Alcohol Policy UK

IAS Alcohol Alert September 2015: further minimum pricing analysis, public purse debate, Scotland, NI & EU news

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: September 2015 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Minimum Unit Pricing legal if justified as best health measure

• Minimum Unit Pricing: The Advocate General’s view

• Alcohol and the Public Purse: Debating the correct frame for alcohol harm

• Scotland: Rise in teetotalism “masks differences” in alcohol consumption and harm

'Alcohol and drugs JSNA support pack' 2015 released by PHE

An updated guidance document to support strategic and commissioning approaches to alcohol treatment and prevention has been released by Public Health England (PHE), alongside packs for drugs, tobacco and children and young people's substance use.

It aims to support the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) process and local joint health and wellbeing strategies. These underpin local delivery for drug and alcohol treatment and prevention, now the responsibility of local authorities.

BBPA highlights industry responsibility - but true impact questionable

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) have released a report highlighting a range of 'responsible' retailing practices being undertaken by the pub and brewing sector.

The report, 'Rising to the Challenge - how brewers and pub companies are promoting alcohol responsibility [pdf], says the BBPA believes a UK approach is needed to 'build on the strong foundations now in place such as the ban on below-cost selling and the Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD).'

Alcohol's cost to society Vs taxpayer: politics and the £21 billion

The debate over the cost of alcohol to society - not to be confused with the cost to the taxpayer - has been reignited by a report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and critical response from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS).

Fundamentally the IEA report, Alcohol and the public purse [pdf], says that direct costs to the Government [i.e the taxpayer] must not be conflated with the wider societal or economic costs, often cited as £21 billion and reported in various ways. Instead the IEA say direct costs of alcohol use to the government in England, including the NHS, police, criminal justice system and welfare system amount to just £6.5 billion; significantly less than the alcohol tax revenue of £10.4 billion.

Another Step in the Scottish Alcohol MUP Case

On the 3 September 2015 the legal challenge to the Scottish alcohol MUP legislation took a small, but significant, step forward: the delivery of the Advocate-General’s Opinion. In this guest post Angus MacCulloch, a Senior Lecturer in EU law at Lancaster University, explains some of the key issues that come out of that Opinion, and what it might mean for the rest of the litigation.

What is the significance of an AG Opinion?

UK bodies campaign for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder awareness

A number of UK organisations undertook activity to highlight Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) last week as part of a national FASD Awareness Day. FASD is a series of preventable birth defects caused by drinking during pregnancy.

FASD prevalance is largely unknown, but estimates suggest at least 1% of children in Western nations may be born with life long FASD impacts. This equates to at least 6,000 - 7,000 babies born with FASD each year in the UK, according to NOFAS. However a recent poll suggested 1 in 5 women drink when pregnant. 

News & updates August 2015: policing Spanish resorts; drunk rape victims, UK nightclubs decline, rise of the half pint

Selected media stories in August since the July roundup:

Crime and disorder

Two police officers posted to a Spanish resort to deal with UK tourists involved in crime have received flak for finishing work at 10pm, just as the bars start to get busy, reported the Guardian. The Daily Mail said Benidorm is to follow Ibiza and Magaluf and deploy British police officers on the streets to curb alcohol-fuelled trouble.

Drunk rape victims can remember their attacks, reported the Telegraph. The story

Pro and anti minimum pricing groups claim good news over latest ruling

Last week the European Court of Justices' Advocate-General (AG) Lord Bot delivered his Opinion on Scotland's bid to implement Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP). The views of the AG though were claimed as good news by both opponents and supporters of MUP, demonstrating the complexity of the challenge in the context of EU law.

Recent Findings bulletins: parental limit-setting, online and face to face IBA evidence, sports club interventions & hot topics

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Parental limit-setting was key to alcohol use prevention

How did a low-resource Dutch school-based parent and child intervention achieve its striking impact on adolescent drinking? Implications are that it is important first to prompt parents to set and communicate strict limits on their children’s drinking, setting the context for substance use education.

Brief advice prompts reduced drinking in GP and emergency patients

IAS Alcohol Alert August 2015: guidelines, gambling, drink driving, deaths in Scotland & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: August 2015 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Study questions usefulness of current drinking guidelines
• Report reveals burden alcohol places on North East ambulance staff
• The relationship between alcohol and gambling behaviours
• Alcohol’s harm to others: new British studies in a wider perspective
• Recovery Partnership Review of Alcohol Treatment Services in England: Final report released