Some selected media stories since the February round-up:
Alcohol and health
The all-party Parliamentary Hepatology Group says deaths from liver diseasee in England have risen 40% between 2001-2012, and that the lack of Government action to tackle it is 'scandalous', reports the BBC and the Guardian.
Research by the University of Leeds suggests drinking alcohol during the first three months of pregnancy is linked to a higher risk of having a premature or unexpectedly small baby.
Hidden levels of sugar in alcohol revealed, says the Telegraph. It suggests one pint of cider contains almost as much sugar as the WHO recommended average daily intake.
New alcohol 'craze'?
Experts have warned against a new 'Vaportini' drinking craze, suggesting the inhalation of alcohol "has the potential to be a very dangerous phenomenon", says the Express. See a review of the Vaportini in Cosmopolitan.
Should school events allow alcohol to be served? A warning has been issued by the charity Swanswell over the example being set at around 8,000 school events and fetes granted alcohol licenses each year, reports the Guardian.
E-cigarettes and alcohol
Welcoming a consultation on the rules governing how their products should be advertised, e-cigarette makers will fight proposals to ban linking them with alcohol, reports The Grocer. Meanwhile, anti-smoking campaigners are urging pub operators to keep their policies on e-cigarettes under review as controversy grows around the device, reports The Morning Advertiser.
Trade news
The rise of 'dry' bars has been explored in a PRI reports article on Sobar in Nottingham and a Guardian piece which asks 'is England sobering up?' - perhaps rather simplistically.
New research from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has shown how communities are banding together to take over their local pub under the Community Right to Bid, which allows residents to nominate pubs as Assets of Community Value, reports the Morning Advertiser.
The Daily Mail has proclaimed the death of alcopops, quoting health minister Earl Howe: ‘Sales of alcopops are in marked decline, to such an extent that the market for these products looks like disappearing in the next few years’.
Police chiefs claim they are on the verge of winning major supermarket backing for a national clampdown on super-strength beer and cider, reports The Grocer, as Ipswich's Reducing the Strength scheme gains traction across the country.
Cheltenham's late night levy (LNL) came into force on April 1st, see the BBC. This is only the second such levy in operation (after Newcastle), although Islington council recently voted to implement a LNL after September 1st this year, with more expected to follow (see previous APUK update).
Running a pub is amongst the toughest jobs, as explored in a Guardian piece 'Why are pub landlords in low spirits?. Indeed a bid to better protect bar workers by introducing a specific offence of assaulting aworker selling alcohol was put forward, however it was blocked as MPs thought it wouldn't help.
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