Alcohol Policy UK

News & updates February 2016: alcohol and cancer, manifesto for Scottish alcohol policy, drink drive limit

Selected media stories since the January roundup:

Alcohol policy and interventions

Scotland: MSPs have voted down a members bill which would have resulted in a ban on alcohol advertising within 200 metres (656ft) of schools. BBC News

Taxes on alcohol have been branded “a mess” by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which claimed they were responsible for a shrinking share of tax receipts, saying there was “a clear case for reform” of duties on driving and alcohol as they were poorly targeted at problem drinking. Financial Times

IAS Alert February 2016: calls for taxation from IFS, minimum pricing Vs tax modelling, parental involvement, sports sponsorship & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: February 2016 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below, including in depth analysis of recent research on pricing impacts by Sheffield Alcohol Research Group:

• Think-tank urges Government to use duty on spirits and strong ciders to target heaviest drinkers
• Minimum unit pricing best for reducing health inequalities, say Sheffield experts
• Number of alcohol-related deaths creeps upwards