation. In particular, poorer communities are suffering higher levels of alcohol-related mortality, hospital admission, crime, absence from work, school exclusions, teenage pregnancy and road traffic accidents due to greater levels of alcohol consumption.

Overall the report, Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 8: Alcohol, explores the impact of alcohol across the 9 English regions using 36 different indicators of alcohol-related harm, health and behaviour.  Key findings from the report show that:-

• There are substantial differences in the health consequences of alcohol use between richer and poorer communities across England and the North West...  For instance, the most deprived 5th of communities suffer 2 to 3 times greater loss of life, mortality and admission to hospital related to alcohol than the more affluent areas. In the North West, on average men living in the more deprived areas lose 20 months of life and women lose 9 months because of conditions related to alcohol, compared with 6 months for men and 3 months for women living in more affluent areas.

Nationally and regionally, areas where young, highly qualified, but not very well-off people live experience higher than expected levels of mortality, life lost and admission to hospital (indicating places where alcohol issues are likely to worsen in the future).

• There are around 1.55 million people drinking to harmful levels in England: the North East, North West and Yorkshire and The Humber generally show higher levels of excessive alcohol consumption than other regions. In the North West, 28% of men and 18% of women drink at hazardous or harmful levels.

• Across all regions, the most deprived places have the highest recorded levels of chronic liver disease, incapacity claims due to alcoholism, unauthorised school absences, teenage conceptions, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, crime and violence related to alcohol. For every 1,000 people living in the North West, each year alcohol leads to: at least 18 people being admitted to hospital, 10.7 crimes and 2 claims for incapacity benefit.

The report also shows that for some indicators, the already pronounced gap between regions is widening even further. For example;

Binge drinking, in females in particular, has continued to increase in the north but some areas in the south showed a decrease over the last 5 years. In the North West, 22% of men and 10% of women now binge drink.

Life lost and mortality related to alcohol are increasing across England but typically are doing so faster in the North West, where 6.4% of men and 4.2% of women now die from a condition related to alcohol.

All regions show an increase in the proportion of people admitted to hospital due to alcohol but there are greater increases in the North West and North East than elsewhere.

Commenting on the report Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, said:- “Alcohol misuse has become a major problem in England that contributes greatly to ill health and inequalities across the regions. I welcome the report and hope it will encourage public health leaders to find innovative and creative ways to reduce the impact of harmful drinking.”

Professor Mark Bellis, Director of the Centre for Public Health, North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) and co-author of the report, said:- “Alcohol is now destroying the health gains we have made by reducing smoking. Each year more people are developing alcohol related diseases and there are now around 3,260 deaths relating to alcohol every year in England with more in the North West than in any other region. Every man dying from an alcohol-related cause loses on average 21 years of life and every woman loses 15 years. This report catalogues the real price we are paying for cheap alcohol and a culture where drinking to excess is not only tolerated but often encouraged.”

Dr Karen Tocque, Director of Science and Strategy at the NWPHO and co-author of the report commented:- “These indicators reveal the huge variation between different regions of England in patterns of alcohol consumption and the negative effects they have on people’s health and wellbeing. We have also been able to highlight detailed differences between local communities, which measure just how big a contribution alcohol makes to widening health gaps across England.”

Dr Ruth Hussey, Regional Director of Public Health in the North West, said:- “The impact of alcohol on our lives is clear and our overall aim is to reduce the number of preventable deaths in the region caused by alcohol. There are already many initiatives underway designed to help reduce levels of alcohol consumption within key groups, and to help and treat those people who start to suffer the ill health effects of excessive use. However, far more action is needed to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. We want to work further with all agencies, from licensing authorities to the hospitality industry, employers, the NHS and the general public to curb the damaging effects of alcohol – this is a wake up call for all of us.”

This report will act as a reference document, providing the latest and most comprehensive information available on alcohol to a wide range of agencies involved in promoting and protecting public health. Such detailed information, as provided by the report, will act as a warning sign and help to identify areas and populations who are likely to be at risk in the future.

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