Alcohol Policy UK

Beer hits landmark in shift from on to off-trade drinking

Supermarket and other off-trade beer sales have overtaken pub and on-trade sales for the first time, signalling the continued shift in the nation's alcohol purchasing.

Figures released by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) show that of the 44m hectolitres (7.74bn pints) of beer sold during 2015 in the UK, 51% was sold by the off-trade, mostly through supermarkets.

Findings bulletins: sobriety bracelet scheme study, university 'social norms', crime strategy, treatment & recovery

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Enforced sobriety scheme for offenders piloted in London

A 12-month feasibility study of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement in four London boroughs has offered useful insights to inform the expansion of the scheme, and contributes to awareness about the use of sobriety orders and the technology that underpin them in a UK context.

UK students resistant to promising drink-reduction tactic

Modern preventive interventions to reduce young people’s drinking rely heavily on correcting misperceptions that other similar youngsters drink more, but among 2611 students recruited from 122 UK universities, no reliable impacts were found. Was it just that these interventions are generally ineffective, or is the UK university context particularly unfriendly to moderation messages?

WHO report on preventing harm from alcohol use in pregnancy

The World Health Organization (WHO) have released a document reviewing the evidence on preventing harm caused by alcohol use in pregnancy, reviewing a range of case studies across member states in the European region.

Download 'Prevention of harm caused by alcohol exposure in pregnancy: Rapid review and case studies from Member States' [pdf]

The report identifies that a large proportion of women across Europe drink alcohol following an upward trend over time. As such, the potential harm to the fetus caused by drinking in pregnancy is a public health concern, particularly as almost half of all pregnancies are unplanned and therefore at higher risk from inadvertent alcohol exposure. Risks from alcohol exposure in pregnancy include miscarriage, preterm birth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

British Social Attitudes survey 2015: is support for minimum pricing growing?

Results from the 2015 British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey have been released, identifying public viewpoints towards key alcohol policy areas such as minimum pricing, drink driving and advertising regulation. 

Commissioned by Public Health England, the results indicate the highly contested issue of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) is currently supported by 52% of adults in Britain, with 25% against it. Although previous BSA surveys have not asked these questions, a somewhat similar 2011 YouGov survey found 47% were in favour of MUP with 44% against, suggesting an increase in public support - or perhaps at least a decrease in opposition.

Alcohol Awareness Week 2016 'know the risks': 14 - 20 November

Alcohol Concern have announced Alcohol Awareness Week (AAW) 2016 will take place from the 14th to the 20th November, with a theme of “Knowing the Risks”.

The national charity says the aim of AAW is 'to get people thinking about alcohol – how it affects us as individuals, families, communities and society as a whole', and is often used by organisations or services to reach out to service users, the public or launch new findings. Social media has also played an increasing role, with #AAW2016 as the Twitter 'hashtag'. 

DDN feature: Korsakoff’s syndrome treatment model

This month's Drink and Drugs News (DDN) includes a feature article exploring a new model helping Korsakoff’s syndrome sufferers back to community living. The article states:

Korsakoff’s syndrome belongs in a spectrum of disorders categorised as alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD). It is a severe memory disorder associated with excessive, long-term alcohol misuse, and results in the loss of specific brain functions due to the lack of vitamin B1 or thiamine. Post-mortem studies suggest that Korsakoff’s occurs in about 2 per cent of the population and 12.5 per cent of dependent drinkers.

Alcohol guidelines consultation response as new industry 'AIP' body announced

The Department of Health (DoH) have released its response to the consultation on communicating the new recommended drinking guidelines announced earlier this year.

Following heated debate over the guidelines, this week a new industry led group - the Alcohol Information Partnership - has also been announced which it says aims to 'bring balance to the debate'. A recent Wall Street Journal article also recently reported that with 'moderate drinking under fire' alcohol companies across the globe are 'on the offensive' in a 'multimillion-dollar global battle'.

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News & updates August 2016: Olympics sales boost as sponsors criticised, alcohol and flying, healthy choices, 21 pubs a week close & more

Selected media stories since the July roundup: 

The British Olympic team's Strongbow sponsorship deal came under fire from alcohol and health groups in a letter to the Guardian, warning over 'strong evidence that exposure to alcohol marketing leads young people to drink at an earlier age'. Strongbow featured official Team GB branding on its products and spent several million pounds on a “supporting the supporters” campaign in Britain. Heineken, who own the brand, defended the partnership stating it would be 'exclusively focussed on the adult fans' and 'Strongbow will not be sold or promoted at Games venues, feature in TV coverage, or be linked to any individual member of Team GB'.

Findings bulletins: nalmefene questions analysed, licensing policy intensity impacts harm, mental health & more

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Nalmefene: marketing ploy or alcohol treatment breakthrough?

‘A pill for every ill’ is the gist of attacks levelled at the approval of nalmefene under the trade name Selincro. Market positioning as a breakthrough which extends the benefits of pharmacotherapy to non-physically dependent drinkers has been criticised as medicalising psychological dependence. Controversy is heated: is Selincro just a clever marketing ploy, or are there real benefits? We conducted an in-depth assessment.

Intense licensing policies help to curb alcohol-related harm