| 1 | 1 | | Many former Westminster pupils must have been surprised to learn last week that |
| 2 | | their school's headmaster, Dr John Rae , had taken a job in the cut-throat commercial |
| 3 | | world of brewing. Rae is the first director of the Portman Group set up by eight drinks |
| 4 | | companies to encourage sensible drinking, particularly among teenagers. |
| 2 | 5 | | He has moved from the educational concern of which he was director, 'basically |
| 6 | | because I was offered the job'. He says: 'What appealed to me most was whether it was |
| 7 | | possible through education to produce a generation of young people who have a sensible |
| 8 | | attitude to alcohol. We are not going to produce a generation of angels from one moment |
| 9 | | to the next, and l've got no background in alcohol-related problems, but I do have some |
| 10 | | idea of what can be achieved through the right education .' |
| 3 | 11 | | He knows from experience that it is impossible to stop young people from drinking, |
| 12 | | whatever measures are employed. 'Alcohol and pub-going were absolutely forbidden at |
| 13 | | Westminster,' he says. 'But of course it went on.' |
| 4 | 14 | | So how does he plan to tackle the problern ? Rae is convineed th at the best way to |
| 15 | | persuade people to drink sensibly is to have the right kind of education programme. Tm |
| 16 | | aware of the failure of campaigns aimed at persuading young people not to smoke or |
| 17 | | take heroin,' he says. 'We have to get over the message th at, unlike nicotine and heroin, |
| 18 | | alcohol can be enjoyed in reasonable amounts.' |
| 5 | 19 | | He would like to see advertisements emphasising how overdrinking can lead to |
| 20 | | becoming a fat slob, and to troublesome behaviour th at is both unattractive and weak. He |
| 21 | | wants to see sensible drinking presented in a positive light: as a welcome part of a good |
| 22 | | meal and an aid to conversation. Tm not anti-alcohol,' he says, 'and I don't see it as |
| 23 | | evil.' |
| 6 | 24 | | Rae is concerned, however, about the way pubs and alcohol are presented on |
| 25 | | television, 'The most famous TV series take place around pubs. In these serials, drinking |
| 26 | | is shown to be as natural as breathing. If you ask the BBC why there is so much drinking |
| 27 | | on the telly, they say it's their job to reflect society. But these series don't reflect a society |
| 28 | | that anybody actually lives in.' |
| 7 | 29 | | On the other hand, Rae is wary of people who exaggerate the problems - the UK |
| 30 | | ha s one of the lowest alcohol consumptions in the world. ' If you have campaigns saying |
| 31 | | there are seven million problem drinkers in thi s country, people just shut off. They know |
| 32 | | it's not true.' |
| 8 | 33 | | Nor will he emphasise the long-term risks - one in ten drinkers becomes addicted. |
| 34 | | In stead, the main thrust of his strategy will be to show teenagers th at drinking causes |
| 35 | | stupid and dangerous behaviour. Td like to destroy the myth of macho drinking - for |
| 36 | | instanee in golf clubs, rugby clubs and officers' messe s, where you are still seen as a |
| 37 | | wimp if you ask for mineral water and a real man if you knock back double whi skies.' |
