Alcohol Policy UK

Links for 27/7/06

• The Scottish Parliament is considering targeting cheap supermarket alcohol promotions in a bid to beat binge-drinking. Liberal Democrat MSP Donald Gorrie has tabled a motion in the parliament condemning supermarkets for selling beer, wine and spirits at rock-bottom prices. Shops in Scotland were criticised during the World Cup for selling beer cheaper than bottled water. Mr Gorrie's motion calls on the Scotish Executive to "encourage supermarkets to end their sales promotions of alcohol and agree with them arrangements to remove the incentive for customers to buy larger quantities of alcohol than their normal consumption because of very low prices".  Morning Advertiser

• Scotland: Police are using invisible ink pens to nail shopkeepers who sell alcohol to kids.  The police mark bottles and cans with invisible ink to identify which shops they came from.  And if the alcohol ends up in the hands of underage drinkers, the marks can be used to identify where it was bought.  The ink scheme is being tried out in Armadale, West Lothian. And police say shopkeepers are keen to volunteer to take part, even though they risk losing their alcohol licences if caught serving youngsters alcohol.  If successful, the ink project could be extended to other parts of the Lothian and Borders police force area.  Daily Record

• Summer drinking leading to anti-social behaviour is being targeted by police in Caerphilly in a six-week operation. Operation Impact will see extra police officers and community support officers being drafted in on weekend nights. BBC News

• Young people in the north east of Scotland are being asked to submit story ideas for a film competition that aims to raise awareness about alcohol.  Aberdeen Joint Alcohol and Drug Action Team said the best 15 entries would be made into a film by 16 to 24-year-olds.  The winning films will be entered into international festivals. BBC News

• Northern Ireland: Police will be able to close rowdy pubs for serious disorder under government plans to reform NI's licensing laws.  Persistent offenders could get penalty points and publicans could eventually get their licence revoked.  The plans, to be in place by Christmas 2007, also mean pubs would be able to open an extra hour later.  Bars would have to apply for an extension to open until 0200. There are no plans for 24-hour opening, as is allowed in England, Wales and Scotland.  BBC News

• Mansfield's pub and club owners have set up a new fund as part of the latest drive to stamp out boozed-fuelled crime in the town centre.  The Heart of Mansfield fund was launched in a blaze of publicity  and will be used to provide enforcement and education schemes as well as promote the town as a safe place to visit and enjoy a night out.  Mansfield Association of Late Night Venues (MALV) has set up the crime-cracking scheme and each week 20 licensed venues and four takeaways will all voluntarily pay into the fund.

Police, bus operator Stagecoach, Mansfield District Council and Level One Security –– which provides doorstaff in the town –– are also paying into the fund and a special MALV committee will decide how cash is spent.  Up to £1,000 each week will be initially ploughed into the coffers and MALV bosses say the money could be used to provide extra police officers, pay for a street cleansing team or roaming door supervisors.  Mansfield Today

• Portable loos could be brought to Spalding town centre to tackle the problem of people urinating in the streets after leaving pubs clubs.  A council spokesman said that temporary toilets are one of the possibilities being considered, although no firm recommendations have yet been made.  Spalding Today

• Buying alcohol on behalf of underage drinkers could land you with an £80 on-the-spot penalty, say Hitchin police.  The warning comes as police in the town concentrate their efforts on stopping the supply of alcohol to underage drinkers who congregate on Windmill Hill at night.  Hertfordshire on Sunday has reported how hundreds of under-18s gather on the hill every Friday night.  Herts & Essex News Online

• A campaign has been launched to stop Welsh teenagers abandoning their drunk friends on the street.  The Don't Walk Away drive encourages teenagers to seek help for pals who have collapsed as a result of drug or alcohol use and to stay with them until the emergency services arrive. It also gives simple life-saving advice.  The project aims to increase the chances of a person being found and receiving medical treatment following a night on the tiles.  icWales

• Plans for alcohol-free club nights for under-18s in Witney have been welcomed by police and youth workers. Heventeen, a group which organises dance and live music events for teenagers, is holding the first in what organisers hope will be a series of 'dry' club nights at The Palace nightclub, in Market Square, on 24th July. Only 13- to 17-year-olds will be allowed in and there will be strict no-alcohol and no-smoking rules in place as an Ibiza-style foam party gets under way to celebrate the start of the school summer holidays.  Oxford Mail

APUK will be back on 24th July

No news this week - we're away. 

The New Temperance Movement?

Jane McGregor, Lecturer in Substance Misuse at the University of Nottingham, has submitted a 'think piece' about the emergence of a new temperance movement.  The following is an extract; download the full document and references here.

‘Binge drinking’ as a concept is a changing entity. The term is in common use but the various definitions of binge-drinking reflect perhaps the disparities between sociological, medical and ethical discussions on alcohol consumption. The binge drinker has come to replace earlier epithets such as ‘lager lout’ (MCM Research, 2004) and the new term offers ever increasing opportunities to impose moral regulation and control. What has influenced the term ‘binge drinking’ meaning in recent times?  Are we witnessing a new temperance movement? If so, what's currently influencing this?

In contemporary society the health status and vulnerability of the body are central themes of social and political discourse. Individuals are expected to take responsibility for their bodies and limit their potential to harm others through taking up various preventative actions (Petersen and Lupton, 1996).

McGregor goes on to argue that

• the term ‘binge drinking’ provides a means by which society can demonise the behaviour of drunkenness and promote more moderate consumption

• the new Temperance emphasises two main themes: a shift away from biomedical emphasis towards social factors, particularly ‘lifestyle’;  and a recognition of the multifarious problems associated with alcohol and the need for multifarious solutions

• the new Temperance movement, if such a movement exists, owes much to a faith in the ideas of science and social progress. It relies heavily on the belief that individuals should be assisted to achieve their full potential through their own and others’ efforts. It calls for self-regulation and management.

Recently in Parliament

• Beverley Hughes was asked what support DfES provides for children and families affected by alcoholism.  She said DfES, Home Office and Dept of Health have:

agreed a joint approach to the development of universal, targeted and specialist services to prevent drug harm and to ensure that all children and young people are able to reach their potential. This will often cover a wide range of substances, including alcohol and volatile substances and is supported by a ring fenced budget—The Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant.

    On parental drinking, she said:

Arrangements for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare have been strengthened through the Every Child Matters reform. The Children Act 2004 places a duty on local authority children's services departments to protect children from significant harm, including from alcohol misusing parents......Local partnerships have used a range of funding streams to develop and support children and families affected by alcoholism, including the Adult Pooled Treatment Budget, Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant, High Focus Area capacity building fund, Neighbourhood Renewal Funding and mainstream funding for children's services.

Adult PTB being spent on parental drinking?  She appears to have got that wrong.  The PTB is ring-fenced for drugs treatment and excludes alcohol.  Hansard

• Caroline Flint said that the Dept of Health has 2.9 whole time equivalent posts for alcohol.  Hansard  Wonder what the corresponding number is for drugs - ie at the NTA.

• Ms Flint regularly gets asked about new funding to increase specialist alcohol treatment provision.  This is the standard response:

Access to specialist treatment services is a matter for local primary care trusts (PCTs), who are responsible for improving the match of treatment provision they commission to the need of the local population for services. Information is not held centrally on local budgets. It is estimated that £217 million is currently being spent by PCTs on alcohol treatment. An additional £15 million has been allocated to all PCTs to improve alcohol services from 2007-08 onwards.  Hansard

• In a written answer, the Dept of Health published figures for alcohol-related hospital admissions in the five London Strategic Health Authorities for 2002/03 to 2004/05.  Download the table here; the number of patients admitted over that period has grown from 5,428 to 7,45.

Links for 15/7/06

• Wales: Alcohol-related deaths have increased by 400 per cent among Welsh men and 300 per cent among women in the last 20 years.  The report which also says that heavy drinking among teenagers in Wales is amongst the worst in Europe.  Figures also predict that 170 men and 90 Welsh women are likely to die of alcohol-related conditions this year.  Report author Dr Edward Coles hopes his findings will shock Welsh people into cutting down.  South Wales Echo, download report here

• Scotland: Children as young as eight are turning up at school with hangovers, fuelling a rise in violence in city primaries, headteachers have warned.  The number of violent incidents reported in primary and nursery schools has almost doubled in four years in Edinburgh, according to new figures released to the Evening News.  The number of violent incidents reported in secondary schools fell over the same period.  The majority of the 168 incidents reported in primaries and nurseries in the last academic year involved pupils either punching or kicking teachers.  Headteachers said drinking the night before was leading to growing numbers of pupils being surly, restless and uncontrollable in class, leading to clashes with teachers.  Scotsman

• Scotland: NHS chiefs were branded "irresponsible hypocrites" yesterday after investing charitable donations in one of the world's biggest drinks companies.  Some £250,000 given to NHS Grampian by the public, either as a result of fundraising or through bequests, has been put into the drinks giant Diageo, which makes Guinness, Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky.  It is seen as a sound investment, but the move has been condemned as it comes at a time when the NHS is warning Scots to drink less to try to tackle a big increase in drink-related illnesses.  Scotsman

• Edinburgh: Aggressive drunks and beggars threatened to turn it into a no-go area in the heart of the city centre.  The problems facing Hunter Square were so bad that police were handed special dispersal powers to drive out the trouble-makers. Now plans have been drawn up for gangs of homeless people to return to the square - but this time they are likely to be welcomed with open arms.  A team of homeless people would operate a coffee shop there as part of a Big Issue-style initiative being presented to the city council. Edinburgh-based Streetwork wants the outlet to be the first of a chain of cafes that will rival outlets such as Starbucks.  Scotsman

• Fareham: Parents have been told to stop buying booze for their children – or face fines of up to £5,000. The warning has come from police as they launch a crackdown on adults who supply alcohol to children. From today off-licences and supermarkets across the borough will display posters and distribute leaflets to shoppers, reminding them it is a criminal offence under the Licensing Act 2003.  Sergeant Roy Jennings said: 'We are increasingly facing the problem of parents buying alcohol on behalf of their children and then allowing their children to drink this alcohol on the streets.  'It is also becoming more common for children to pay strangers to buy alcohol for them, and while these adults may think this is harmless, they are breaking the law.'  Fareham & Meon News

• Suffolk police have warned women "intent on getting ratted" to make sure they had waxed and were "wearing nice pants" in case they collapsed. The advice was contained in a free magazine which officers say is aimed at keeping women safe when they go out drinking and clubbing.  Safe! magazine also contained a picture of a girl in a mini skirt with the caption "if you've got it, don't flaunt it" and warned that alcohol could leave women looking like "wrinkly old prunes".  Officers said they were adopting an editorial style which they hoped would appeal to women in their late teens.  Telegraph, Suffolk Constabulary press release, download Safe! here, info about Suffolk Nightsafe here

Links for 11/7/06

• The vast majority of women students worldwide know nothing about the lifestyle habits that can influence breast cancer risk. And they are no better informed about the disease than their male counterparts according to a report published in the European Journal of Cancer.  In the Cancer Research UK led study of more than 10,000 female students from 23 countries, fewer than five per cent realised that alcohol, exercise or being overweight could influence breast cancer risk.  Politics.co.uk story here, Abstract here.

• Police officers behind the county's Operation Summer Nights campaign to cut down on yobbish behaviour have joined forces with the Drinkaware Trust in the latest move to curb heavy drinking.  The two groups have created a special radio advert that aims to get people across Lancashire to drink sensibly this summer.  The hard-hitting advert will make people consider how alcohol affects their behaviour and be will be broadcast on 97.4 Rock FM from 10th July.  This is Lancashire

• The World Health Organisation has launched the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Alcohol control database.  The database provides data to track and assess alcohol policies and their implementation within and across countries of the European region.  The information is targeted to policy/decision-makers, prevention and control programme staff, researchers and global partners and others working with alcohol prevention.  Information can be either viewed on a country-by-country basis or in consolidated country comparison tables.  WHO

• Teenagers from affluent homes are the most likely to drink frequently and behave while drunk in a way that they will regret, according to a new study which also finds that girls typically drink more than boys.  The survey of 11 to 16 year olds shows that, while girls start drinking regularly later than boys, their intake increases significantly at around 13 and they outstrip boys by the time they are 14 or 15.  The Observer

• More than 80 people were arrested across the Avon and Somerset force area on July 8th as police focussed on the night time economy as part of Operation Relentless.  Licensed premises were visited, a rave was prevented, a pub was raided, test purchase operations were carried out and alcohol was confiscated from people underage.  People were given instant fines for mainly alcohol-related offences and people were given advice about how enjoy a safe night out.  Operation Relentless is Avon and Somerset Constabulary's biggest ever campaign to target criminals and turn the spotlight of fear on those who commit crime. It aims to ensure that the law-abiding people who live in the force area feel safe and are safe.  More details of the NTE activity here.

Alcohol producers' fund launched

The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England promised for the first quarter of 2005 a three-part voluntary scheme social responsibility for the alcohol industry, including a donation to an independent fund that would be:

• used to fund community and national-level projects designed to tackle alcohol-related harm

• administered by an independent board, on which industry, government and the voluntary sector will be represented. The board will assess bids for funding according to agreed criteria

• financed on a basis agreed between the industry and government

The fund, 'the Drinkaware Trust',  was 'given the go-ahead' by Caroline Flint and Vernon Coaker last week (press release (here).  Although the Portman Group set up the Drinkaware Trust website and grants scheme some time ago - presumably with a view to controlling the fund - the new Trust will not be run by Portman Group.  The Trust will bring together - for the first time - industry, charities, lobby groups, medical professionals and experts in the field to address alcohol misuse across and promote sensible drinking across the UK.

Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern and, we believe, a Trust board Trust steering group member said:

This is an exciting new initiative. The Drinkaware Trust will bring together the drinks industry and those tackling alcohol misuse, providing a unique opportunity to really make a difference in changing the way we drink alcohol in the UK. The Trust has set itself challenging goals. By working together, the drinks industry and organisations tackling alcohol harm will make these all the more achievable.

The Portman Group's press release reports that:

the alcohol industry has pledged £12 million to the charity over the next three years and will also throw its significant weight behind promoting the charity’s consumer information website www.drinkaware.co.uk in advertising, at point of sale and on product labels.  This year alone, Drinkaware will feature on three billion bottles and cans and on £150 million-worth of TV, cinema and print advertising.  Thousands of pubs and supermarkets also display signs with details of the Drinkaware website.

Safer Socialising Awards: an evolution of Best Bar None?

News from Kent Police: A scheme that has been trialled in Kent is being launched nationally on 6th July by Kent Police in partnership with Action Against Business Crime to help licensees reduce crime and anti-social behaviour related to the evening economy.

• The Safer Socialising Award aims to improve intelligence (on community safety) and help reduce violence, drug abuse, under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour. It will encourage licensees to join together and work with their local crime reduction partnership, police and other agencies to make sure known trouble-makers are identified and excluded from all licensed premises in the scheme. It also helps visitors to choose venues that provide a good and safe night out and therefore boosts a town’s night-time economy and promotes safer socialising.

• Unlike the Best Bar None accreditation scheme (see previous post), any business related to the night-time economy can apply to be considered for a Safer Socialising Award including taxi firms, cinemas, take-aways and restaurants.

• A panel made up of police, fire service, trading standards and local authorities will visit each venue and make an assessment according to a detailed set of criteria.

The Home Office appears to be encouraging the take-up of Best Bar None schemes, with, for example, London boroughs in the Tackling Violent Crime Programme under pressure to implement them.  And it's also a partner in Action Against Business Crime - the organisation looking to roll the Safer Socialising Award out nationally. 

Do we need another scheme?  It would seem to make sense to bring other stakeholders in management of the night time economy into local schemes; maybe Best Bar None should somehow be a scheme within the Safer Socialising Award scheme.  Bit confusing for us punters though.

Links for 8/7/06

• Scarborough's booze bus will be put back on the road next month as part of a bid to crack down on alcohol-related crime.  The free Scarborough and District bus service, which is manned by police officers, ran 84 times and was used by 200 people after it was launched last Christmas – which worked out at an average of less than three passengers per journey.  But Scarborough's Community Safety Partnership is still set to relaunch the service to transport drinkers home every weekend in August in a bid to reduce crime and disorder on town centre streets during the busiest month of the year. Scarborough Today

• Paramedics and police are to swoop on teen boozers to warn them they are putting their lives in danger. Ambulance staff and workers will turn up at underage drinking hotspots to confiscate beer and liquor while trying to convince youths of the danger they are putting themselves in.  The operation will begin in south Liverpool, where gangs of up to 200 teenagers have been meeting up since May to drink and fight. If the "Don't Walk Away and Leave a Friend to Die" campaign is a success, it could be rolled out in the rest of Merseyside in an attempt to reduce the instances of police having to arrest teenagers or paramedics rushing them to hospital.  icLiverpool

• Sunderland: Police have arrested more than 2,000 people during the past year as part of an unprecedented crackdown on booze-fuelled violence. The figures were revealed as the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police revealed that Sunderland was one of the most successful places in the country at beating alcohol-related trouble. Teams of city officers have arrested 2,098 people as part of campaigns, "The Party's Over", "Don't Spoil the Party" and "When to Stop?" The Chief Constable said: "Out of the 273 police areas that took part in Don't Spoil the Party, Sunderland was just pipped to the top slot for its arrests and actions taken. And, as a force, Northumbria was the most successful in the country."  Sunderland Today

• Alcoholic nightcaps are the preferred bedtime tipple for millions of Britons, according to a recent survey.  Tea is the number one night time drink for both men and women.  But whisky, spirits and wine are a popular option for adults trying to lull themselves to sleep, the survey of 2,000 UK adults found.  Applying the findings nationally, the poll indicates that some 3.27 million men hit the booze before going to bed, compared with 2.08 million women.  For men, the top nightcaps were tea, then coffee, followed in joint third place by whisky, water and cold milk.  Women's favourite drinks were tea followed by water, coffee, hot chocolate and wine.  Guardian Unlimited

• Scotland: Controversial plans to create special supermarket queues for alcohol sales have won support from ministers. The radical plans would see shoppers forced to buy wine, beer or spirits separately from the rest of their groceries, in what is seen as a way of "de-normalising" alcohol sales. A major campaign will be launched in the next few months emphasising the dangers of excess alcohol. Ministers are keen to target those who regularly drink "small" amounts, and who may think they are not doing any damage to their health.

Hazardous drinking and violence

A new study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has found that antisocial personality disorder and hazardous drinking are significant risk factors for violence in the general population. 

The study surveyed 8397 people aged between 16 and 74, living in private households in England, Wales and Scotland in 2000.  Psychiatric diagnoses were determined, using computer–assisted interviews, of psychosis, personality disorder, and common mental disorders, including depression, neurotic disorder, hazardous alcohol misuse and drug dependence. A category of ‘no psychiatric disorder' was also included.  All participants were asked questions about violent behaviour. 

By far the largest public health impact on serious and repetitive violence, together with versatility of violence, was linked to hazardous drinking, which was associated with over half of all incidents involving injury.

The authors of the study comment that a relatively small reduction in hazardous drinking at the individual level (which affects a relatively large proportion of the population), could result in a relatively large impact on the population’s behaviour in relation to alcohol consumption and violence.  

Coid J et al (2006) Violence and psychiatric morbidity in the national household population of Britain: public health implications The British Journal of Psychiatry 189: 12-19   Abstract here