Alcohol Policy UK

Recently in Parliament

• Jamie Reed asked about alcohol-related admissions to the West Cumberland Hospital (answer: 371 for 2004-5).

• David Burrowes asked about alcohol-related admissions of under 15s by region (answer: a total 2,612 under 14s in 2004-5, click on the link for a breakdown)

• Mr Burrowes also asked Caroline Flint about prevalence of alcohol addiction, funding for  treatment and when the effectiveness review would be published.  On the funding issue she said:

We do not allocate specific funding to primary care trusts (PCTs) to support alcohol treatment. PCTs fund alcohol treatment out of their mainstream allocations. PCTs are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and commissioning services to address those needs within the limits of the funding available to them.

It is surprising she didn't mention the £15M for PCTs from April 2007.  Should we be worried?

• Mr Burrowes also asked about funding for Alcohol Treatment Requirements.  The minister said:

There is no specific funding to implement the Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR), which can be made part of a community order or suspended sentence order for adult offenders. Offenders subject to ATRs will be referred into mainstream alcohol treatment usually commissioned by local primary care trusts, as part of NHS provision.

Contract this with the corresponding situation for drugs, where court ordered treatment is well funded.  No wonder we are not winning the battle on alcohol-related crime.

• Various questions about alcohol-related crime and associated stats were answered by a Home Office minister here.
  

Alcohol in the news 15/11/06

• Youngsters at a Preston primary school are learning about the dangers of alcohol after helping Lancashire scoop a national award.  Pupils at Lea Community Primary put their thinking caps on to help create a website about alcohol awareness for children their own age.  And the Lookout Alcohol website won second place at a prestigious national awards ceremony.  The interactive site has been produced by Lancashire County Council's Alcohol Project alongside the School and Community Partnership team and incorporates alcohol education, downloadable lesson plans for teachers, an information section for parents, and contacts for local services.  Preston Today  More info from Safer Lancashire.  Info about Lancashire's Young Person's Alcohol Project in this previous post.
  

• Britain’s top doctor has said that the off-trade is “fuelling” the country’s alcohol problems.  Professor Ian Gilmore president of the Royal College of Physicians, said alcohol was cheaper than ever before thanks to supermarket booze “loss-leaders” and vodka which “costs pennies when you take away the tax”.  Prof Gilmore told BBC Radio the UK was sitting on a “time bomb” of cirrhosis.  He said: ”Drink has never been cheaper in real terms in living memory especially in the off-trade.”  Drink has never been cheaper in real terms in living memory especially in the off-trade  Professor Ian Gilmore president of the Royal College of Physicians.  Prof Gilmore said supermarket would be selling crates of beer as loss-leaders over Christmas and added: “That is fuelling the problems we’ve got.”  Morning Advertiser

• Advertising campaigns which try to encourage people to drink less alcohol are a waste of public money, according to a leading expert.  Professor Martin Plant says politicians are picking out the least effective measures for cutting binge drinking and avoiding sensitive issues such as tackling the price and availability of alcohol.  Speaking ahead of a major international conference on young people and alcohol abuse, the director of the Alcohol & Health Research Trust at the University of the West of England in Bristol told the Sunday Herald there was no evidence that advertising initiatives worked. “Mass media campaigns and the kind of stuff we are getting at the moment are a complete waste of public money,” he said. “These campaigns do not discourage heavy drinking.  “They [the government] are ignoring the advice that has been given to them for several decades ... to control the price and availability of alcohol.” But Plant warned that any strategy will have little impact unless it tackles issues such as restricting the numbers of licensed premises.   The Young People and Alcohol conference, organised by the University of the West of England, takes place this Friday.   Sunday Herald

• According to the report  "Sponsorship in the Drinks Industry", sponsorship as a marketing tool has changed dramatically in recent years as companies have realized that associations with prominent events could lend visibility and credibility to their respective brands.  It plays a major role in today's world as we can see the brand logos on the overalls of the driver in a car racing championship, a football or a cricket match etc. Sponsorship's add to a company's brand value and are complementary and useful to the marketing mix. The report also discusses the corporate social responsibility issues which have intensified in the recent years. It also includes the case studies of the current drinks sponsorships undertaken by the major spirits, beer and wine brands like Diageo, Foster's Group, SABMiller, Remy Cointreau, Brown-Forman etc.  Presszoom.com

• The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) has published the findings of a major Behaviour & Attitudes opinion poll of public attitudes towards the problems of alcohol misuse. The poll examines the public’s views on who is to blame for the problem of alcohol misuse and on what they think should be done about the problem.  Barkeeper.

• A coalition of councils, probation boards and penal reformers has formed to lobby the Government to let local authorities play a greater part in tackling the UK's chronic problem of criminal reoffending and in rescuing its overloaded prison system.  The Coalition of Social and Criminal Justice, which has members including the Local Government Association (LGA), the Probation Boards' Association and the Prince's Trust, published a report this month that highlights the extent of the reoffending problem.  The coalition claims that local government involvement is key to managing the successful transition of prisoners to normal civilian life. It argues that the Government's target of reducing the reoffending rate by 10 per cent by 2010 can only be achieved with the involvement of institutions at local level.  In particular, these include local councils, which have a range of expertise in managing critical factors such as housing, education, employment, drug and alcohol treatment and family support.  The Lawyer  The report: Neighbourhood by neighbourhood: local action to reduce re-offending

• The ‘booze and drugs’ culture in Britain is having an increasingly harmful effect on businesses and the workplace, a new report has claimed.  Around 17 million working days are lost in the UK each year through alcohol-related sickness, according to the 'Guidance on alcohol and drug misuse in the workplace' report by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine in London. The report also found that 35% of people of working age had used an illicit drug.  Startups  More details here

Alcohol in the news 14/11/06

• More than 40 off-licences, shops and pubs are facing reviews of their licences to sell alcohol – as a result of the new Licensing Act. The reviews follow an operation of intelligence led test purchasing.  The operation was carried out by police and Trading Standards over three weeks in 27 areas across England and Wales. It targeted premises which had previously failed test purchases or had been identified through local intelligence.  The results reveal that out of a total of 224 premises, tested twice in the first two weeks of the campaign, 53 per cent successfully challenged the sale on both occasions.  However, as a result of this campaign and previous test purchase activity, 42 premises were found to fail two or more test purchases. They will now be subject to a licence review by their local authority which could result in their licence conditions being changed.  Home Office

• The centre of Leeds has been identified by the Home Office as a key target in its new Tackling Violent Crime campaign.  It has earned its place through appalling violence figures in the year since 24-hour drinking was introuced.  In the past 12 months, more than 750 fights, brawls or attacks have been recorded in or outside licensed premises.  One bar alone - the Birdcage in Boar Lane – is responsible for almost a SIXTH of all incidents.  Other hotspots include Oceana on Woodhouse Lane, which recorded 60 offences, and the nearby Baja Beach Club, which had 43 disturbances.  Superintendent Peter Nicholson, City and Holbeck Police, said more would be done to tackle violence linked to licensed premises.  However, licensees have urged the police to get tough on not just pubs and clubs - but also the individuals who cause the trouble.  Yorkshire Evening Post  Some details on Tackling Violent Crime Programme for Leeds

• Alarming levels of binge-drinking have sent mouth cancer rates soaring, dental experts said yesterday.  People who smoke and drink alcohol to excess are up to 30 times more likely to develop the disease.  Mouth cancer kills one person every five hours in Britain and there are 4,400 new cases a year. In 1992 the figure was 3,400 cases.  Prof Saman Warnakulasuriya, speaking at the launch of Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, said early detection greatly increased a victim's chances of survival.  The professor of oral medicine at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Dental Institute in London also called for increased public and professional education.  He blamed the rise in cases on 'recent increases in alcohol consumption, taken together with alarming levels of binge drinking by young people'.
  

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, added:  'Ulcers that wont heal, lumps or red or white patches in the mouth can be common early symptoms of mouth cancer, so it is very important people check their mouths on a regular basis, with a visit to a dentist or doctor following should they notice any changes.' 

Mouth Cancer Awareness Week runs until Sunday and aims to increase the number of cases picked up early. Metro, British Dental Health Foundation press release

London NHS: PCTs encouraged to spend the new £15M for alcohol on A&E interventions

PCTs across England are to receive £15M for alcohol treatment as recurring revenue from April 2007 (see previous post for official pronouncements) - probably around £90k each.  The London NHS alcohol lead today made a strong case for this money to be spent on A&E based screening and interventions, at a conference attended by PCT commissioners, A&E consultants and alcohol strategy coordinators.

Since this money is coming through Choosing Health, there is the expectation that it will be spent on reducing hazardous and harmful drinking (not on specialist treatment for  dependent drinkers), but ultimately it counts as core funding, and PCTs will decide how it is spent.  It will not be ringfenced.  And that means PCTs might decide not to spend it on alcohol treatment at all.

It was clear from the conference that consultants from many A&E departments in London are keen to develop alcohol screening and interventions - based on models from the Royal Liverpool Hospital and St Mary's Paddington.  This will be welcome news to local alcohol strategy coordinators and local crime reduction partnerships, not to mention public health professionals.  The challenge is to make sure the new money is spent on alcohol initiatives, in the most effective way, at local level.

What happens next?

• Local partnerships and PCTs should develop plans for using the funding to reduce hazarous and harmful drinking - as per Department of Health guidance
• Different tactics may be needed where local commitment to action on alcohol is poor, and/or where PCTs are particularly cash-strapped (contact us for some ideas on tactics)

Alcohol Disorder Zones become law

From the Home Office

The Violent Crime Reduction Act gives police and communities stronger powers to tackle violent crimes involving alcohol, knives and imitation guns. It doubles the maximum penalty for possession of a knife from two years in prison to four years, and gives local authorities the right to charge alcohol vendors for the costs of fighting alcohol-related crime in areas with serious crime problems [Alcohol Disorder Zones].

Alcohol-related elements of the Act will:

• create 'drinking banning orders', which impose restrictions on those who commit offences while drunk, and can ban them from frequenting businesses that sell alcohol
• allow police to ban people with previous records of alcohol-related offences from visiting pubs and bars in a certain area

The Act received Royal Assent on 8th November, the final step in the process of becoming law.

See The Publican for opinions from the licensed trade.

Alcohol in the news 13/11/06

• Wine merchants and delivery companies across Europe are gearing up for a boom in business ahead of a legal test case that is set to sweep away all import taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. Under pressure from the European Commission, the Treasury has already been forced to relax restrictions on so-called booze cruises, but a ruling expected at the European Court of Justice on November 23 would allow shoppers to snap up the best bargains around the continent from the comfort of their own homes.   Leading European firms, including P&O Ferries and Oddbins, are planning to take advantage of the -liberalised regime by providing new services for British consumers by providing a delivery service for orders placed over the internet and by mail order.  Sunday Telegraph

• The owners of an off-licence in Dewsbury plagued by gangs of teenagers is pleading with adults not to buy the youngsters booze.  GM Foods, Victoria Street, Thornhill Lees, has had trouble with teenage gangs hanging around outside the shop for months.  But the owners say the problem is being made worse by alcohol – much of it bought by adults.  Shop owner Mohammed Rangzeb said: "After 4pm children hang around in gangs waiting for someone who is old enough to buy them alcohol. When people come in, we are always asking them who the alcohol is for. If we think they are buying it for them we don't let them have it."  Mr Rangzeb's daughter, Ansar Saghir, who works in the shop said: "Grown-ups think they are doing the kids a favour buying them drink but we are left with the mess. "After drinking they just throw litter about. They hang around and spray graffiti everywhere. If we go out and tell them off we just get abuse. We are losing trade because people are frightened of the gangs."  Dewsbury Today

• Adults who buy alcohol for children will be fined in an operation to crack down on under-age drinking. Police will patrol the streets of Salford on Friday and Saturday evenings as part of Operation Brocade, after joining forces with Salford council.  Manchester Evening News

• Alcohol is to blame for more than 22,000 deaths a year in Britain - nearly three times higher than government estimates.  New evidence to be published this week by Alcohol Concern paints a stark picture of how alcohol abuse destroys the lives of thousands of Britons.  The charity will reveal that 60 people now die every day from drink. They warn that ministers are massively underestimating the problem by excluding nearly a third of deaths from official statistics. This includes cases where drink is an indirect factor, such as accidents and self-harm.  The charity's report, Wasted: Lives Lost to Alcohol, found that up to one in three young people who commit suicide are intoxicated prior to death, and that excessive drinking is the second most important cause of high blood pressure after obesity. It also says up to 5,000 cancer deaths annually are linked to alcohol consumption.  The Independent

• Open air toilets are being introduced in one of Cornwall's most popular resorts to stop people urinating in streets and in doorways. The authorities in Newquay hope the French-style pissoirs, which rise up from the ground at night, will help clean up the resort's image. The units are stored underground in the day for self-cleaning. Three urinals have been installed in Fore Street, Cliff Road and Manor Road in the area of the main nightclubs. Residents had complained about late-night revellers from pubs and clubs relieving themselves against walls and in the open. Anne Boosey, Restormel Borough Council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "Young men using the street as a toilet is not how we would like the town portrayed. "We needed to resolve the problem so that everyone in Newquay can benefit from the strong night-time economy."   BBC News

• Late-night trains for revellers at bars, clubs and restaurants in Glasgow will be run by First Scotrail as part of its winter timetable. The trains will leave around midnight for Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire from December 10, allowing people to stay up to two hours later in the city. The move was welcomed by the council, police and businesses who said it would boost the night-time economy and help reduce the risk of violence as people queue for taxis. About 18 routes running out of Glasgow Central will benefit from later trains.  The Herald

Alcohol-related deaths double since 1991

New from National Statistics:

• The alcohol­-related death rate in the UK increased from 6.9 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 12.9 in 2005. The number of alcohol-related deaths has more than doubled from 4,144 in 1991 to 8,386 in 2005.

• Death rates are much higher for males than females and the gap between the sexes has widened in recent years. In 2005 the male death rate, at 17.9 deaths per 100,000 population, was more than twice the rate for females (8.3 deaths per 100,000) and males accounted for two thirds of the total number of deaths.

• For men the death rates in all age groups increased between 1991 and 2005. The biggest increase was for men aged 35-54. Rates in this age group more than doubled between 1991 and 2005, from 13.4 to 29.9 deaths per 100,000. However the highest rates in each year were for men aged 55-74. In 2005 the rate in this age group was 43.4 per 100,000.

• The death rates by age group for females were consistently lower than rates for males, however the trends showed a broadly similar pattern by age. The death rate for women aged 35-­54 nearly doubled between 1991 and 2005, from 7.2 to 14.2 per 100,000 population, a larger increase than the rate for women in any other age group. The highest rates in each year were for the age group 55-74 however. In 2005 there were 19.2 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 population for women in this age group.

Alcohol in the news 7/11/06

• Coronation Street actress Beverley Callard has officially launched Manchester's Best Bar None awards, which for this year includes an LGBT category for the first time.  Ms Callard, who plays Liz McDonald in the popular soap, encouraged responsible venues to get involved with the initiative, that rewards well managed venues who take their customers’ safety seriously. “The Best Bar None awards are a fantastic example of the police working together with the alcohol industry and the local authority to fight the problems caused by binge-drinking and alcohol fuelled crime”, said PC Paul Acton, from City Safe. “We have a range of initiatives in Manchester to further reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder and by licensees operating in such a responsible way, the Best Bar None Awards have undoubtedly contributed to a fall in incidents.”  Pink News

• It is something that many of us have long suspected - hangovers really do get worse as you get older. Scientists have shown that teenagers have a greater resistance to alcohol. Not only are they less clumsy and sleepy on the night itself, they do not suffer as much the next day. It is thought that the adolescent brain, which develops rapidly during the teenage years, copes better with the intoxicating effects of alcohol. It is not all good news, however, as youngsters may be lulled into a false sense of security, leading them to do untold damage to their health. Study author Professor Elena Varlinskaya said: 'This ability of adolescents to rapidly counteract some unpleasant alcohol effects may allow them to have more drinks per occasion. 'This pattern of binge drinking, being unsafe in general, might be extremely dangerous for adolescents, given that their brain is especially vulnerable to alcohol damage.'  Daily Mail

• A local resident has initiated a hearing at Richmond Magistrates’ Court, for it to decide whether Richmond’s licensing sub-committee followed the correct procedure when it recently granted a licence to ‘Parvinu’ for a proposed wine bar. There were 89 written complaints from local residents, more than any other single licensing issue in St Margarets. At the onset of the meeting the Chairman announced that only 22 of these complaints would be taken into consideration as he had decided to set a boundary limit of 150 metres for valid objections. Philip Morgan one of St Margarets local councillors (representing local residents) questioned the basis for this boundary. He was told it was based on a licensing application regarding a Wetherspoon’s pub in the Midlands. Harry Jacobs who has complained to the Court said “Whilst the 2003 Licensing Act states that only a person living in the vicinity of the premises has the right to be an ‘interested party’, it very clearly also states in terms of defining vicinity - ‘each case must be considered on its own merits’.  For the Chairman to immediately dismiss two thirds of the complainants on the basis of a decision taken elsewhere in the country certainly wasn’t the spirit or intent of the 2003 Act, especially as in reality all but one of those excluded complainants live within 1500ft of the proposed venue. ”  St Margarets Community Website

• Edinburgh: Brewing giant Scottish and Newcastle has clinched a sponsorship deal to provide the drinks at the first ever Hogmanay bars on Princes Street.  Fosters, John Smith's bitter, wine and soft drinks will be on offer at a string of stalls inside the Royal Bank Street Party arena.  The Scottish Ambulance Service had opposed plans by the organisers of the street party to allow alcohol to be sold on Princes Street at the event for the first time.  However, council officials believe the move will help dissuade people from bringing along home-made "cocktails" to the event.  The council said it would be joining forces with Scottish and Newcastle to promote sensible drinking messages in the run-up to this year's celebrations.  Scotsman

• Underage drinkers in Liverpool are being sold alcohol over the phone by home delivery companies who fail to check their customers' ages.  Trading Standards officers in the city found that five out of seven businesses sold alcohol to children under 18 without asking for identification.   BBC News

• Jason McAteer believes modern-day footballers have cleaned up their act. The Tranmere Rovers midfielder says that the past decade has seen an end to the drink culture within the English game. And the former Republic of Ireland international - who has also plied his trade at Bolton, Liverpool, Blackburn and Sunderland, clocking up over 400 appearances - feels the influence of foreign coaches has been a major factor in the change.  icLiverpool

• Alcohol and obesity remain the top public health concerns facing Scotland, the country's most senior doctor has warned.  Dr Harry Burns, the chief medical officer for Scotland, published his annual report into the state of the nation's health, in which it he outlines the problems caused by both drink and being overweight.  Statistics in the report reveal that in 2004-2005 more than 31,000 people were admitted to hospital with an alcohol related condition - some 4% of all admissions in that year.  icScotland   The CMO's report: Health in Scotland 2005

 

Broadway Healthy Living Centre evluation - alcohol-related needs of rough sleepers

Broadway’s Healthy Living Centre (HLC) opened in London in October 2001 with the support of a five year grant from the Big Lottery. The project was specifically designed to meet the health needs of rough sleepers, the street population and vulnerably housed people. It was also hoped that it would enable local health service stakeholders and a frontline service for homeless people to explore joint ways of working to meet the health care needs of this group.

HLCs, by means of a wide variety of innovative activities and services, deliver solutions to help reach public health objectives with regard to obesity; smoking; alcohol; sexual health and mental health. In addition, because of their location and locally targeted delivery (80% of HLC users live in areas of high poverty and deprivation), HLCs seek to address the causes of health inequalities, such as social exclusion, lack of access and socio-economic deprivation.

Activities are targeted to reduce social isolation and promote greater community involvement, more in line with a ‘first step’ approach rather than through the provision of directly health related services. Evaluation research of the Broadway HLC has recently been published.  Measuring the Impact of Broadway’s Healthy Living Centre for Homeless People adds to the body of knowledge about the alcohol-related needs of rough sleepers.   

Of service users seen by the HLC nurse:

• 233 (84%) had a recorded alcohol support need
• 72 (26%) had a recorded drugs support need
• 28 (10%) had a recorded mental health support need.

Service users were surveyed for the research, and were asked if they knew of other places to access health services and whether they were using these services instead of those provided at the Centre.  Of those responding, more than two thirds of the knew where they could access a GP elsewhere. However 80% did not know where they would be able to access drug or alcohol services and nearly 60% did not know where they would access mental health support.

More info

• Big Lottery Fund Health Living Centres programme
• Addressing the Health Needs of Rough Sleepers (Homelessness Directorate)
• Wet Day Centres in the United Kingdom: A Research Report and Manual (King's Fund)

Designing-out alcohol-related violence in bars: new research brings no surprises

The Morning Advertiser reports:

Badly designed and over-crowded bars, poorly trained staff and rivalry between customers have been revealed as the three key factors that lead to alcohol-related violence in pubs and clubs, according to new research by Nottingham Trent University.  Titled ‘Last Orders for Alcohol Related Violence’, the report looked at the psychological and environmental factors that lead to violence and included interviews with victims and perpetrators of violence. 

The study, which was commissioned by the British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation, found that there was no one factor blamed for incidents of violence and that a range of different and complimentary actions are needed to create a solution. 

The report suggests a range of solutions, including:

• training to all staff to raise awareness of the importance of their responses in reducing and preventing violent incidents

• more attention to housekeeping of venues selling alcohol in bottles or glasses

• more widespread and active participation in PubWatch

More info

• Crime Reduction Toolkit: Alcohol-related crime (Home Office)
• Keeping the Peace (Portman Group) - see chapter 9 for designing-out violence