Buckinghamshire Drugs and Alcohol Strategy 2023 to 2028

Welcome to the Buckinghamshire Drugs and Alcohol Strategy 2023 to 28.

Many people in our society drink alcohol. The majority of adults drink alcohol at lower risk levels. But while the people who tend to drink less have been successfully cutting back over recent years, those who already drink heavily are consuming more.

This misuse of alcohol, and the use of drugs, can have devastating consequences for the person and for those around them.

These issues also carry a significant financial cost to our society – it is estimated that drug misuse costs £19 billion per year, and the harms from alcohol costs £21 billion.

Drugs and alcohol dependence often co-exist with other health and social inequalities, like poor mental health and homelessness.

Working collectively to address each individual’s range of needs is critical to achieving successful recovery.

To develop this strategy we have held a series of multi-agency workshops, as well as establishing our new Buckinghamshire Combating Drugs Partnership. All our engagement has emphasised the need to prevent drug and alcohol misuse and act early, and to focus on the positives of resilience and recovery. We are also committed to taking into account the views of people with drugs and alcohol problems and their families to help shape our work.

We want this strategy to empower and support our residents and communities to take a more active role in preventing and

reducing the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol in Buckinghamshire. I would like to thank all our partners for their enthusiasm, commitment and hard work in developing this strategy. We look forward to continuing to work with a wide range of partners and our communities to implement our strategy.

Dr Jane O’Grady

Director of Public Health and Community Safety
Chair of the Combating Drugs Partnership