Alcohol Policy UK

Happy hours are here again?

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has withdrawn its voluntary code on cheap drinks and happy hours following legal advice, the Morning Advertiser reports. It has been three years since the code was originally introduced, supporting the case that the industry are capable of self regulating. However there are reportedly serious concerns from within the industry given the overdue release of the KPMG report on the industry's use of voluntary codes, which will inform ministers' decision as to whether impose further laws to control the pricing and availability of alcohol.

In response to the withdrawal of the code, Mark Hastings of the BBPA said:

"We are currently taking legal advice on the status of the BBPA code.

"It's widely recognised that pubs have made enormous strides to tackle irresponsible promotions and we are confident they will continue to operate responsibly."

When asked about the timing of the withdrawal, Hastings said:

"The advice at the time was it was fine, but very recently other questions have arisen and we have to take them seriously. In the meantime, we have to withdraw [the code]."

The decision is a setback for ministers as they near the conclusion of a cross-departmental review of ways to change the drinking behaviour in Britain by tackling cut-price alcohol and drinks promotions, says the Financial Times, which reports that implementing several options favoured by ministers, including setting a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, poses significant legal challenges.

Withdrawing the industry rules on promotions compounds the legal problems facing policymakers, who were focusing on how to act against supermarkets and shops selling cheap alcohol. After the suspension of the standards, pubs and clubs will have independently to decide whether to avoid certain "irresponsible" promotions, rather than sign up to common standards.

Home Office launches £4 million Binge Drinking campaign

The Home Office has launched a 'new, hard-hitting national advertising campaign to drive home the serious consequences of binge drinking to 18 to 24 year olds'. The campaign was launched this week by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and will include television, print and online adverts.

In a Home Office press release for the campaign it was announced the centre piece would be 'two new television adverts that graphically highlight the consequences of binge drinking by reversing the sequence of a night out gone wrong. The adverts show a man and woman getting ready at home for a night out. They end with the man leaving home bloody and damaged and the woman closing her front door with smeared make-up and vomit in her hair.' One of the adverts can be seen in a Guardian article here.

The latest communications strategy comes shortly after the launch of  the Department of Health's £10 million 'Know Your Limits' campaign, aimed at raising awareness over units and supported by the units website. However we recently reported scepticism over such campaigns following a series of media reports and health professionals questioning their effectiveness.

A wide range of media campaigns are now being streamed, including Diageo's 'The choice is yours' campaign which is supported by a number of television adverts; to see one click here. The Department for Transport also recently launched a new Think! Summer drink driving campaign  focusing on the personal and legal consequences of drink driving. Add these to the range of local and regional campaigns and it seems the amount of alcohol messages has snowballed over the last year. However are these campaigns an effective use of resources? Let us know your thoughts below!

Portman group responds to criticism about lack of action on cheap alcohol

The Portman Group has responded to recent criticisms against its lack of action over the cheap availability of alcohol in supermarkets, as reported by the Morning Advertiser. The Portman Group's head of communication, Michael Thompson, emphasised the need to change the drinking culture rather than concentrating on price, stating:

We need to change the drinking culture by making drunkenness socially unacceptable. Proper enforcement of alcohol laws by police, better education and a crackdown on the minority of rogue traders who serve alcohol to children should be our priorities.

We have never claimed to talk on behalf of the whole industry. We represent the major drinks producers on social responsibility.

I understand how frustrating it must be for pubs when they are being driven out of business by supermarkets. But our view remains that changing the culture through proper police enforcement of alcohol laws, better education and tackling a minority of rogue retailers should be priorities.

We are not convinced that price is the major determinant in harmful drinking. On the Continent, where alcohol is far cheaper, they don’t have the same health and social problems associated with alcohol.

The UK Government has commissioned an independent review of the link between price, promotions and harm, which is due to report in the autumn. If this does find evidence of a definite link, however, we’d want to be involved in discussions about what could and should be done.

Scotland proposes ban on under 21s purchasing alcohol

A controversial action plan is expected to be launched this week by Scotland's Justice Secretary, Kenny McAskill, raising the legal age of purchasing alcohol from off-licenses and supermarkets to 21. Under 21s would still be able to purchase alcohol in pubs and bars, but the move is aimed to reduce the availability and misuse of alcohol by young people.

However, the New Scotsman reports significant controversy regarding the proposals, particularly from the industry that claimed the move would 'demonise and mystify' alcohol for young people.   The move is reportedly linked to the apparent success of a pilot scheme in West Lothian, which was linked to significant reduction in alcohol related violence and disorder. Along with the increase in the age limit, the Justice Secretary will also reportedly propose setting minimum prices for alcohol and banning three-for-two and buy-one-get-one-free deals. A recent Times article looks further at the proposals and possible implications.

The new tough line may be defended by the Scottish government's announcement earlier in the year that they would invest £25 million in the screening, prevention and treatment for alcohol misuse.

Jobs: 3 alcohol health promotion posts in Camden -18th of June deadline

Three alcohol Health Promotion Speciailists are to be recruited in the London Borough of Camden to deliver improvements in health and the reduction of inequalities relating to alcohol misuse. The posts wil lead on developing prevention and intervention campaigns, help co-ordinate education and support programmes and work with council colleagues and the alcohol industry to promote sensible drinking.

There are to be three specific areas for each of the jobs:

1) Alcohol and young adults
2) Adults and the workplace
3) Alcohol and children 

For further details please see the NHS site here

The deadlinr for applications is 18^th June 2008

Successful applicants selected for interview will be notified on Monday 23^rd June 2008

.

Interview Date: 26^th June 2008

Youth Alcohol Action Plan published

From the DCSF press office:
A comprehensive plan to stop young people drinking in public; help them make the right decisions about alcohol; and provide clear information to parents and young people about the risks of early drinking was announced today by Ed Balls, Jacqui Smith and Alan Johnson in the Government’s Youth Alcohol Action Plan.

The Action Plan sets out what the Government will do to address drinking by young people in three main ways:

• Working with police and the courts to stop it, making it clear that unsupervised drinking by young people under-18 in public places is unacceptable
• Recognising that drinking by young people in the home is clearly the responsibility of parents and families, but providing clearer health information for parents and young people about how consumption of alcohol can affect children and young people. The Action Plan announces that the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson will produce clear guidelines for families
• Working with the alcohol industry to continue the good progress made to reduce the sale of alcohol to under-18s but also in marketing and promoting alcohol in a more responsible way.

While the proportion of young people who drink regularly has fallen, the consumption of alcohol by those who do drink has risen sharply. And the ways in which young people are drinking have changed. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan promises a powerful package of action to tackle this:

• New laws to stop young people drinking in public places, including a new offence to tackle persistent possession of alcohol
• New authoritative guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer about young people, alcohol and health
• Establishing a new partnership with parents by providing them with clear information they need to guide their children towards low risk drinking
• Supporting and encouraging young people themselves through publicity campaigns and education in schools to make the right decisions about alcohol.

Three quarters of drinkers do not know units in glass of wine

77% of drinkers do not know that a typical glass of wine contains 3 units, according to a  YouGov survey of 1,429 people. A BBC report said the survey, conducted on behalf of the Department of Health, also found that a third of people did not know their recommended daily limits of 3-4 units per day for a man and 2-3 units per day for a woman. The study also showed that of those surveyed, half drank alcohol at least two to three times per week although 82% reported to knowing what a unit of alcohol was.

The findings come as the Department of Health continues a further campaign to raise unit awareness, although there has been increasing discussion over the effectiveness of such messages.

NHS statitics on alcohol report prompts further calls for action

The NHS this week released the report Statistics on alcohol: England 2008, compiled from a range of previously published alcohol related information and data. Whilst the report may not contain new data, it has re-emphasised the growing cost of alcohol misuse and prompted a range of news and media reports.

A Guardian article quoted a number of leading figures speaking in response, including the Public Health minister, Dawn Primarolo, who referred to the new £6 million campaign launched this week to raise alcohol unit awareness. Spokespersons for the British Liver Trust and drugs charity Turning Point raised concerns over the growing level of harm from alcohol and long waits some face to receive treatment. Professor Ian Gilmore of the Royal College of Physicians continued to call for  further controls on the extent of cheap and readily available alcohol. A report from the Department of Health is expected in July that will inform the government on the impact of price and harm to society, following earlier reports that such moves would be considered if supermarkets and retailers continued to act irresponsibly.

An article in the Times highlighted the growing concern over alcohol misuse by young people, citing the Office for National Statistics data that showed more 13 year olds had drank alcohol than not, whilst also drawing attention to a Home Office audit that had found extensive abuse of voluntary codes of practise by retailers.

Scepticism over alcohol awareness messages as national campaign launches

A number of reports and medical professionals have recently raised further questions over the effectiveness of campaigns warning against the risks of excessive drinking. A recent BBC story announced that campaigns have 'the wrong focus' as they do not recognise the harm being caused from older drinkers at home as they highlight only the risks of young binge drinkers.

A Guardian article also warned that binge drink scare tactics 'do not work', citing research from the University of Bath. Dr Andrew Bengry-Howell  has called for the government to take a more realistic approach to communicating messages around alcohol:

'A more sensible approach would be to say to people, "We know you are going to drink to get drunk, so make sure you do not do it very often",' said Bengry-Howell. 'Or helping them to plan a night out so that it is safer, or suggesting they drink soft drinks in between alcoholic ones. Not just lecturing them about the number of units, because the guidelines are so low.'

Today the launch of the government's national alcohol harm reduction campaign which continues the previous Know Your Limits campaigns, with a shift in focus to people drinking at home.  TV ads will start tonight; see one of them at the Guardian, here.

Female drink offences 'soar' shows channel 4 news

A report by channel 4 news has shown that drink offences by women have increased by as much as 1000%, according to figures obtained from police forces across the country. The Guardian reports this equates to an overall 50% rise over the last five years. The findings  follow the recent announcment that alcohol fuelled violence by women has risen 60% in Scotland. In response to channel 4's findings, Mike Craik, chief constable of Northumbria police expressed the need to look further towards reviewing the pricing of alcohol, discounting promotions and advertising as well as further action on underage drinking. Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern highlighted that promoters are still targeting young women with drinks promotion and cheap alcohol, as the industry has not passed on increases in alcohol duty to the consumer.

In response the Home Office said it would be launching a further multi-million pound alcohol campaign in the summer.