Alcohol Policy UK

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.

Women and Alcohol: Scotland sees 60% rise in alcohol-fuelled violence by women

A 60% rise in violence by women in Scotland over the last the last 5 years is fuelled by the growing 'ladette' culture, an article in the Sunday Times claims. Senior police officers are reported to have confirmed alcohol's role in the increases, particularly as murder rates have remained constant but figures for assaults have risen sharply. The rise has also caused concern about the implications for the criminal justice system, with the number of women in prison rising by 90% in the last decade.

Earlier this month an article by Ian Gilmore, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, considered the cultural shift of drinking amongst women, its consequences and the policy context for addressing it.

Know Your Limits update - pilot reports

The Know Your Limits campaign team funded by the Home Office and Department of Health has published its latest update - Stakeholder Update 8 . It summarises new pilots that have specifically targeted students, the night time economy and young men.

• In Preston, students were targeted with sensible drinking messages and encouraged to drink more water on a night out. This was in response to research that showed that 43% of 18-24 year olds in Lancashire admitted to carrying on drinking once they knew they had reached their limits
• Central Weston-Super-Mare was targeted following findings that 6 out of every 10 crimes were associated with the night time economy. The campaign therefore used bluetooth technology and giant projectors to deliver sensible drinking messages to support other activity including the Street Safe bus and street pastors
• In Wolverhampton, young men were targeted with life sized stickers of men suffering the ill effects of alcohol misuse. Stickers of men who had been beaten up or passed out were placed in A&E, bars, pubs, clubs and the Wolve's Molineux football stadium
• In Liverpool students were trained as 'Lager Lifeguards', learning how to spot the signs of intoxication and help people suffering from a range of alcohol related ill effects including injury, vomiting and unconsciousness

Two new campaigns are also in production: a units campaign due to be launched in May; and a binge drinking campaign in June, which will be supported by printed and online materials. It is also advised that local campaigns are coordinated with these, and with  forthcoming target dates including St George's Day (23rd April) and May Bank Holiday weekend (3-5th May).

To get in touch with the Know Your Limits team call 020 7403 2230 or email knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk

Pregnant women now told to avoid alcohol altogether

The Government's health watchdog, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has reignited the debate on pregnancy and alcohol by now stating women should not drink at all when pregnant. The new message, which is to be released as part of a comprehensive review of health advice for pregnant women, has received mixed responses as is not based on any new findings or research.  However the message supports the stance of a number of top clinical figures and also that of the Department of Health, who last year announced that pregnant women should not drink at all. 

NICE had previously stated that women could safely drink up to 1.5 units (equivalent to a small glass of wine) after the first three months of pregnancy when the risk of damage to the foetus was most significant.  The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has welcomed the change of advice, saying it should remove any doubt about what women should drink. According to Guardian's Society website, the final version of the guidelines to be issued will say:

• Pregnant women should be advised to avoid drinking alcohol in the first three months of pregnancy, because there may be an increased risk of miscarriage. Women planning to become pregnant should also stop drinking.

• Women should be advised that if they choose to drink alcohol while they are pregnant, they should drink no more than 1-2 units once or twice a week - equivalent to a small glass of wine, half a pint of 5% lager or strong cider. There is uncertainty about how much alcohol is safe to drink in pregnancy, but at this level there is no evidence of any harm to the unborn baby.

•  Women should be advised not to get drunk or binge drink (more than 7.5 units of alcohol on a single occasion) while they are pregnant because this can harm the unborn baby.

Research news: alcohol-related murder; alcohol-related breast cancer

• Scotland: Alcohol was a factor in twice as many murders as previously thought due to a mistake in official figures. Last year, figures were published showing drink played a part in 19% of such incidents but the actual figure should have been 41%. It means 57 people accused of murder in 2005/6 were reported to have been drunk at the time. Just 13 people (9%), not the 41% previously stated, were reported to be under the influence of drugs. The Scottish Government said the mistake was produced by statisticians in the previous administration. BBC News

• Three or more drinks a day, whether beer, wine or spirits, boost a woman's risk of breast cancer as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes, U.S. researchers have found. The relationship between alcohol and breast cancer is known but there has been little data on whether the choice of drink made a difference. In what the researchers said was one of the largest studies to investigate links between breast cancer and alcohol -- found that alcohol itself and the amount a person consumed were key rather than the type of drink. Arthur Klatsky of Kaiser Permanente in California and one of the researchers said:

"Studies have consistently linked drinking alcohol to an increased risk of female breast cancer, but until now there has been little data, most of it conflicting, about an independent role played by the choice of beverage type" Reuters

Drink driving by women rising

The number of women caught drink driving has risen sharply in recent years, Liberal Democrat research has found. The research shows:

• A 58% increase in women of all ages found guilty of drink driving since 1995, compared with a slight fall amongst men;
• There has been an increase of nearly 50% in women younger than 30 found guilty of drink or drug driving since 1995, compared with just 4% for men in the same age group.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Alistair Carmichael MP said:

We warmly welcome moves to put Britain's drink driving laws in line with other European countries. Instead of focusing drink driving campaigns only on men, these figures show women also need to be targeted.

Alcohol misusers at risk: fatties, ladettes, bar staff, and Saga louts

• Britons are drinking an extra day’s worth of calories every week through alcohol, and triggering higher protection insurance rates.  According to research commissioned by Standard Life with 3,278 adults, the average UK resident is drinking enough lager, wine, cider and spirits to pack on almost 3,000 calories a week. Mick James, protection marketing manager for Standard Life, said: 'The indirect financial impact of a growing nation can affect anything from your private medical insurance to life insurance and critical illness insurance, which can all be far more expensive if you have a body mass index over the average for your height and age. In the worst case scenario you might actually be declined cover.'  He added: 'Someone with a body mass index over 30 is technically obese. We would typically charge an extra 75% for someone’s life insurance with a BMI between 32.6 and 35.' Citywire

• Growing ladette culture means young women who work in offices are twice as likely to drink themselves to death as the rest of the population.  They are apeing the macho office culture and dying from liver disease, cirrhosis and alcohol poisoning, according to figures.  Actresses and female entertainers who are accused by many of promoting ladette behaviour are also among the most likely to die from drink. Alcohol-related deaths have doubled since 1991 - up from 4,144 to 8,386 last year. And experts fear the toll will rise as the 24-hour drinking culture begins to affect the nation's health. Rising levels of binge-drinking have been blamed for high numbers of mouth cancer cases and babies with developmental problems.  The figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that among women, the third most dangerous occupation in terms of risk of dying from alcohol was the office junior.  These are young workers who carry out tasks such as photocopying, delivering mail and data entry.  They are 1.92 times more likely to die from alcohol than the rest of the population.  Daily Mail

• Bar staff are the mostly likely workers to die of alcohol-related problems, figures for England and Wales indicate. The Office for National Statistics data shows bar staff are twice as likely as average to die from conditions such as liver disease or pancreatitis. Least likely to die, according to the figures from 2001 to 2005, were farmers among men and educational assistants among women. Alcohol-related deaths have doubled since 1991. Last year the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed alcohol deaths, which include poisoning but not alcohol-induced accidents, topped 8,000 in 2005, up from just above 4,000 in 1991. The latest study looked at 13,011 deaths among men aged 20 to 64 and 3,655 deaths among women. It showed male bar staff were 2.23 times more liked to die from alcohol than average, while their female colleagues were 2.03 times more likely. BBC News

• A new breed of Saga louts - retired people who drink too much - has been identified by a top psychiatrist, who claims they are second only to twenty-somethings in their appetite for alcohol. Dr Peter Rice says the typical Saga lout is retired, acquired a taste for drinking at home as alcohol prices dropped in the 1970s and 1980s, and is well off enough to enjoy regular evenings knocking back their favourite wines and beers. Rice, a consultant psychiatrist based at Sunnyside Royal Hospital, Montrose, is concerned by the growing number of elderly binge drinkers on his patient list. Rice is so concerned he has flagged up the problem to a Scottish Parliament think-tank, Scotland's Futures Forum, which is investigating ways to reduce alcohol and drug misuse. Recent figures obtained by Scotland on Sunday reveal that in 2001/2 the number of people over the age of 60 admitted to Scottish hospitals with an alcohol-related illness was 8,500. This rose to 10,573 in 2005/6. But the trend among youngsters is down, with 1,733 teenagers aged 15 to 19 admitted in 2001/2, compared with 1,462 in 2005/6.  Scotland on Sunday

alcohol strategy action planning workshops: working with DV survivors with alcohol problems

alcoholpolicy.net and LDAN
alcohol strategy action planning workshops
workshop four: alcohol and domestic violence – working with women who experience both
Wednesday 15th August, 2 to 4.30pm, Central London

The workshop will explore the links between alcohol use and domestic violence, as well as policy and best practice in working with both issues – from the survivor's perspective.  (Workshop five, on October 3rd will concentrate on perpetrators who have alcohol problems.)

Speakers include:

• Karen Bailey (Stella Project)
• Michelle Robson (DASL Star Project)
• Foziha Raja (EACH)
• Cordelia Mayfield (ARP; tbc) 

Topics include:

• research and theory on alcohol use and DV
• working with DV within a substance misuse service
• working with Asian women
• joint working in practice
• the Cycle of Change for women

This workshop is the fourth in a series of six practical workshops to bring you up to speed with the latest stuff, and help you make progress on alcohol.

aim: to drive local action on alcohol through practical guidance target audience: local alcohol champions (we mean anyone who wants to get things moving on alcohol)

why attend: these workshops will change your (working) life.  Action on alcohol has been bogged down in talking endlessly about all too familiar problems, and waiting for funding.  There is important work we can be doing now, with existing resources.  Come and get started.

about us: alcoholpolicy.net is behind the website and podcast for the alcohol harm reduction field.  We are an informal network of consultants, researchers and practitioners, keen to share our learning and ideas. Our motto: nonus wheela reinventare.  LDAN is the London Drug and Alcohol Network – developing substance misuse policy and supporting the capital’s treatment sector

other info: the workshops are free.  Materials and audio from the workshops will also be freely available on www.alcoholpolicy.net to book contact Shona Flannigan  at shona.flannigan@ldan.org.uk or 020 7704 0004

New alcohol guidelines for pregnant women: where's the evidence?

New government advice

The Department of Health issued this statement on 25th May:

Pregnant women or those trying to conceive are being advised to avoid drinking alcohol, and not to get drunk. Women who do choose to drink, before and during pregnancy, should drink no more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week.

The new guidelines have been introduced by the Department of Health to provide stronger, consistent advice for the whole of the UK.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Fiona Adshead said: ‘We have strengthened our advice to women to help ensure that no one underestimates the risk to the developing foetus of drinking above the recommended safe levels.

Our advice is simple: avoid alcohol if pregnant or trying to conceive.’

The National Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome estimates that there are more than 6,000 children born each year with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, as a result of their mother’s alcohol consumption.

Previous advice, as clearly stated in DH's 2006 booklet 'How much is too much when you're having a baby?'  was pregnant women can drink up to 1 to 2 units of alcohol no more than once or twice a week. 

Advice from other bodies

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' 2006 statement Alcohol consumption and the outcomes of pregnancy, here, reviews the evidence and concludes:

• The consumption of alcohol offers no benefits in relation to the outcomes of pregnancy. Under reporting of alcohol consumption is thought to be widespread, such that adverse effects in the offspring may not always be recognised.

• It is important for GPs, obstetricians and midwives to devise ways of identifying women who may suffer from problem drinking, during or before any pregnancy, at a time when potentially beneficial interventions can be offered.

• On the other hand, there is considerable doubt as to whether infrequent and low levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy convey any long-term harm, in particular after the first trimester of pregnancy.

• It is important that long-term prospective cohort studies be conducted to address the questions discussed in this statement.

In June 2007, the British Medical Association published Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - a guide for healthcare professionals, here.  It says this about consumption levels:

• Women who are pregnant,or who are considering a pregnancy,should be advised not to consume any alcohol.

• The UK health departments should work in partnership with relevant stakeholder organisations to revise current guidance on sensible drinking (see appendix 3).They should ensure that consistent and clear advice is given to healthcare professionals and the general public regarding the sensible drinking message and the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. (This was written before DH revised the guidance.)

The fall out

DH are not claiming there is new evidence to support the new, simpler message.  So why change the advice?  The arguments for (anything that safeguards children is a good idea) and against (there's no evidence for this advice; why patronise pregnant women) are set out in this audio from BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour.   

There are also fears that we may be heading towards the situation in America, where women who drink during pregnancy have been charged with attempted murder, see for example here.

What do you think? Leave a comment, or email us.