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Special Report: Alcohol related deaths double in the North West
At the start of Alcohol Awareness Week, our correspondent Mel Barham has a series of reports in which we are all being urged to re-examine our relationship with drink.
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- Mel Barham, ITV News
Would slapping a minimum price on alcohol make us think about what we drink?
All this week we've had a series of special reports into the relationship we, here in the North West, have with alcohol.
We've seen the devastating effects drinking too much has had on individuals and their families.
But tonight, in the last of her special reports, our correspondent Mel Barham looks at minimum pricing of alcohol and other plans for cutting down our consumption:
Call for the price increases on the cheapest alcohol.
Health experts in the North West are calling for the cheapest alcohol to be made more expensive to tackle the growing problem of alcohol abuse.
This region has some of the highest death rates in the country - and 11 million of us are drinking at levels that pose a risk to our health
Experts say that a minimum unit price would help to reduce that toll.
Dr Arif Rajpura is the director of public health for Blackpool.
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- Mel Barham, ITV News
The worrying impact of budget cuts on alcohol treatment services
Fears are growing that cuts to funding in the region could be putting lives at risk for those battling alcohol problems.
Experts say that demand for treatment far outstrips supply.
And that many people are being forced to seek private care due to cutbacks.
Ian Smith is an Addictions Counsellor for Oasis Recovery Communities in Runcorn.
- ITV Report
Alcohol: how to know if you have a problem
Grieving Mother's warning after alcohol claims her daughter's life
A mother from Liverpool whose daughter died after battling alcohol addiction for 25 years is warning of the consequences of heavy drinking among women.
Debbie White says she'll never forget the shock of being told her 38-year-old daughter Vicky had total liver failure.
Back in 1994, 258 women died in our region from alcohol-related issues.
By 2016 that figured had almost doubled.
WATCH: the second of correspondent Mel Barham's special reports:
- ITV Report
New figures reveal alcohol related deaths have doubled in the North West
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