THE public are being asked to submit their views on what can be done to tackle the drug and alcohol abuse crisis in Northern Ireland.
A questionnaire is being launched by the Department of Health as part of a plan to create an improved strategy for reducing substance related harm and deaths.
Earlier this month a coroner held a joint inquest into the deaths of four alcoholics to highlight the dangers of excessive drinking.
Belfast coroner Joe McCrisken warned that the official recorded figures for alcohol-related deaths were the "tip of the iceberg".
One of the men who died was just 36-years-old and was drinking 100 tins of beer a week.
Speaking about the department's new drive, permanent secretary Richard Pengelly said he wanted to start a "conversation" about what a new or improved strategy might look like.
"The pre-consultation exercise gives the public the opportunity to have their say on the vision, focus and priorities of a strategy and to directly inform future developments in policy and practice," he said.
He singled out some of the "successes" of the current NHS strategy such as a reduction in young people binge drinking to get drunk.
"Drug misuse among young people has also fallen significantly. However, substance misuse is still an ongoing problem which is reflected in the tragic alcohol and drug related deaths we are still seeing."
Latest government figures show there were almost 1,300 alcohol-linked deaths between 2013 and 2017 in the north, of which 887 were men.
There was also a 65 per cent increase of the number of women dying from alcohol abuse over the same four-year period.
Dr Michael McBride, the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, said they are dealing with people abusing multiple substances.
"The misuse of prescription medicines, and the high risk associated with polydrug misuse, which is using more than one drug - including alcohol - at the same time, is still having a huge impact on our society," he said.
"We need to look for new and innovative ideas and we want to have a wider conversation about substance misuse in society. I therefore encourage everyone with an interest to have their say and help inform the future direction of any new substance misuse strategy for Northern Ireland."
An online consultation is underway and the department is hosting a series of pre-consultation events and one-to-one meetings.
The questionnaire is available on the department's website at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/consultations/nsd-pre-consultation
