Drinkaware opens alcohol-free café for under-18s

Published: 16 July, 2010

Drinkaware is hoping to highlight the risks of excessive alcohol consumption to 16 and 17-year-olds with the opening of an alcohol-free café in Newquay, Cornwall.

The summer youth campaign will see the Fistral Blu Café, overlooking popular Fistral Beach, transformed into the Got Your Back Café where young people will be able to order discounted food while having access to alcohol facts and information.

The Café will also boasts a photo booth, table football, DJ decks, TV and Wii games, as well as facilities encouraging young people to keep in touch with their friends and stay safe, including internet access and phone charging stations.

Newquay attracts around 6,000 16 to 17-year-olds each summer as groups of friends arrive to celebrate the end of exams. However, last year's celebrations were blighted by a series of accidents including the death of two students who fell from the cliffs, and one who suffered a broken neck.

Launched in conjunction with the Newquay Safe Partnership and spearheaded by the local council and police, Drinkaware's Got Your Back campaign aims to encourage friends to look out for each other, think about the risks of excessive drinking and provide advice to keep teens safe.

Chief executive Chris Sorek said: "There are identifiable links between alcohol use and unprotected sex, injury and accidents, but all too often this is the last thing on young people's minds when they're drinking. Working closely with the Newquay Safe Partnership and positioning ourselves directly in the town enables Drinkaware to tackle the issue of excessive alcohol consumption with young people directly."

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