Selected media stories since the November 2018 round up:
The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) year in review is available here, chronicling 2018's key developments including new reports, policy decisions and campaigns.
Drink-fuelled violence at train stations over festive period more than doubled in two years, new figures show according to the Independent. British Transport Police data indicates there were 189 cases of drink-fuelled violence between November 24 2017 and January 2 2018, compared with 85 during the festive period two years earlier.
There has been a growing number of alcohol-fuelled attacks on people sleeping on Britain’s streets, reports the Guardian, with Merseyside police saying violence against rough sleepers has doubled in five years. “A lot of the attacks are alcohol-related and the homeless are easy prey,” said Lindsey Dixon, a homeless outreach worker at the Royal Liverpool hospital.
Barclays has become the first high street bank to allow customers to block payments with certain types of retailers, reports the Guardian. The bank’s mobile app and could help customers dealing with gambling or other problems to cut off their spending in betting shops, pubs, bars, supermarkets or on premium-rate websites and phone lines.
Channel 5 are filming intoxicated people in Liverpool, but locals are concerned it will sensationalise the issue, reports the Echo. A TV production company set up by the Alcohol Recovery Unit, but Cllr Nick Small said "I hope this programme deals with this complex subject in a sensitive and compassionate way and doesn’t try to sensationalise the lives of the people participating or paint them or Liverpool’s night-time economy in a negative light.”
Drink-driving 
More than half of motorists screened during a summer crackdown on drug-driving failed roadside tests, reported the Guardian. During 14 June to 15 July, 36,675 breath tests for alcohol were carried out, with 3,667 – one in 10 drivers – being either positive, refused or failed by the driver.
Meanwhile the Telegraph reported roadside breath tests fell to their lowest level on record as police forces scale back patrols that could catch drink-drivers. For the first time the number of drivers or motorcyclists breathalysed after an accident also fell below 100,000 in 2017, down 12% in a year and almost half of the level of a decade ago. The number of roadside screening breath tests fell 15% last year to 325,000, down from a peak of 670,000 in 2009, a decline of more than 50% in eight years, according to home office figures.
Police arrested 19 people in the first week of an anti-drink and drug drive Christmas campaign, reports the BBC. Insp Dave Cust, from North Wales Police' Roads Policing Unit, said: "It is disappointing that a small minority of people are still intent on ignoring our messages - despite our repeated warnings. "Our #ChooseWisely campaign is heavily focussed on asking people to make the right choice, so we will continue to use social media to drive home the messages that drink and drug driving can have devastating consequences.
Health and research
What is dry January, how does it raise money for charities and what are the best non-alcoholic drinks?, explored the Sun ahead of 2019. Christmas 2018: 'It's hard being young and sober' explored a short BBC video.
More research into how many children may be affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is being called for, according to the BBC. A range of physical and mental problems, including permanent brain damage, can be caused by the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, with many worried about the extent of under-diagnosis.
Tom Kerridge is "still dependent on alcohol and misses its 'chaos'", reports The Telegraph. Kerridge also spoke more about his past alcohol problems on Desert Island Discs.
More than one million people are admitted to hospital every year with alcohol-related problems - double that of 10 years ago, reports the Express. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman, UK Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "These figures are a stark reminder that alcohol-related hospital admissions are a huge burden on an already overstretched NHS, though many readers will know alcohol-related admissions first passed one million in 2010.
Pubs, trade and industry 
Scottish drinkers have been urged to ditch imported beer for local brew, as part of a drive to turn the sector into a £1bn industry by 2030, reports the BBC. Scotland has more than 130 breweries, supporting more than 8,000 jobs. Recent success stories include Innis and Gunn, which is planning to build a massive brewery in Edinburgh, where the company was founded in 2003.
Police seized more than 900,000 cans of beer from a container at an industrial estate in Lincolnshire, reports the BBC. The alcohol had not had duty paid and was found on the Alma Park Industrial Estate in Grantham, along with spirits and wine and 200,000 counterfeit cigarettes. Sergeant Kim Enderby, from Lincolnshire Police, said it took officers 17 hours to count and remove the haul.
A discount store in the north of Glasgow has been refused an alcohol licence as health problems caused by drinking in the area are double the Scottish average, reports the BBC. Home Bargains bid was rejected as alcohol-related harm in the area is 220% higher than the national average.
Twitter has been ordered by the high court to reveal the identity of a parody account for JD Wetherspoon, reported Campaign. The @Wetherspoon__UK account, which is currently suspended, had tweeted fake company updates since joining the social network in 2014, alongside a sister parody account, @SpoonsTom. The Wetherspoons pub chain complained that users mistakenly believe they are contacting the real company having removed its official Twitter account in April.
Wine sold in cans is set to be one of the biggest alcohol trends of 2019, according to retailers, as young people conscious of avoiding binge drinking opt for smaller measures, the Telegraph reports. Stephen Cronk, co-founder of Mirabeau en Provence, said millennials enjoy the cans as a means they can buy a single measure rather than a whole bottle.
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