The kids are OK; it’s time we took a good look at ourselves.

That’s the clear message from new figures that show that 55 per cent of Melbourne drinkers who require an ambulance are men aged over 50.

Depression and loneliness are being blamed as the key triggers for the binge drinking.

Sharon Matthews, a researcher at Turning Point, said older Australians have been forgotten in healthy drinking campaigns.

‘My guess is that most of the messaging around alcohol intoxication and unhealthy drinking practices has largely been focused on younger people,’ she told Tony Jones on 3AW Mornings.

‘This older group has just been completely ignored … so they don’t identify with harmful drinking messages.

‘We’ve got quite good at dealing with younger people … I think the same degree of effort needs to be put into those 40+.’

Click play for the full interview