Alcohol Policy UK

Alcohol Improvement Programme ends

The 3 year Alcohol Improvement Programme (AIP), funded by the Department of Health, has now come to an end. The AIP provided support to the NHS and third sector in delivering on alcohol harm reduction, particularly around the High Impact Changes. Investment was delivered though Early Implementer areas, Regional Alcohol Offices and an alcohol National Support Team (NST) - legacy document here. 

The AIP also included the Alcohol Learning Centre (ALC) which will no longer be updated until further notice. An independent evaluation found the ALC to be highly successful in sharing information and resources, with over 5,000 people completing the IBA e-learning. Funding for the 'HubCAPP' database had also ended and been integrated within the ALC under local initiatives.

Alcohol policy comment: determinants, influences and the media

James Nicholls, an alcohol policy and history researcher from Bath Spa University, has contributed the following guest post. It explores recent news and developments in the alcohol field within the context of policy making and journalism.

The Department of Health recently launched its Responsibility Deal on alcohol – but only after many leading medical bodies involved very publicly withdrew their support. In a joint statement, they accused the Government of allowing the drinks industry to set the policy agenda and called for evidence-based policies that could be evaluated using rigorous metrics. It marked the latest phase in a long-running conflict between health campaigners who seek ‘population’ based alcohol policies (in which the state actively reduces overall consumption through pricing and licensing controls), and an industry which argues alcohol harm is an issue of problematic minorities that should be tackled through voluntary action. 

Budget 2011: alcohol duty escalator stays as pub trade speaks out

The 2011 budget confirmed that the alcohol duty escalator will continue with alcohol taxed at 2% above the rate of inflation (RPI).

The Treasury stated it would add four pence to the price of a pint of beer, 15 pence to a bottle of wine, and 54 pence to a bottle of spirits. It was also confirmed that later this year tax on beers below 2.8% would be cut by 50 per cent - and duty on beers above 7.5 per cent would rise (details here).

The announcement was reported as bad news for the pub trade who had called for a freeze in duty. Research commissioned by the British Beer and Pub Association claimed that a duty freeze could have saved over 10,000 jobs and generated £40m in extra tax revenue. BBPA Chief Executive, Brigid Simmonds said the "policy hampers growth and damages pubs and the communities which rely on them". The Morning Advertiser said it was a "devasting blow" and highlighted a full list of trade responses.

However using taxation as a pricing measure has been advocated by politicians and health groups. Dr Peter Rice, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland welcomed the announcement. "Alcohol misuse has a considerable effect on the nation’s health, including our mental health, and this duty increase above the rate of inflation will help tackle one of the UK’s biggest health and social problems." Full press release.

See here for a BBC summary of the 2011 Budget.

Drink-Drive limit to remain 80mg but enforcement to be upped

The legal drink-drive limit will remain at 80mg per 100ml of blood, the transport secretary Philip Hammond has announced. A Government press release said the focus would instead be on "improving enforcement and education to tackle the drink and drug drivers who put lives at risk." 

However the decision drew criticism after an independent report last year called for the legal limit to be reduced. In the report Sir Peter North proposed a reduced 50mg limit, arguing it would save hundreds of lives and bring the level in line with most of Europe. See BBC report.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said:

“The number of drink driving deaths has fallen by more than 75% since 1979. But drink driving still kills hundreds of people so we need to take tough action... after careful consideration we have concluded that improving enforcement is likely to have more impact on these dangerous people than lowering the limit.

See here for a new Think! road safety website, including facts and advice on drink-driving.

Further measures were outlined including:

• revoking the right to a blood test for people whose evidential breath test result is less than 40% over the limit
• introducing a "more robust" rehabilitation scheme requiring those caught well over the limit to take remedial training
• approving portable evidential breath-testing equipment for the police
• closing a loophole used by high-risk offenders to delay medical examinations,
• streamlining the procedure for testing drink-drivers in hospital.

See here for the the full Government response to the independent reports on drink and drug driving. See here for a BBC magazine article discussing the arguments for and against a total ban.

'Responsibility deal' announced as health groups withdraw

The Government's public health Responsibility Deal was announced today, but has been surrounded by controversy as health groups pulled out from the partnerships. 

The 'Responsibility Deal' includes pledges on key areas of alcohol, food, behaviour change, physical activity and health at work. But this week 6 health groups involved in the alcohol deal pulled out, saying the pledges would not work and were being overly dictated by industry. Today further health groups including the British Heart Foundation also walked away from the deal.

The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley however stood firm, defending the Responsibility Deal as part of a wider public health strategy:

“We know that regulation is costly, can take years and is often only determined at an EU-wide level anyway. That’s why we have to introduce new ways of achieving better results. The deals published today, demonstrate the effectiveness of our radical partnership approach to deliver more and sooner."

The responsibility deal has five core commitments, the third being to "foster a culture of responsible drinking, which will help people to drink within guidelines". It includes agreement with industry to achieve clear unit labelling on over 80% of alcohol by 2013. Last year an independent review found that only 15% of drinks fully met the existing voluntary labelling agreement.

A full list of Responsibility Deal Partners has been made available as well as the pledges in full, which for alcohol also include commitment to:

• simple and consistent information to raise awareness of the unit and calorie content of alcoholic drinks, NHS drinking guidelines, and the health harms associated with exceeding guidelines
• ensuring effective action is taken in all premises to reduce and prevent under-age sales of alcohol (primarily through rigorous application of Challenge 21 and Challenge 25)
• maintaining the levels of financial support and in-kind funding for Drinkaware
• further action on advertising and marketing, namely the development of a new sponsorship code requiring the promotion of responsible drinking
• support for schemes appropriate for local areas to address issues around social and health harms such as Best Bar None and Community Alcohol Partnerships

Also as part of the deal, Heineken is expected to announce it will reduce the alcohol content (ABV) in one of its leading brands, thought to be Strongbow, by 1% (currently 5.3%) by 2013. It will also put unit information on 11 million glasses it produces for pubs and clubs around the country. Asda has pledged to end front-of-store alcohol displays by the end of April and will give £1 million to community projects.

However Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said it represented "the worst possible deal for everyone who wants to see alcohol harm reduced" and set no sanctions if industry failed on its pledges. Shenker said the pledges were "half-hearted" and that "this government has clearly shown that when it comes to public health its first priority is to side with big business and protect private profit."

But industry bodies defended the deal. Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WTSA) said "The drinks industry is committed to playing its part alongside other stakeholders in tackling alcohol misuse. We look forward to making further progress in the months ahead." David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: “The government has set us challenging targets and the industry is rightly determined to play its part in helping to create a responsible drinking culture in the UK.”

A Radio 4 programme heard the BMA's Dr Vivienne Nathanson go head to head with Lansley on alcohol policy and the deal.

News and updates March 2011: Drug strategy blog; Nutt says 'safe drinking level' a myth; minimum price plans in Northern Ireland; beer consumption still falling

Home Office 'drug strategy blog' launched

The Home Office drug [and alcohol] strategy blog is open until Monday 21st March to capture comments from delivery partners. It will then be evaluated to see if it is a useful way to share views and ideas, successes and challenges related to drugs strategy. Consultation is also open on the drugs strategy delivery framework for 'building recovery', which includes treatment for alcohol dependence.

Consultation on minimum price proposals in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland will be consulting on proposals to introduce a minimum price of between 40 to 70 pence per unit according to a press release and BBC report. However much like the pricing debate seen in England and Scotland, a media battle looks set to continue as health interests and various industry bodies slug it out. The proposals are backed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists who say it would help with the prevention of suicide and self-harm. Gavin Partington, of the Wines and Spirits Trade Association (WTSA), said his organisation was “strongly opposed”.

'No such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption' says Nutt

The outspoken addictions Professor David Nutt has written a controversial piece claiming 'There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption'. Nutt asserts a number of factors to argue that the 'myth of a safe level of drinking' has no real evidence. These include that alcohol is toxin which kills cells, that a small minority of people may become addicted to alcohol at first drink, and that the claimed cardiovascular benefits of moderate consumption have not sufficient proof.

Total consumption up 0.6%, but beer continues down amidst calls for duty freeze

Total alcohol consumption in 2010 is up 0.6 per cent, but beer down 1.9 per cent, states the the BBPA as it continued calls for a freeze in beer duty ahead of this month's budget. BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds said "Scrapping plans for further rises in beer duty in the Budget, would also send a signal on encouraging consumption of lower-strength drinks... save over 10,000 UK jobs, protecting Treasury revenues, and stop several more pence being added to the price of a British pint, further hitting UK consumers".

In other news from the Morning Advertiser (MA), London 'booze bus' users should be fined £80 to recoup further saving made by the scheme. Over 1,000 litres of illicit alcohol was seized in Lancashire. Brewer Molson Coors has 'refused to bow to supermarket pressure' to sell its brands at prices dictated by supermarkets.

Recent AERC research: Alcohol Insights on students, sport, stress, families and supply points

The AERC library has recently had a number of Alcohol Insights added to its research bank including:

• Psychological Interventions with Families of Alcohol Misusers: A Systematic Review
• Mediating effects of mental health problems in the stress alcohol relationship
• The effect of drinking alcohol during pregnancy on balance ability in childhood
• Building an evidence base on alcohol supply points: A pilot project to generate intelligence for managing areas with licensed premises
• Use and Abuse of Alcohol in UK University Sport
• Student Choices and Alcohol Matters (SCAM): A multi-level analysis of student alcohol (mis)use and its implications for policy and prevention strategies within universities, cognate educational establishments and the wider community

Further research can be found from the Findings bank, our research tag and a links page on the Alcohol Learning Centre.

Alcohol Concern calls for seperate alcohol aisles in supermarkets

Alcohol Concern is calling for supermarkets and off-licenses to confine displays of alcohol to a single area of their premises, claiming the widespread promotion of alcohol helps to fuel a harmful drinking culture. The charity conducted research that found alcohol is sold throughout stores, in doorways, on end-of-aisle displays, by checkouts, and alongside everyday groceries such as bread and milk.

Download Out of the way? Alcohol displays in supermarkets

The restriction is already in place in Scotland and is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, whilst 70% of 1,000 supermarket customers in Wales back the proposal according to the report. In a press release, Alcohol Concern's Don Shenker said "Such practices promote alcohol as a normal commodity... saturating every aisle of a store with alcohol displays, demonstrates, once again, that big supermarkets are intent on placing their profits above public health."

Whilst on-trade groups spoke in support of the call, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the findings were based on a "very small-scale survey" of just four stores in a single UK city. Andrew Opie, the BRC's food director claimed: "Supermarkets are the most responsible sellers of alcohol. There's no evidence to link the way alcohol is sold currently to irresponsible drinking." See Sky news report.

See here for a recent AERC research report into managing 'alcohol supply point' areas.

Forthcoming events : NDSAG, Pharmacy IBA, Tobacco and DV conferences and dates

New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group’s (NDSAG) Annual International Conference

The 2011 annual conference addresses 'Big Drinking and the Big Society: Inequality and alcohol problems – are we really all in this together? It takes place from Thursday 14th nd – Sunday 17thth April in Lancaster.

Click here for the programme and 2011 flyer + booking form.

Alcohol Screening and brief intervention in pharmacies: new public health role for pharmacists?

Taking place on Thursday 7th April 2011 Time: 10.00am – 3.30pm at King’s College London, this free event will discuss findings of the NHS Lambeth Pharmacy Alcohol Project and explore how community pharmacists may best deliver alcohol screening and brief intervention in their pharmacies.

See here for Pharmacy alcohol conference invitation flyer and conference programme. To confirm your attendance please email your name, job title and contact details by 14th March 2011 to [email protected]

Tobacco and alcohol conference: Learning from each other

Alcohol Concern is hosting a joint conference with ASH Wales in Cardiff on 12 and 13 October 2011, looking at the related issues of alcohol and tobacco use, and how practitioners and policy makers in the two fields can learn from each other.

The conference organisers are particularly interested in receiving abstracts from the people and organisations who are prepared to share lessons learnt with colleagues at the conference. See here for full conference information.

AVA (Against Violence and Abuse) training courses

3 forthcoming courses from AVA (all at £90 vol / £130 stat, including a copy of the Stella Project toolkit):

• The Links between Domestic Violence and Problematic Substance Use, 24th March, London. For info and booking click here.
• Working with Domestic Violence Perpetrators within a Substance Misuse Agency, 4 April, London. For info and booking click here.
• Safeguarding Children - Living with Parental Substance Misuse and Domestic Violence, 15 April, London. For info and booking click here.

Pubs and Licensing news: Campaign to cut VAT for on-trade; calls against duty rise, Home Office ID guidance

The Morning Advertiser (MA) is campaigning for the Government to reduce VAT on the hospitality sector to 5%. The MA claims it could help create 220,000 jobs and rejuvenate the sector. Sign the petition here or follow it on Twitter. See here for a CPL training comment. 

A report by economic experts Oxford Economics shows that 980,000 jobs in the UK depend on the beer and pub trade. The report was commissioned by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), who in a press release said the figures will fuel concerns over plans for huge beer tax hikes in the Budget this month. BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds said “These figures show how vital the beer and pub trade is to the UK economy, with huge numbers of jobs dependent on the sector." Highlighting expected duty rises in the forthcoming budget, Simmonds called for a freeze in beer duty.

The Home Office has issued guidance for pubs and door staff for spotting and seizing illegal ID from under-age customers - summary from the MA.

Pubs to use 'civil recovery' to help cover security costs, reports the MA. Licensees are being offered a way to claim money from troublemakers who damage their property or attack their staff, under a scheme being led by National Pubwatch. The Pub is the Hub has reported a big increase in the number of community groups wanting to take on pubs, reports the MA. However a Publican report warns right-to-buy could 'devastate' the market.

The Scottish Alcohol Act 2010 is due to come into force this year on October 1. The Publican reports it will include a 'major clampdown on alcohol sales in Scotland – including a ban on “irresponsible” off-trade promotions and pubs being forced to operate a Challenge 25 policy'. Northern Ireland pubs could face penalty points for underage sales in new plans from the Irish Assembly - MA reports.