The support came after members received a report, containing some stark figures about alcohol abuse by young people and had recounted some experiences from their own areas.

The new, three-year campaign, set to be launched next year, also has the backing of Grampian Police, NHS Grampian and agencies such as Alcohol Support Limited, Drugs Action Limited, Turning Point Scotland Limited and the Scottish Prisons Service.

At their meeting in Huntly, members were told in the report from the Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Action Team that the local authority's area faced "deep-seated problems, due to the problematic use of alcohol and other drugs, that directly and indirectly threaten the wellbeing and economic prospects of our country."

The report said that Scotland had one of the highest per capita rates of drug-related deaths in the world and, in Aberdeenshire, about " 10 such deaths come to the attention of authorities each year."

The report said also that the toll of alcohol-related deaths "had quadrupled in Scotland in the past 10 years."

The report said that alcohol caused more harm in Aberdeenshire than other drugs and the problems were compounded because of the rural nature of the area, making the provision of a wide range of services difficult to deliver.

About 25 percent of the prison population in Aberdeenshire and 85 percent of all crimes are thought to be related to alcohol or drugs and, for 60 percent of prisoners under the age of 24, alcohol was at the root of their offences.

The cost to Scotland as a whole, of alcohol and drugs, was estimated at between two and six billion pounds, with related healthcare costs in Grampian alone estimated at £20m.

The strategy drawn up to tackle the problem will operate on a number of fronts, including early interventions for children and young people, who start to experiment with alcohol or other drugs, in a bid to prevent it from becoming a serious problem. The plan will also aim to improve access to treatment and support and provide a broader range of mainstream community services.

ADAT team member Ian Strachan, presenting the report, told members that some parents were taking the attitude that they would rather their children were drinking alcohol than taking drugs.

Chairwoman Moira Ingleby said that abuse of alcohol was not just a young people's problem. She said that many older people were drinking at home "and possibly unwittingly influencing their children."