Alcohol Policy UK

Local initiatives to tackle young people's drinking

Fenland town Whittlesey has just begun a "Think 21" scheme that encourages alcohol retailers to ask any customer who looks younger than 21 for ID (story here). This follows implementation of the scheme in nearby Peterborough and is driven by concerns about anti-social behaviour and disorder.

Peterborough Today reported in June:

An emergency meeting has been held in an attempt to stop underage binge drinking in a town. Terrified residents have reported that gangs of youths shout and swear, vandalise property and smash glass bottles on the streets of Whittlesey.

The number of youngsters congregating and drinking in the Market Place, every weekend, has become a growing problem since November. When town councillors, police and youth workers went out on to the streets to investigate one night, they discovered about 90 children drinking illegally.

Meanwhile, on the south coast in Dorset, the November launch of Blitz 2005 in Weymouth is being planned. The scheme will educate young people (it's aimed at Year 10 students) about alcohol and promote alcohol-free alternative activities. Businesses, clubs and leisure organisations are invited to sign up to the Blitz Card scheme that offers young people concessions on goods and services (story here, and a Local Government News report here).

Tags
alcohol strategy
binge drinking
community safety

DASL's domestic violence and substance misuse project

Drug and Alcohol Service for London (DASL) started its DV project in 2003. A report on the service by Ranzetta Consulting is published today to coincide with the Greater London DV Project's conference 'A bitter pill to swallow'.

DASL's project works with substance misusing women who also experience domestic violence. Support and advice to the women includes assessment, brief alcohol/drug intervention, weekly therapeutic and supportive groups, advice clinics, and one to one counselling. The project also provides drug, alcohol and domestic violence training to relevant practitioners and professionals, and participates in local domestic violence forums.

The report (download it here) reviews current thinking on best practice in DV and substance misuse interventions and assesses the project in the light of this. An evaluation framework for similar projects is proposed.

Tags
domestic violence
alcohol treatment
alcohol strategy
substance misuse

Expected prevalence of binge drinking, by ward and PCT

The current edition of Health Service Journal carries a 'data briefing' about new public health information on health behaviour, including smoking and drinking. The information is in the form of estimates of the expected prevalence of a particular behaviour at electoral ward and PCT level. The estimates for binge drinking show an 18-fold variation between the wards with the highest and lowest prevalence. Unfortunately, binge drinking is the only measure for drinking at the moment (excessive drinking might be more instructive in terms of health inequalities). The data can be downloaded here.

Tags
alcohol research
binge drinking
health inequalities
alcohol strategy

Total policing in Northumbria

The Home Office has published 'Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to June 2005' today (download the report here). Alcohol related crime has risen 6%. Hazel Blears is reported in the Guardian as saying that zero tolerance policing towards drunk and disorderly behaviour will now be adopted nationwide, based on the success of The Party's Over campaign in Northumbria.

The Party's Over is aimed at "people who get drunk, get violent or cause disorder in their neighbourhoods". Northumbria police arrested 8,000 people for drunkenness in 2004/5.

Tags
alcohol policy
alcohol strategy
binge drinking
community safety

Violence in the NHS

The first ever national training syllabus to tackle violence against frontline staff in mental health and learning disability services was launched yesterday by the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS), press release here.

And on 17th October, NHS Greater Glasgow launched a zero tolerance campaign against violent patients - in which nurses will be trained in close combat skills, according to this report in the Scotsman. Also, following unacceptable violence or aggression a formal written warning 'Yellow Card' will be issued. If the behaviour continues a 'Red Card' will be issued which would exclude the patient from receiving treatment on that particular occasion. Each case will be reviewed every time the patient returns for treatment.

Both initiatives make the links between alcohol and violence towards NHS staff. They appear to be good opportunities to engage health partners in local alcohol strategy.

Tags
alcohol strategy
alcohol policy

Young people's drinking in Northern Ireland

The Health Promotion Agency in Northern Ireland, with the Irish Temperance League, has released research on drinking patterns and attitudes in young people aged 11-16. Press release here (via Daily Dose).

The research paints a familiar picture: young people are drinking at a younger age; they are drinking in a more risky way; the gender gap is closing; young people often get the alcohol from their parents.

The research also indicates a remarkable jump between 1997 and 2003 in the expectations young people have of drinking.

Increasing numbers of young people say they drink:

“to escape problems” (25% to 42%) and
“to be confident” (25% to 37%)

The full report is available here.

Tags
alcohol research

Bout drinking

Research about to be published in Drugs Education Prevention and Policy makes a powerful case for finding better ways to describe how young people drink on a night out. Authors Profs Richard Hammersley and Jason Ditton argue that the rate of drinking is a key consideration: only a minority (13%) of respondents in their study (n=291) were drinking at a rate that would get them drunk, but 80% expected to drink more that the recommended daily limits that evening.

The attention by the media and policy-makers on public drunkeness associated with young people on a night out, they argue, obscures the public health message - too much alcohol, whether you get drunk or not, is bad for you. They suggest the pattern of drinking their respondents described should be termed a 'bout'.

Sunday Herald story here.

Prof Hammersley: Centre for Behavioural Aspects of Health & Disease, School of Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University
Prof Ditton: School of Law, University of Sheffield

Tags
alcohol
binge drinking
alcohol research

Total ban on smoking in pubs looks likely

A full ban on smoking in pubs is looking more likely now that Tony Blair says he won't block it in favour of a partial ban (ie for pubs that serve food). Guardian story here .

Recent research into the effects of the workplace smoking ban in Ireland found much improved lung health in bar workers and better air quality in pubs (press release here). This research didn't look at the economic impact of the ban, but the Irish Office of Tobacco Control, in Smoke-free workplaces in Ireland; a one year review, reported:

"Bar sales declined in volume by 4.4% in 2004, while the decline for the previous year was 4.2%. Economic analysts suggest that this continuing downward trend is due to a number of factors including high prices, changing lifestyles, shifting demographic patterns."

It also needs to be set against a general decline in bar sales since 2001.

Tags
alcohol
alcohol policy
tobacco

Crime and Grime survey: majority want to see binge drinking reduced

A survey commissioned by Community Service Volunteers (CSV) into what people would like to change in their communities has been published. Here's an extract:

People from across Britain were asked to rank the top three things they would most like to change in their local communities. On issues regarding crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) the results reveal:

• 63% want street crime reduced
• 55% want to see local drug problems cleaned up
• 55% want binge drinking reduced
• 54% want to see yob culture tackled
• 27% want to see a reduction in gun crime
• 21% want to stop people urinating in public

Haven't seen the actual survey questions but I wonder what respondents mean by 'binge drinking'. Do they use the term as shorthand for anti-social drunken comportment, or for drinking more than twice the recommended daily limits in one session, or what? Presumably the former, since the responses were given in the context of ASB.

Still, we need better, more descriptive terms to reflect the complexity of drinking patterns and alcohol related behaviour. Much as an expression such as "anti-social drunken comportment" appeals, it'll surely never catch on.

Tags
alcohol
binge drinking
alcohol research
community safety

Alcohol related fire deaths in Strathclyde

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue have launched a campaign to prevent alcohol related fires, after research found that 87% of fire deaths in 2004/05 were a consequence of the victim's drinking, or the result of somebody else's drinking. The associated story on BBC Scotland caught my eye because it can be very difficult to get local quantitative data on alcohol-related fire. Also, the figure quoted in the Strategy Unit's Interim Analysis is 38-45% - somewhat lower that 87%!

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has the only dedicated fire investigation section in Scotland at present, and its detailed investigations into fatalities include toxicology to test for the presence of alcohol (or other drugs) in the victim's blood, and work with the police to understand what the victim was doing in the hours leading up to the fire.

The profile of a typical Strathclyde fire victim is: male, over 50, a smoker, living alone, excessive drinker. The research suggests the fires occur when he gets home from the pub and falls asleep in the living room or bedroom with a lit cigarette - which is what anecdotal evidence suggests too.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue have produced a booklet (available via 01698 300999) that sets out the findings and supports the multi-agency campaign. The research and campaign follow similar work on Merseyside. Fatal Fires on Merseyside 2003/04 report here.

In London, I believe a report into fire deaths from 1996 to 2004 is currently being prepared, which will include alcohol involvement (but in victims only, not third parties).

Tags
alcohol
alcohol strategy
alcohol research
community safety