Alcohol Policy UK

Alcohol Research UK 2016 conference presentations

Presentations and panel discussions from Alcohol Research UK's 2016 conference, Critical Measures: Next Steps in Alcohol Research and Policy, are now available to view via FEAD or download slides.  

The event took place in Birmingham earlier this year, exploring new evidence on patterns of alcohol use across the UK, alcohol risks and harm, developing interventions, and reflections on the relationship between alcohol research and evidence-informed policy.

Selected presentations included:

Changing the environment? Nudging pubs and zero alcohol awards

Two initiatives encouraging products and places that support those who want to drink less or abstain have plans to develop further. As non-industry led projects, they raise interesting questions over the role and scope of influencing drinking environments.

Zero alcohol awards

Alcohol Concern recently concluded its first 'Zero Alcohol Awards' programme to recognise and reward the range of zero-alcohol drinks provided by retailers, bars and pubs across the country. Sponsored by Britvic, it also aimed to recognise innovators bringing new products to the market and creating new environments to enjoy them in.

New PHE strategic action plan: how will local activity fare?

Public Health England (PHE) have released a new strategic action plan to 'protect and improve the public’s health and reduce inequalities' over the next 4 years.

PHE's new strategic action plan follows a 2015  'evidence to action' plan, in which alcohol featured as one of its top priorities. However not all of the seven previous actions are mentioned in the new plan, although the commitment to 'publish an independent evidence-based report on alcohol' is listed as a priority for 2016/17. It would be expected this would include a significant focus on the role of price and availability; last year's plan stated PHE would 'continue to set out the evidence base for the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol'. 

Cancer Research UK call for greater awareness of links to alcohol

Cancer Research UK has released findings from a survey which suggests public understanding of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer is "worryingly low", and is calling for more awareness of the links and lower risk drinking guidelines. See full report [pdf] and summary report [pdf].

Whilst nearly half of people identified a link between alcohol and cancer when prompted with a list of health conditions (see table), when asked to identify which health conditions can result from drinking too much without prompts, only 13% identified cancers as a possibe risk.

Price & taxation: new analysis published as Scottish MUP decision expected

Two new analysis relating to alcohol pricing effects have been published as a decision on Scotland's Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) is anticipated within a matter of months. A provisional timetable indicates the Inner House of the Scottish Court of Session could rule to implement MUP by the 8th June 2016.

Further Sheffield analysis on pricing and taxation effects

An updated analysis of the modelled impacts of MUP in Scotland has been produced by the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group (SARG), including modelled effects of tax increases - full report here [pdf]. Commissioned by the Scottish Government, it says to achieve an equivalent reduction in alcohol-related deaths amongst hazardous and harmful drinkers as a 50 pence MUP, a 28% increase in alcohol taxation would be required.

IAS Alert March 2016: 'bullying' over licenses, budget 2016, no moderate drinking health benefits & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: March 2016 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Local Authorities often bullied by the licensed trade, but scope for greater health focus within licensing
• Budget 2016: Fourth successive real terms cut for beer, spirits and cider duty

News & updates March 2016: lower strength drinks; 'One You'; alcohol tags; wine taxation; students; gin; sober raving

Selected media stories since the February roundup:

News

More lower strength drinks options are needed to tackle drink-related health problems, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA is urging the drinks industry to produce more drinks with fewer or zero units of alcohol and wants government to support this by extending current tax breaks on such drinks. BBC and LGA release.

Licensing Act has caused 'significant problems' for communities says IAS report

An extensive review of the 2003 Licensing Act has identified a number of problems associated with the Act and its implementation, finding the interests of the licensed trade have benefited over those of local communities.

‘The Licensing Act (2003): its uses and abuses 10 years on [pdf]’ calls into question the impact of the Act from the perspective of reducing alcohol-related harms, though of course such issues are not easily separated from the benefits of the trade. See here for the summary report [pdf] and podcast.

HMRC Alcohol Strategy - can it close the 'alcohol tax gap'?

The absence of a national alcohol strategy may be a current alcohol policy hot topic, though alcohol tax fraud has had its own new alcohol strategy released.

'The HMRC Alcohol Strategy: Modernising alcohol taxes to tackle fraud and reduce burdens on alcohol businesses' [pdf] aims to reduce the alcohol tax gap of around £1.2 billion, estimated to be worth 8% of the total £10.5 billion tax revenue (including VAT). However HMRC figures suggest the trend has been broadly flat over recent years, suggesting the scale of the challenge.