Alcohol Policy UK

Brief interventions should be integrated within diabetes care

A study has recommended that brief interventions for alcohol (or 'IBA') should be incorporated into routine diabetes care. The abstract of the report 'Alcohol use of diabetes patients: the need for assessment and intervention' identifies:

'It is well known that diabetes self-care behaviors are critical to disease progression. Unfortunately, many patients do not adhere to diabetes self-care recommendations despite their importance. Alcohol use has been identified as a barrier to diabetes self-care adherence.

Excessive alcohol consumption not only negatively impacts diabetes self-care adherence but also affects the course of diabetes. Diabetes patients who are at-risk drinkers are likely to have poor diabetes treatment adherence, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Alcohol consumption by diabetes patients is often inadequately assessed and addressed in their medical care.

Brief interventions to reduce at-risk drinking have been well validated in a variety of patient populations and offer the potential to improve diabetes treatment adherence and outcome. Assessment and treatment of at-risk drinking could be readily incorporated into routine diabetes care. Strategies for brief assessment of and intervention for at-risk drinking are offered.'

Alcohol segmentation reports

A series of four reports utilising segmentation tools to discuss alcohol have been produced by the Liverpool John Moores University (JMU) Centre for Public Health.

The reports aim to synthesise the different data sources that identify at-risk groups as well as to provide an insight into related motivations and attitudes.

Alcohol pen portraits: segmentation series report 4

This report is a summary document, bringing together the intelligence gathered to provide an in-depth understanding of the groups. The report provides suggestions for the nest steps in developing a truly insightful understanding of the groups through qualitative research.

Alcohol-attributable hospital admissions: segmentation series report 3

This report concentrates on hospital admission relating to alcohol in order to highlight which groups and types of populations are most at risk.

Alcohol consumption: segmentation series report 2

This report concentrates on consumption, highlighting which groups and types of groups are most likely to drink in certain patterns.

Attitudes towards alcohol: segmentation series report 1

This report concentrates on attitudes and motivations in relation to alcohol, highlighting which groups and types of groups are most likely to have specific attitudes and/or motivations.

A national social marketing toolkit is available from the Alcohol Learning Centre's Social Marketing pages as well as segmentation tools for your local area.

Portsmouth local 'minimum pricing' approach

Licensees in an area of Portsmouth have made a 'voluntary agreement' not to sell drinks below £1.50 - but premises failing to adhere may expect to be called to a licensee  committee review. Eleven bars in the Guildhall Walk area made the agreement at a pubwatch meeting following a spate of violence - according to a Morning Advertiser report:

“It came off the back of police cracking down on irresponsible drinks promotions,” said one licensee, who declined to be named.

“A lot of places were doing £1 drinks and doubles for ridiculous prices. We decided to be proactive and introduce a voluntary scheme.

But the local JD Wetherspoon declined to take part in the agreement, and its legality is being questioned with regard to price fixing.

The approach follows similar measures taken in Oldham last year which were reportedly successful and featured in a BBC Panaroma programme.

This year the mandatory licensing code came into force, outlawing irresponsible promotions such as 'buy one get one free'. Guidance on the code was been released by the Home Office.

Alcohol news and updates: June 2010 pt. 2

'Double' tax hike for drinkers expected in budget

According to the Telegraph, 'drinkers face a "double whammy" of tax rises in the forthcoming emergency budget which will see the cost of beer, wine and spirits increasing sharply for the second time in three months.' A 5% duty rise combined with an increase of 2.5 percentage point rise in the rate of VAT rate would be thought to put 19p on a bottle of Chardonnay, while a bottle of Gordon's gin would rise 65p to £13.80. Publican report here.

Welfare reform pilots scrapped

A press release from the DWP this week announced Ministers have decided not to take forward previously proposed Welfare Reform Drug Recovery pilots. Under the Welfare Reform Act 2009 the pilots had planned extra support for those voluntary disclosing a drug or alcohol problem, as well as the power to test and impose conditions on drug and alcohol users. The charity Drugscope welcomed the news in its press release.

Professor Ian Gilmore Knighted

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, has been Knighted for services to improving Public Health (BBC report). Professor Gilmore has been a vocal advocate of measures such as minimum pricing and restrictions on alcohol advertising, mainly as chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance.

Doctor warns of crisis point of young people with alcohol-related diseases

A doctor in Merseyside has warned he is seeing more and more people in their 20s and 30s with neurological diseases and mental disorders triggered by alcohol abuse. In a BBC report Dr Stephen Hood, a consultant at the University Hospital Aintree, said "We need to get people to realise that these conditions, like cirrhosis and dementia, are not 'old people' diseases. Young people are becoming more and more prone to developing them. It is reaching a crisis point."

Diageo invests in Purple Flag scheme

According the Morning Advertiser, Diageo is to invest around £100,000 over three years as headline sponsor of the ‘kitemark’ scheme that recognises safe and successful nighttime economies. Purple Flag status is given to nightspots that are judged to have taken strides to improve the environment at night for visitors and residents, including measures for tackling alcohol-related disorder.

Report calls for lowering of drink-drive limit

A government commissioned report has called for the drink-drive limit to be reduced from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. This would be expected to save 168 lives in the first year, about 7% of UK road deaths, and bring the limit in line with most European limits.

Sir Peter North who conducted the review suggested that a 50mg limit would still mean most drivers would be able to have a drink and be within the limit. North said there was support for a lower limit:

"Research conclusively shows the much higher risk posed by drink driving. With a blood alcohol level between my proposed new limit of 50mg/100ml and the current 80mg/100ml limit, a driver has a six times greater risk of road death than a non-drinking driver. The public is ready for a lower limit."

Some countries including Poland and Sweden have even lower limits of 20mg, whilst the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have total bans on drink-driving. A BBC magazine article discusses arguments for and against a total ban.

According to a Guardian article, the transport secretary Philip Hammond said he would "carefully consider" the report but would balance it against the possible damage to the drinks industry. See BBC report here or a NICE summary of the evidence here.

In response to the recommendations, Alcohol Concern's Don Shenker said: “Given its commitment “to taking tough action to tackle problem drinking” as underlined earlier this month by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, we hope to see the Coalition Government implement these recommendations as soon as possible.” See Alcohol Concern's press release here.

Alcohol commissioning skills survey

The AERC Alcohol Academy is seeking the views of those with a responsibility or interest in alcohol commissioning skills and knowledge.

If you are an alcohol lead, commissioner or other professional in the field please complete the online survey or disseminate to relevant colleagues.

Responses will help identify the skills and learning options most valuable in developing alcohol-related commissioning. From here the Academy will develop an Alcohol Commissioning Learning Programme or series of workshops -  by completing the survey you will be able to register interest to partake in a free pilot of the programme.

The survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete and closes on Friday 16th July 2010.

Your information will be kept anonymous. For more information please visit www.alcoholacademy.net or find alcohol commissioning resources here.

To share this survey please send http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHXY6JL or simply copy and paste alcohol commissioning survey.

Scotland's minimum pricing battle intensifies

Plans to introduce minimum pricing in Scotland looked in jeopardy as a narrow majority of MSPs voted to remove it from the Alcohol Bill. An amendment to remove minimum pricing before stage two of the bill was called for by Labour and Tory opponents by a margin of 54 to 49, with 13 abstentions from the Lib Dems.

The Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon called on her opponents to 'rise above party politics', but opposition member Murdo Fraser said it was 'time for the SNP to put its plans on hold and sit down and work with the UK Government and opposition parties on a joint approach which will have widespread political support.'

An article in the Scotsman reported Nicola Sturgeon insisted the SNP would continue to pursue minimum pricing at stage 2. See further reports from the BBC and Telegraph. The stage 1 report was recently published, reviewing the evidence and findings from the Health and Sport Committee.

In England, the prospect of minimum pricing under the new Government also appears unlikely following comments from the Health Secretary in response to the NICE guidance. However Fuller's became the latest brewer to come out in support of minimum pricing after recent backing from Greene King and Tesco. Fuller's Chairman Michael Turner echoed concerns over the practical challenges of implementing the current Government plans to ban below cost sales. However the Coalition also promises to 'review alcohol taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles binge drinking'. 

Housing and drinking in the home: 3rd London practitioners forum

The Third London Alcohol Practitioners’ Forum was held on Thursday 20th May at City Hall with the theme of alcohol related housing problems and drinking in the home. The Alcohol Practitioners' Forum is an information sharing and networking group that provides a pool of knowledge, skills and expertise to support the Joint Action Group (JAG) on Alcohol - established to deliver the Regional Statement of Priorities on Alcohol. Presentations from the day:

Session 1: Homelessness/Access to housing

• Alcohol floating support/homeless prevention, Brian Watts, Equinox
• Community Alcohol Detox with homeless people, Dr Merlin Wilcox

Session 2: Support within housing/Drinking in the home

• Working with Older Drinkers- Greg Scott, Foundation66 Community Alcohol Support Service
  
• Domestic violence and Alcohol Use – Embrace Project, Don Shenker, Alcohol Concern

Session 3: Unacknowledged Drinking in the Home

• Harmful drinking in the home- James Morris, Alcohol Academy
  
• Royal Geographic Society Alcohol Research, Dr Steven Toole
  
• Specialist floating support for BME groups-Foziha Raja, EACH

Session 4: The London Drink Debate

• Introduction the LDD and its aims and feedback from the LDD initial report, Matthew Andrews, RPHG

Further presentations on alcohol and housing issues can be found here.

Presentations from the previous forum on the Night Time Economy and Community Engagement can be found here.

Can the alcohol industry represent genuine social responsibilty?

A paper exploring how substantial are 'unhealthy' drinkers to alcohol sales volume asks whether this means the industry can have genuine corporate social responsibilty in promoting sensible drinking.

Conflict of interest in the alcoholic drinks industry: how important are ‘unhealthy drinkers’ in total UK consumption? is available to download here [pdf]

Critics suggest that the industry's commercial interests are such that it cannot feasibly have a genuine interest in reducing consumption given the volume of alcohol consumed by those drinking above reccommended guidelines. Largely the drinks industry has invested in an awareness raising approach, such as through www.drinkaware.co.uk, as part of its corporate social responsibilty agenda.

The paper finds 'that unhealthy drinking [i.e. above the reccommended guidelines] accounts for 55-82% of total consumption by 18-64 year olds, depending on the definition of unhealthy drinking used'. For discussion the paper summarises:

'...there is a significant potential conflict of interest under any assumptions, in contrast to the alcohol industry’s claims. Further research is needed to examine whether other potential motivations of the alcohol industry compensate this potential conflict of interest sufficiently to achieve genuinely responsible behaviour.'

Last year the Health Scrutiny Committee alcohol report explored the role of the alcohol industry in the context of national alcohol policy.

Alcohol news and updates: June 2010

Drinkaware World Cup campaign as alcohol problems anticipated

The industry funded alcohol charity Drinkaware has launched its World Cup awareness campaign. 'Hoof it' includes viral and roadshow marketing and ten thousand 'drink less play more' footballs will be given away.

Concerns over anticipated spikes in alcohol-related crime and disorder mount as the World Cup approaches- see BBC story. It is also expected that high workplace absence will be caused by hangovers as well as people skipping off to catch the big games.

World cup alcohol licensing guidance is available here.

NICE prevention guidance media coverage

Following the publication of the NICE alcohol prevention guidance various media and comment has appeared. A BBC feature covers arguments over minimum pricing recommendations, the Independent highlighted support whilst an Observer comment questioned the role of culture. A Daily Mail article by Dr Henry Featherstone suggests a re-structuring of alcohol duty as a better approach to minimum pricing.

Other news

Industry giant SABMiller PLC is seeking an Alcohol Policy Manager to 'positively advance SABMiller’s global reputation on alcohol so as to contribute toward the attainment of SABMiller’s vision of being the most admired brewer. Further details here.

Laura Hall, the first woman to be given a nationwide Drinking Banning Order (DBO) has said she wishes to stop drinking in this BBC report. A Scottish police chief has blamed alcohol for 14 recent murders, highlighting the rising impact of alcohol-related disorder - BBC story here.

As well as the forthcoming alcohol events on BME and workforce development, a Westminster Forum keynote seminar ‘Alcohol 2010 - public health, policy and personal responsibility’ takes place on the 8th July in London - see here for details.