Alcohol Policy UK

CMO calls for zero blood alcohol limit for young drivers

The Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, called this week for the drink-drive limit on under 20s to be zero.

He made the zero limit the central proposal of his annual report, which focused this year on the health of teenagers. His proposal ran straight into controversy, with the RAC suggesting a zero limit would be unworkable, and others calling for a lower drink-driving limit for everyone, rather than an alcohol ban solely for young people. Donaldson said 14 European countries already had what is effectively a zero limit for young or novice drivers: they permit a trace in the bloodstream in case the driver has used mouthwash or some other innocuous substance containing alcohol.

Other countries with lower drinking limits for young people include some states in Australia, most of the US and New Zealand. In Ontario, Canada, Donaldson said, there was a 19% reduction in crashes in which the driver was aged 16 to 19 when a zero limit for new drivers was introduced in 1995.

Justifying his call for zero alcohol for 17 to 20-year-olds, Donaldson said they were six times more likely to have a car crash if they had been drinking. A young person who had been drinking was 2.5 times more likely to have a crash than an older person who had been drinking. "I'm aware it is a controversial recommendation, but I believe it would save lives," he said. Guardian

Wales: highest levels of teenage drinking in Europe - reactions to new report

County MP Stephen Crabb has called on the Government and the drinks industry to "get a grip" as shocking new figures reveal that Wales has the highest levels of teenage drinking in Europe. Research carried out by the University of Edinburgh indicated that more than a quarter of 13-year-olds in Wales had been drunk at least twice. And the stats came as it was revealed that police and PCSOs in Broad Haven recently confiscated more than 150 bottles and cans of alcohol, plus litres and litres of spirits, cider and wine from under-age drinkers in a single night. A group of youngsters had gathered for what was believed to be a post exam party earlier this month.  Western Telegraph

According to Wales Online, the Western Mail has previously reported that one child under eight is being admitted to a Welsh hospital almost every month after drinking alcohol. And accident and emergency experts said they were seeing increasing numbers of pre-teens and young teenagers needing treatment for alcohol use and for injuries sustained while drunk. The University of Edinburgh findings confirm anecdotal evidence that some 12 and 13-year-olds are getting drunk up to twice a week on alcohol. Often it is stolen from their parents or bought by older teens.

Jenny Randerson, the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ health spokeswoman, who uncovered the hospital statistics, said:

This underlines the desperation of the situation and the need for a series of measures – not just educational – that need to be taken in order to deal with this problem. We need co-operation between the educational authorities, local authorities and the police. The Assembly Government must also take the lead in providing the strategies and resources which will make it work.

The findings of the study, compiled by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the World Health Organisation, were based on interviews with 240,000 schoolchildren, aged 11, 13 and 15.

Read Inequalities in Young People's Health online.

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!

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

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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.

Advice for parents on responsible drinking for children to be part of youth alcohol action plan

Parents in England are to be given advice on how much alcohol to give their children, as part of a government drive to tackle teenage drinking. It would be the first time official advice suggested an age and amount at which children can drink safely.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls, who will unveil the plans later, has called for a "culture change about drinking". Other parts of the plan - such as prosecuting parents who allow children to drink in public - emerged yesterday.  BBC News

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.

Off license pilot banning sales to under 21's reportedly a success

A scheme in West Lothain, Scotland has reduced violence and vandalism calls by 50%, a BBC article reports. The findings are based on a 6 week period in which alcohol sales to under 21's were banned and anyone under 25 would be asked for identification. However the chief inspector for the area reported that whilst the findings were very positive, they needed further consideration in the context of other changes since the previous year such as the development of neighbourhood policing.

Partnership approach is working in underage drinking scheme

A Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) scheme in St Neotts, Cambridgeshire, has reported positive results since it began last year, details an article in the The Hunts Post. The scheme has brought together police, trading standards, schools and charities in response to concerns from the community and local residents about high levels of underage drinking.

It has resulted in a local Tesco providing a security guard in its car park on Friday afternoons  specifically to prevent adults purchasing alcohol for those under the legal purchasing age of 18. It has also resulted in a significant reduction in the number of confiscations of alcohol from young people and there are plans to expand the partnership approach across the region. The success of the scheme has reportedly caught the interest of the Home Office who are considering promoting it as best practise in addressing underage drinking.

Impact of parents' alcohol dependency on children: new report

Alcohol Concern have jointly produced a report with the Princess Royal Trust for Carers on the impact of parental alcohol dependency on children. The report, titled 'Keeping it in the family' estimates that around one million children currently live with a parent who is alcohol dependent. Looking at a range of research and findings the document considers the serious impact of parental alcohol misuse including long term psychological damage and a range of other pressures put on children, such as being forced into taking the role of carers themselves. It argues that there are not enough services currently available to support young carers or alcohol dependent parents. Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern said:

"Alcohol misuse affects not just the drinker, but the family around them. Many children can just about cope, but for others, their parents’ drinking can lead to feelings of isolation, guilt and poor performance at school. Alcohol policies have barely begun to address this issue and treatment services must now have better support and funding to help both parents and their children recover from alcohol abuse. There’s also a real need to ensure that those working in the wider social care system are equipped to identify cases where parental misuse is affecting the quality of family life and that there are clearer protocols in place to help them co-ordinate support with the alcohol treatment sector where that is appropriate."

For more information or to request a copy of the report, please contact Frank Soodeen at the Alcohol Concern Press Office on 0207 264 0514 or 07866063013, or email franks@alcoholconcern.org.uk