Selected media stories since the October round-up:
Minimum Unit Pricing in Scotland
Big alcohol policy news in November came with the Supreme Court's judgement to allow minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland. As the Guardian put it: The UK supreme court has backed the Scottish government’s plans to introduce a minimum price . After a five-year legal battle against the plans led by the Scotch Whisky Association, the court ruled that minimum pricing was legal on health grounds under EU law. The seven judges unanimously agreed it was “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. See our coverage here and an Alcohol Concern explainer here.
The Telegraph reported that Scotland’s minimum price for alcohol will start on May 1 next year, with pressure on the SNP’s Health Minister to increase her planned cost of 50p per unit.
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, hailed the Supreme Court decision as a "landmark victory for public health" over Big Alcohol. "Fronted by the Scotch Whisky Association, Big Alcohol fought minimum unit pricing tooth and nail. Like Big Tobacco, they seek to delay, distract or derail any measure which would impact on their vast profits, no matter what the devastating human cost." Scotsman
Former First Minister Alex Salmond defended MUP on LBC while Northern Ireland's chief medical officer said he also supports the minimum pricing of alcohol. Dr Michael McBride warned almost three quarters of alcohol sold was consumed by the fifth of drinkers who took the most - Belfast Telegraph. Meanwhile veteran 'anti-nanny stater' Christopher Snowden argued MUP 'won't end alcoholism' in the Spectator.
Other news
It was Alcohol Awareness Week in the middle of November on the theme of alcohol and families, with a series of resources from Alcohol Concern. The Huffington Post ran an article on "How To Talk To Your Kids About Alcohol" whilst the the Scotsman published a five-part series that aimed to "shine a light on the nation’s drinking habits" and tackle a different aspect of Scotland's relationship with the “demon drink”. Topics for analysis included liver disease, minimum unit pricing, and sponsorship of football.
A new report from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation suggests dentists should issue advice on healthy eating, alcohol consumption and giving up smoking. Telegraph
Licensing lawyers believe Dundee City Council’s proposed policy on how to manage the sale of alcohol in the city is destined to end in court action. The council licensing board’s controversial overprovision policy, which attempted to limit the sale of alcohol, has previously been defeated. The Courier
The implementation of minimum unit pricing on alcohol in the Republic of Ireland will be delayed until the Northern Ireland executive and assembly are back in operation. Northern Ireland has been without an executive since January, when the governing parties - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row. BBC
Supermarkets are set to trial facial recognition software to replace age checks under a pilot run by a British identity app. The technology will be used to remove in-person age checks when customers are buying alcohol and other age restricted items at a self-service till. Telegraph
In Cardiff, two Spar shops are breathalysing shoppers to make it easier to refuse to serve drunk people. The breathalysers were initially lent to shopkeepers for a trial by South Wales Police. They were then allowed to buy them from the force. The Week
In the run-up to the Autumn Budget, the TaxPayers’ Alliance joined forces with British Beer and Pub Association to highlight how beer duty adds 52p to the cost of pint and is three times the EU average, reported The Express. The Guardian chose to highlight the 'killer on Britain’s streets' – super-strength alcohol - and to report the call for a rise in duty on high-strength ciders as an encouragement to switch to weaker drinks.
In the Budget, the chancellor pledged to up taxes from 2019 on "cheap, high strength, low quality" alcohol and said this was especially targeted at white ciders. The move was welcomed by campaigners, but manufacturers said it would hurt the poorest people the most, reported the BBC. Peter Rice, writing in the Scotsman, was not impressed. He said the Budget showed the many Scottish organisations who developed and supported the policy of minimum unit pricing for alcohol were right not to look to the UK government for meaningful, substantial action on the price of alcohol.
Just one in ten people believe that increased taxes on alcohol go towards helping those who misuse the substance, according to new research by a Drinkers’ Voice, an organisation stating it seeks to represent consumer interests. Morning Advertiser
Health & treatment
In 2013, 6.4 alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 females were recorded in Northern Ireland - but by 2016 the rate was 11.8. This represents an increase of around 84%, according to a report by the Office of National Statistics. Belfast Telegraph
The Children's Society has estimated there are 700,000 teenagers across the UK whose lives are being "damaged" by parents' alcohol abuse. One in four of these have been homeless in the last five years as a result – amounting to 96 per day. Independent
Meanwhile, the Guardian said the number of alcohol-specific deaths in people aged 50 and over has risen 45% since 2001, prompting fresh warnings about excessive drinking among baby boomers.
The number of drug and alcohol users getting government-funded support to tackle their addictions has plummeted by 10 per cent in just three years, reported The Independent. The total number of interventions across community services, inpatient detoxification, residential rehab and primary care received by clients for addiction have fallen from 308,118 in 2013-14 to 278,489 in 2016-17.
An article in the Guardian argued that the concept of 'alcoholism' is undermining progress on tackling alcohol issues and is used too often in the media. Alcoholism is no longer clinically recognised, in part since it only considers the severe end of the continuum of alcohol use disorders - often inadvertently encouraging stigmatisation.
Research
Researchers trying to understand the biology of how gateway drugs contribute to cocaine addiction have found that drinking alcohol can make a person more vulnerable to developing a cocaine addiction. Evening Standard
44% of secondary school pupils have tried alcohol, according to new figures from NHS Digital. 70% of the children who had drunk alcohol in the last four weeks had been given it by their parents. The report was unable to make comparisons between these figures and those obtained in 2014, due to a change in the questions. Huffington Post
New research suggests women's brains crave alcohol when their oestrogen levels are highest, and that hormones may play a significant role in the development of addiction in women. MailOnline
Do different drinks have different effects, explores a Conversation piece. Expectancies that it can change subjective experience, but 'no matter what the drink, the active ingredient is the same: ethanol.'.
Liver disease will overtake heart disease as the biggest cause of early death by 2020, reported the Daily Mail. The Lancet study predicted that liver disease will have overtaken heart disease with 80,000 working years lost annually by 2020. The authors urged the Government to follow Scotland in imposing a minimum price for alcohol.
Industry news
Alcohol-free beer will make up 10% of total beer sales in the near future, a specialist brewer has told The Morning Advertiser after signing a deal to supply 190 pubs with St Peter’s 'Without' range.
Tesco has launched a new low-alcohol wine range to keep up with the public’s taste for lighter drinks. The firm claims that the new range is the first of its kind to be sold in a supermarket that can compete with popular wine varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc, “without any compromise on taste.” Drinks Business
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