Alcohol Policy UK

Events & dates: FASD, alcohol and later life, Scotland's alcohol policy, AAW 2014 & Alcohol Concern conference & more

Plenty of alcohol events coming up ..

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): What do we know, what more can we do?

On 11th September 2014 DrinkWise North West are hosting a seminar on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Manchester. The seminar is free to colleagues within the North West but for those outside of the North West region there is a £79 booking fee (inc. VAT). See here here for more details [pdf] or email [email protected].

Alcohol Consumption in Later Life Seminar

On Friday 19^th September 2014 in London a UCL seminar will explore research on alcohol and older adults. The event will explore issues covering life course transitions and health in later life and socio-economic determinants of risk of alcohol abuse. To register please contact [email protected] or call 01782 733845.

Also coming up in September..

Scotland the Brave! Alcohol Policy in Scotland takes place on 5 September in Brussels exploring the ongoing battle to implement alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP). The event is being organised by the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and Eurocare. Registration here.

'What's not on the bottle? State of play alcohol labelling in the EU' takes place on the 10th September in Brussels, hosted by Eurocare - more info here. 

The 11th INEBRIA conference exploring international research and developments on brief interventions takes place in Warsaw, Poland on 18 - 19 September 2014.

An Alcohol Policy in Practice CPD course run by UKCTAS, the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies will take place in Edinburgh from 22nd to 25th September 2014. The course covers key issues for alcohol policy and practice led by some of the leading academics and policy-makers. Further info here including the flyer or programme.

In November...

Alcohol Awareness Week 2014 will run from 17-23 November. Alcohol Concern say the theme is 'Facing our alcohol problem: Taking back our health and high streets', which will be the theme of its annual conference on 19 November in London. See here for more on Alcohol Awareness Week (AAW) 2014 and more on the annual conference.

Later this year and 2015..

DrinkWise North West are also hosting a series of further events including:

• 'Your Voice, Your Say: Unleashing the voice of the community for alcohol related harms' Thursday 23rd October 2014
• A Dual Diagnosis seminar planned for January 2015
• 'Talking Drink: Taking Action – Under the Influence discussion kit' on Thursday 12th February 2015

Further details on the DrinkWise seminar series here [pdf].

Finally, a save the date for the New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group which has set its 2015 conference to take place on 21st and 22nd May in London - watch this space.

More off-licenses removing 6.5% ABV supers as 'reducing the strength' initiatives grow

[Update] The LGA have since published guidance for local authorities setting up 'Reducing the strength' schemes.

A growing number of off-licenses are reportedly agreeing to adopt 'reducing the strength' style initiatives, whereby shops agree not to sell beer or cider of 6.5% ABV or above. Some areas have reported significant voluntary buy in and positive impacts on street drinking issues, but sections of the trade have raised concerns.

The schemes have risen in popularity since Ipswhich's 'Reducing the Strength' scheme launched in September 2012. Two thirds of Ispwich's 147 off-licensed stores signed up to the initiative which was claimed had significant reductions on street drinking. According to Suffolk Police, analysis of an area in Ipswich that had suffered street drinking issues saw a 73% reduction in reports of street drinking made to police and a 31% reduction in crime.

Ipswich also hosted a national conference earlier this year was attended by over 200 delegates, including many other local areas considering setting up similar schemes, or already in the process. However although the Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) expressed support for the scheme, James Lowman also raised concerns in this blog. Lowman points to questions over possible competition law issues and suggested some areas were "pushing voluntary bans" on retailers "without evidence, objectives or supporting local action".

Nonetheless, 'Reducing the Strength' schemes appear to chime well with the Coalition's favoured approaches of voluntary agreements and local partnerships. Its reported that up to 90 schemes are currently in place or being considered, so 'reducing the strength' may be coming to a high street near you.. Here's a few we've seen mentioned...

Portsmouth have reportedly had success with their reducing the strength scheme and are undertaking further evaluation of its impact. The City Council and partners state they have been working with the Association of Convenience Stores to provide a framework that will give confidence to the local retail trade.

Plymouth are currently inviting local stores to sign up and have produced a sign up form [doc] and are offering to pay the fee for a minor variation of licenses.

Croydon Council, part of the Home Office’s local alcohol action areas project, is teaming up with police and other local partners to encourage off-licences in Croydon town centre to help fight binge drinking by removing cheap high-strength beer and cider from their shelves.

In Woolwich, shopkeepers are supporting a campaign in which one shop owner said "when we stopped selling high-strength lager there was an immediate change, and the staff say they now feel a lot safer".

In 2011 a report on 'white ciders' called for action to stop 'irresponsible profiteering' from damaging high-alcohol low-cost drinks. In 2009 White Lightening was de-listed by Heineken to 'reinforce its stance on responsible drinking', but there's been no shortage of drinks filling the gaps, including supermarket own brand products. Of course supporters of minimum pricing would point out these would be amongst the most significantly affected drinks if it were introduced.

Minimum pricing and liver disease patients study re-iterates claims MUP is a 'fair policy'

A new study looks at the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) on patients with liver disease, as the lead author urges policy makers not to forget minimum unit pricing as "an almost perfect alcohol policy". Dr Nick Sheron, a liver doctor and academic clinical hepatologist at University of Southampton led on the study which explored drinking and pricing choices of 404 liver disease patients. 

In the press release Dr Sheron states:

"Setting a Minimum Unit Price for alcohol is an almost perfect alcohol policy because it targets cheap booze bought by very heavy drinkers and leaves moderate drinkers completely unaffected. Our research shows that an MUP set at 50p per unit would affect the liver patients killing themselves with cheap alcohol two hundred times more than low risk drinkers."

See here for the Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in UK [pdf]

The study appears to support recent research from the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group which said MUP would have negligible effects on low income moderate drinkers’ alcohol consumption and spending, therefore would not 'punish responsible drinkers'. Indeed recent MUP debates seem to have been focused more on the issue of whether it is targeted or not, as the wider issue of price and consumption seems less publicly contested. Of course the arguments against MUP and its effectiveness can still be readily found, though the issue over legality is the current block to Scotland's MUP mission. 

In England a 'below cost ban' recently came into place as an MUP substitute following the Government's u-turn, but it's not clear if any drinks have been affected. The ban was expected to affect only 0.7% of alcohol units sold which would be "approximately 40 to 50 times smaller than the estimated impact of a 45p MUP". Further work by Sheffield recently suggested supermarkets subsidise tax increases on the cheapest drinks to keep customers attracted in store.

Recently the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse (APPG) manifesto called on all political parties to support MUP ahead of the 2015 election. Earlier this year it was reported a Labour Government elected in 2015 would implement MUP according to leaked documents. Of course technically the Coalition state they 'have not ruled it out'... Odds on MUP being implemented by a post-2015 ConDem coalition Government anyone?

Latest IAS Alcohol Alert & alcohol newsletters

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: July 2014 is now available.

Articles include:

• Alcohol Concern appoint former Liberal Democrat MP as Chief Executive

• Alcohol sponsorship linked to hazardous drinking in sportspeople

• Seven new Responsibility Deal alcohol pledges

• UK supermarkets minimise price rises for the cheapest alcohol when taxes are increased

• Dispatches investigates the cost of cheap alcohol

• Have a Word!

• Scottish Government claims public support for policy of minimum unit alcohol pricing

• Scottish Government to reduce drink-drive limit

• New study shows drinking alcohol, even light-to-moderate amounts, provides no heart health benefit

• Nurses debate whether drunks should be in A&E departments

• London’s drunks costing ambulances and A&Es £60m a year

• Dry January a great success – Alcohol Concern

• Irish Alcohol Diaries 2013: New figures reveal 75% of alcohol is consumed as part of binge session

Other news round ups and reporting

You can see the July Alcohol Policy UK newsletter here and subscribe to the monthly round up or email bulletins.

The latest Drink and Drugs News issue can be found here, here for the latest Alcohol Concern newsletter or NWPHO alcohol e-shot.

APPG report calls on parties to adopt firmer alcohol policies for 2015 manifestos

An All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse (APPG) manifesto has been released, urging political parties to adopt ten key alcohol policies ahead of the 2015 election. See reports from the BBC, Guardian, Telegraph and Alcohol Concern, who researched the report.

The report's recommendations cover key areas such as policy, licensing and local strategy approaches, largely reflecting responses to reducing alcohol misuse and harms called for by health bodies including NICE. Last year a coalition of over 70 health organisations from across the UK released an independent alcohol strategy with similar recommendations.

The policy level calls are somewhat at odds with the current Coalition Government alcohol policy which infamously u-turned on minimum pricing. The report calls also call for mandatory labeling requirements for health warnings rather than the current voluntary agreements as part of the Responsibility Deal, and calls for further legislative changes around licensing and minimum pricing.

A lowering of the drink drive limit is also called for by the APPG. In 2011 the Coalition announced it would not be lowering the limit despite an independent report advising a reduced 50mg limit, arguing it would save hundreds of lives and bring the level in line with most of Europe. The 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."

Earlier this year it was reported a Labour Government elected in 2015 would implement some of the same measures, including minimum unit pricing and ending sports sponsorship by alcohol companies, according to leaked documents.

The full ten recommendations in the report are:

1. Make reducing alcohol harms the responsibility of a single government minister with clear accountability

2. Introduce a minimum unit price for alcoholic drinks

3. Introduce public health as a fifth licensing objective, enabling local authorities to make licensing decisions based on local population health need and the density of existing outlets

4. Strengthen regulation of alcohol marketing to protect children and young people

5. Increase funding for treatment and raise access levels from 6% to 15% of problem drinkers

6. Commissioners should prioritise the delivery of Identification and Brief Advice. Identification and Brief Advice should be delivered in a wide range of different settings including health care, involving GPs routinely asking questions, and in-workplace programmes

7. Include a health warning on all alcohol labels and deliver a government-funded national public awareness campaign on alcohol-related health issues

8. For all social workers, midwives and healthcare professionals, introduce mandatory training on parental substance misuse, foetal alcohol syndrome disorder and alcohol-related domestic violence

9. Reduce the blood alcohol limit for driving in England and Wales to 50mg/100ml, starting with drivers under the age of 21

10. Introduce the widespread use of sobriety orders to break the cycle of alcohol and crime, antisocial behaviour and domestic violence

News & updates July 2014: Red wine not good for the heart after all?, 'Sobriety' ankle tags, Nalmafene set for NICE approval, 'Juicetails' & new drinks to the market

Selected media stories since the June roundup

Booze NOT good for the heart...

One drink a day could be enough to increase the risk of heart disease according to new research, contradicting popular claims that moderate consumption has a protective effect, reports the Guardian.

Previous studies found a correlation with moderate drinking and reduced heart disease risk - but this could not be isolated from other influential factors in those groups. However the newly published research, using data from more than 260,000 participants in 56 studies, found those with a gene variant that resulted in lighter drinking had lower heart disease incidence. See Huffington Post and Daily Mail reports.

Other health reports..

The link between alcohol sponsorship and hazardous drinking in UK athletes has been highlighted in new research from the University of Manchester and Monash University in Australia. Alcohol consumption was found to be high in athletes overall. However, 50% of those sponsored by an alcohol-related industry had AUDIT scores that indicated the need for brief counselling and further monitoring of drinking, compared with 39% for non-sponsored athletes, reports Medical News. See the full findings via Alcohol Research UK site who funded the study.

People with a history of alcohol use disorder, which can include those drinking within recommended limits, are twice as likely to have severe memory problems in subsequent years, reports the Telegraph following research by Exeter University.

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol results in intense cravings for more alcohol says a Newsweek report of a study conducted by the Center for Research on Aging, Health and Well-Being at the Australian National University.

Alcohol & the law

Courts will have the power to issue alcohol-monitoring ankle tags under the Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring scheme, which will be piloted in South London from August, reports the Mirror. The tag measures the amount of alcohol in sweat every half-hour, with the results sent electronically to a monitoring system. Illustation below from the MailOnline and see our previous Alcohol Policy UK report on 'sobriety tags'.

Specialist Family Drug and Alcohol Courts are starting to spread to the regions after being praised by Sir James Munby, the most senior family judge in England and Wales - Belfast Telegraph. Already operating in London (and Gloucester), the latest Court opened in July in Milton Keynes.  See also Community Care's article Embedding family drug and alcohol courts into family justice.

Northern Ireland's laws on the sale of alcohol are to be changed, Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland has said. Publicans will be able to apply for an extension until 2am twelve times every year and restrictions on advertising alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences will be introduced, says BBC News 

SNP ministers are to press ahead with legislation to reduce the drink drive limit for Scotland to 50mg per 100ml, instead of the 80mg UK limit, reports the Daily Record.

 

Nalmafene set to get 'NICE' approval

Nalmafene (or 'Selincro) has made the news as draft guidance from NICE suggests its approval for moderately dependent heavy drinkers - see Mail and Independent reports. The drug, made by Danish company Lundbeck, is claimed to help to reduce the craving for alcohol by controlling the reward mechanism in the brain - but only when combined with a psychological intervention. However concerns have been raised that this crucial requirement may be overlooked - see our previous post and comments here. Reuters says Lundbeck believes Selincro has the potential to generate annual sales of $365-457m. 

Industry  & trade news

Chelmsford councillors have voted to approve the controversial Late Night Levy, forcing bars selling alcohol late in the evening to pay towards policing the city centre, reports the Essex Chronicle.

The latest drinks fad is, apparently, "Juicetails" - cold pressed vegetables with alcohol, eg Pea-lini, made from salted pea cordial, spearmint, butterfly absinthe and prosecco. Because "people want to be good while being bad", says the Independent 

Diageo rum brand Captain Morgan has been censured by advertising regulator the ASA for implying that alcohol can overcome boredom and is capable of changing mood, reports Beverage Daily 

Shoppers buying spirits and liqueurs at Sainsbury’s can no longer collect reward points as a result of “complex” new laws - i.e the 'below cost ban', reports the Telegraph

Moray brewery Brewmeister have set the record for the world’s strongest beer for a second time, with their 67.5% brew called ‘Snake Venom’, reports the Scotsman.  

Meanwhile, Spanish brewer Estrella has launched the first non-alcohol beer to be available on draught in the UK, says the Morning Advertiser. Estrella Galicia will be marketed through sponsorship of MotoGP.

Finally..

Released classified documents of a former KGB defector reveal that two of UK’s double agents, who worked also for KGB, were “constantly drunk” at work, reports the Voice of Russia.

Findings alcohol bulletins: Does price affect alcohol harm?; Medicating for dependence; Practice standards for working with young people; Safeguarding project success

Recent bulletins and hot topics from the drug and alcohol bank:

Increase alcohol prices or taxes, decrease alcohol-related harm

Review confirms that alcohol-related harm has been curbed by increasing alcohol prices or taxes, but what happens to overall mortality remains unclear - and there is more to why people do or do not drink than health and harm

Authoritative review reveals limitations of medicating dependence

From the British Association for Psychopharmacology, authoritative, evidence-based and practitioner-friendly review and guidelines on drug-based treatments for substance dependence. Possibly arguable is their call for medications to be the default response to alcohol dependence. Arguably too, by comprehensively exploring what can be done with medications, in the end they demonstrate their limitations and the primacy of psychosocial approaches.

UK practice standards for treating under-18s

Practice standards developed by the UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists on working with young people aged 18 or under with substance misuse problems, intended (if followed) to promote high quality screening, assessment and treatment for these young people.

Service safeguards welfare yet avoids children being taken in to care

Avoiding children at serious risk being taken in to care can jeopardise their welfare, but in Wales Option 2 seems to have avoided that pitfall by working intensively with substance using parents commonly facing imminent care proceedings. This second evaluation found the cost-saving service helps keep children at home without inadvertently causing harm.