The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has launched a consultation on alcohol interventions in secondary and further education.
The consultation seeks to update NICE guideline PH7 Alcohol: school based interventions published in 2007 which aimed to prevent and reduce alcohol use among children and young people by preventing alcohol use, delaying drinking onset and reducing the harm to those who do drink.
In addition to recommendations highlighted in the draft guideline, the consultation includes extensive evidence reviews including:
- Evidence review A - Universal interventions
- Evidence review B - Targeted interventions
- Evidence review C - Qualitative review for the acceptability of universal school-based alcohol interventions
- Evidence review D - Cost effectiveness review for universal and targeted interventions
In England, universal alcohol education forms part of the usual curriculum through the health component of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE), which will be compulsory in all schools from 2020. The issue is however often contentious in alcohol policy terms given the limited evidence to support preventative interventions amongst children and young people, and indeed the draft guidance warns of potential counter-productive effects from some approaches such as scare tactics.
As such many groups call for priority action on measures to tackle the broader environment, particularly in terms of pricing, availability and marketing. Notably drinking amongst children and young people has declined significantly in recent years, albeit that there may be further progress to be made and uncertainty over the reasons behind the change.
The consultation closes on 22 March 2019 at 5pm.
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