Alcohol Policy UK

Future of mandatory licensing code looks uncertain

The proposed mandatory licensing code looks increasingly unlikely to be passed in full effect by parliament in the face of industry, economic and political pressures. Earlier this year Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged to bring in the code to tackle irresponsible drinks promotions and as an alternative measure to introducing a minimum price. However now the code looks unlikely to make it through parliament as reported in this Times article, which quotes a Home Office spokesperson as saying:

"We are listening and responding to the strong concerns from the licensed trade who are concerned about responsible premises being caught up with the less responsible ones. We recognise that this is a big change but, having regard to the concerns of stakeholders at our consultation events, we think it is right to respond quickly while we have this opportunity."

Consultation on the proposed code closed in August this year but a story soon followed reporting that the business secretary Lord Mandelson had attempted to halt the code to protect the business interests of the industry. Sectors of the industry, particularly the pub trade, have staunchly opposed the code condemning it as an untargeted measure which could cost £58 million to implement.

The code was due to be brought in as part of the Policing and Crime Bill 2009, currently going through the House of Lords. A mandatory code has been supported by health and public sector professionals and Alcohol Concern have highlighted that alcohol is often poorly labelled and compliance with previous voluntary codes had been low.

New group on alcohol policy research and development

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are inviting relevant stakeholders to take part in a new alcohol harm reduction research and development programme. The project is seeking community-based statutory alcohol professionals from all sectors, statutory alcohol harm reduction leads and local voluntary activists to attend the inaugural meeting in London on the afternoon of the 23rd November.

The REAP (Research for Effective Alcohol Policies) project will support alcohol policy research and development and will be led by researchers from a range of British Universities. It aims to develop and evaluate community interventions that are responsive to local needs and based on evidence, with the goal of reducing harm from alcohol.

Interested stakeholders should contact [email protected] no later than November 13th, indicating your role and e-mail address. Reimbursements for expenses are available.

The AERC Alcohol Academy will be linking into the REAP project to share and develop the experience, skills and learning of alcohol coordinators and strategic leads across the country.

Falls in alcohol consumption but longer term trend and impact not clear

Levels of alcohol consumption have been on a downward trend since 2004, prompting the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) to call out against 'population' based approaches to alcohol harm reduction such as pricing measures and the mandatory licensing code.

Based on figures from HM Revenues and Customs data, sales have been falling since their 2004 peak, although 2007 levels showed a slight increase on the previous year. Nonetheless the longer term trend has been one of a more significant increase as demonstrated in the recent report from the Alcohol Health and Research Unit 'Future Proof'. 

However consideration is urged when interpreting the data and assessing trends - consumption falls may be predominantly determined by significant decreases in consumption levels amongst younger drinkers in particular (16-24 age group). This was highlighted in the report released earlier this year by the JRF 'Drinking in the UK: an exploration of trends'. The impact of the recession, continued rise in home consumption and issues such as convergence between men and women's drinking patterns is also unclear.

Although rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions are still rising, the rate of increase has been slowing down over recent years. This is likely to reflect the recent falls in consumption as well as the possible impact of alcohol harm reduction interventions such as the such as the NHS led High Impact Changes.

Graph examining trends in per capita alcohol consumption and alcohol-related deaths for the whole UK in the years 1984 – 2008. Source: 'Future Proof: Alcohol Consumption, Mortality and Morbidity - Key Findings' Professor Martin Plant 2009

Further information on consumption and the UK is detailed in the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) factsheets and presentation:

• 'Drinking in Great Britain' factsheet (2008 update) download pdf
  
• Consumption and Harm in the UK and EU: A comparison of the UK with some EU countries (2009 update) download pdf
• Presentation on 'Alcohol harms and trends' (download ppt.) by Dr Rachel Seabrook from the IAS, at the AERC Alcohol Academy launch event 2009.

Alcohol-related hospital admissions data for 2008/09 released

Provisional alcohol-related hospital admissions data for 2008/09 is now available from the North West Public Health Observatory (download the Quarterly data excel sheet from the data download tab). The data shows the overall rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions is still rising, though the rate of increase is slowing down. The summary of key findings reads:

"The rate of admission in 2008/09 in England was 1562 per 100,000 population, up 6% on 2007/08. The number of admissions was 933 thousand, up 8% on 2007/08.

The rate of admission is highest in the North East (2254) and North West (2080); and lowest in South Central SHA (1127) and East of England SHA (1303). West Midlands SHA has seen the largest increase in the rate of admission relative to the previous year, up 12%, compared with a 1% fall in the South West. However, this follows on from an increase of only 2% in the West Midlands between 2006/07 and 2007/08."

Rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions are likely to be determined by multiple socio-economic factors influencing consumption patterns and behaviours, as well as the impact of alcohol-harm reduction interventions - see our recent news on consumption and trends. The figures will be of particular interest to local authorities and PCTs that have chosen to prioritise alcohol-related targets through NI 39 and VSC 26.

For alcohol-related data and information for your region visit the Local Alcohol Profiles for England site or see here for the national Statistics on Alcohol, England 2009.

Regional and local news and updates

East of England regional alcohol newsletter

The East of England has released its second regional alcohol newsletter, highlighting key news, developments and best practice in the region. The newsletter publishes findings from the Big Drink Debate, examining attitudes and behaviours of people in the region towards alcohol consumption, impacts and harms. Full findings here.

The newsletter also outlines innovative regional alcohol programmes including work to improve offender health in Bedfordshire, with the specific focus on offenders with learning disabilities and mental health issues. It also outlines work in HMP Chelmsford to pilot a peer led Alcohol Misuse, Identification and Brief Advice initiative delivered by Prisoner Health Trainer Champions. Also identified are details of the regional Alcohol Improvement Programme and 7 new projects that have been funded for the region to help deliver the key alcohol High Impact Changes. 

Trendy London area now a 'saturation zone'

Clerkenwell in East London has now been deemed a 'saturation zone' to curb further growth of licensed premises. According to the local paper 'Clerkenwell attracts thousands of revellers to its 135 licensed nightspots every week - but residents claim that with the amount of alcohol on offer, people are drinking excessively and making too much noise.'

'Saturation zones' are informal names given to areas where new licensed premises are restricted through 'Cumulative Impact' policies - see here for DCMS guidance (pdf)

Other news and initiatives

Liverpool are investing in taxi marshals to reduce alcohol-fuelled disorder, according to the Liverpool Echo. Licensing officers in Dorset have rejected an application for a 24 hour alcohol home delivery service, as reported in this BBC story. Volunteer 'street pastors' who help troubled night-spot drinkers have been nominated for an award by Derbyshire police's first annual Community Achievement Awards. Police in Portsmouth have been carrying out undercover operations to catch licensed premises selling to drunk people, according to the local news.

Department of Health to deliver national liver strategy

The Department of Health today announced it would deliver a National Liver Strategy to combat the rise of liver disease, the 5th most common cause of death in England. Liver disease rates have doubled in the last decade and trebled in 30 years, the imapact currently costing the NHS £460 million a year.

The rise in liver disease is attributable to trends in alcohol consumption, which alongside obesity are key lifestyle factors determining risk. A Daily Mail story reports that last year 105 people a day were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease. The Department of Health will will recruit a National Clinical Director to develop and implement the national liver strategy.

The Minister for Health Ann Keen said:

''Liver disease is the only one of the top five causes of death which is continuing to affect more people every year at an increasingly young age. We know that by identifying people earlier, encouraging people to change their behaviour and making sure the right services are in the right place, we can improve the quality of care and stop the rise in this disease.

The British Liver Trust welcomed the news, stating 'front-line clinicians and the NHS as a whole need support to tackle the complex causes of liver disease.' The British Liver Trust are currently promoting alcohol awareness week with the message that adults should give themselves 'at least 2 alcohol-free days a week' to promote liver health and reduce the risk of harm from alcohol.

Last year health think-tank the King's Fund produced a report calling on the NHS to adopt a longer term approach to tackling unhealthy lifestyles. They called for priority actions to address smoking, alcohol misuse, poor diet and lack of exercise as key determinants of the health burden of disease.

DCSF reports outcomes of binge drinking 'crackdown' in youth crime hostpots

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has reported 'more than 3500 young people were successfully targeted by the summer crackdown on teenage binge drinking this year and 15,000 were signposted to positive activities', in a recent press release.

Youth crime priority areas shared grant funding of £1.4 million to address young people's binge drinking between July and September this year. The figures report:

• 5171 litres of alcohol were confiscated from teenagers (this equates to about 6,600 bottles of lager)
• 3721 actions were taken against young people attempting to consume or consuming alcohol in public places – including 500 dispersal orders
• Nearly 2000 young people were referred to support services - including 324 to alcohol treatment services
• 1829 parents were informed about their child’s alcohol related anti-social behaviour and involved in follow-up action to address their behaviour
• Over 38,000 young people were identified by street based teams with 18,660 signposted to positive activities in their areas
• 2467 test purchase operations were carried out - 349 licensed premises failed a test purchase operation

The funding was part of the £100m Youth Crime Action Plan. A separate Youth Alcohol Action Plan also sets out an enforcement agenda for young people's alcohol use, but also proposed the CMOs guidelines on young people's alcohol consumption outlined earlier this year.

Alcohol-related disorder associated with children and young people looks set to remain a national priority for both the leading political parties, as highlighted at their recent party conferences.

News and updates: North West region calls for minimum pricing as supermarkets question efficacy to Commons review

As we head through alcohol awareness week, a number of stories and reports have been hitting the national headlines:

North West's Public Health Directors call for minimum pricing

In a letter to the Times, the Directors of Public Health for each PCT in the North West have grouped together to call on the Government to take action and legislate for minimum pricing measures. Such measures were reported to be the most cost-effective approach to reducing alcohol-related harm by an independent review by the University of Sheffield last year. Since then the CMO and other bodies such as Alcohol Concern have also called for minimum pricing measures. Gordon Brown however rejected these calls, but the Conservatives recently announced they would use targeted taxes to address the 'unbelievably low prices' of some drinks. 

The North West's Directors of Public Health have called on the Government to show the leadership it took on smoking in public places and act on alcohol pricing, claiming that alcohol-related hospital admissions have risen 64% in the last 5 years for the region. At a cost of £400 million per year to the NHS in the region, they have argued the measures would 'save 3,393 lives per year, cut crimes by 45,800 and save the country £1 billion every year in alcohol-related costs.' BBC news story here.

NHS and councils leaders will also reportedly discuss this week whether they can adopt minimum pricing measures for the North West region.

House of Commons Health Committee questions supermarkets and sports industry

The latest session of the House of Commons health committee inquiry into alcohol questioned representatives from Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Asda, followed by representatives from the Premier League and the Football League. The supermarkets largely continued to advocate educational approaches in order to address alcohol-related harm and rejected suggestions that minimum pricing was the right response (from 16 minutes in). See this Daily Express story for quotes from the supermarkets.

Warnings over the future of alcohol related harm from senior academic

Research from Professor Martin Plant of the Alcohol Health and Research Unit has attracted headlines warning the 'Alcohol death toll to reach 9,080 a year' (The Guardian). Plant's research, commissioned by Alcohol Concern to look at the future of alcohol-related harms, found that that an increase of one litre in per capita alcohol consumption would result in 928 extra alcohol-related deaths per year in Britain. Should current trends continue, there would be 90,800 deaths linked to drink by 2019. Professor Martin Plant also called for minimum pricing measures to be adopted as 'the most effective, efficient and evidence-based lever' to reduce alcohol harm. See here for the summary of the report 'Future Proof' (pdf).

Watch online: Horizon 'Do I drink too much?' & C4's 'Red Lion' exploration of pub culture

This week's BBC2 broadcast of Horizon 'Do I drink too much?' is available to watch for one month on here via BBC iplayer. According to the synopsis:

'Addiction expert John Marsden, who likes a drink, makes a professional and personal exploration of our relationship with alcohol. He undergoes physical and neurological examinations to determine its impact, and finds out why some people will find it much harder than others to resist alcohol. Even at the age of 14 there may be a way of determining which healthy children will turn into addicts.'

It will also be shown on Friday 15th October 21:00 on BBC HD.

Channel 4 last night broadcast a documentary called 'The Red Lion', an exploration of British pub culture, available here on 4od. According to the synopsis:

Award-winning film-maker Sue Bourne sets off on a 3,000-mile journey to some of the country's 600 Red Lions - the most common pub name - to discover why pub culture is so central to British society. She wants to find out why we are still a nation of drinkers despite Government warnings about the dangers of drinking.

Alcohol-use disorders (prevention): consultation on the draft guidance by NICE

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has opened consultation on Alcohol-use disorders (prevention): consultation on the draft guidance.

In order to partake in the consultation you must register as a stakeholder and submit comments by 10 November 2009.

The guidance currently recommends a range of population and individual based approaches to prevent alcohol-use disorders amongst the population. It includes recommendations on key areas relating to:

• price
• availability
• marketing
• licensing
• resources for screening and brief interventions
• supporting children and young people aged 10 to 15 years
• screening young people aged 16 and 17 years
• motivational counselling with young people aged 16 and 17 years
• screening adults brief advice for adults
• motivational counselling for adults
• referral

The draft guidance has prompted several media stories relating to the recommendations for minimum pricing measures. See Guardian and Times stories.

NICE is also consulting on Alcohol use disorders - clinical management