Alcohol Policy UK

'Are we kidding ourselves?' Balance North East alcohol report

Balance, the North East's regional alcohol office, has released a new report warning 'many thousands of people in our region are risking health problems and an early death from alcohol without being aware of the necessary information around units.'

Download Alcohol: Are we Kidding Ourselves? here [pdf].

The report says around 550,000 North East adults are drinking above the recommended guideline of no more than 14 units a week, but most of those drinking above this believe they are moderate or low risk drinkers.

£6 million capital spending for local alcohol projects

Public Health England (PHE) have announced 23 local authorities will be sharing a £6 million capital fund to invest in improving services and facilities for people with alcohol problems. Whilst some welcomed the news, others also pointed out ongoing cuts to national public health budgets and declines in overall alcohol treatment figures.

PHE say the current capital funding bids seek to improve access to alcohol treatment and to help meet the needs of parents or people experiencing rough sleeping with alcohol problems. For example, Oxfordshire will develop a dedicated alcohol centre within the ‘Oxford Homeless Hub’ as well as a clinical space in the Salvation Army Homelessness Hub.

Jobs & consultations: IAS & Alcohol Focus Scotland jobs, research positions, revised licensing guidance for Scotland

IAS Research Coordinator job

The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) are recruiting to the position of a Research Coordinator to support the delivery of the IAS research strategy through commissioning, producing and disseminating research reports and articles. The post holder should have substantial experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative research, the ability to analyse a broad range of public policy datasets and strong verbal and written communication skills.

Deadline for applications is 5pm 19th April 2019. See here for the full job specification [pdf].

Updated brief intervention CQUIN for 2019-20

NHS England have updated the national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) for 2019–2020, which incentivises hospitals and other settings to deliver alcohol 'Identification & Brief Advice' (IBA). See here for the updated Public Health England (PHE) Health Matters guidance.

CQUINs allocate a percentage of the total value of an NHS contract with a provider for sufficient delivery of specified activity. The national CQUIN covers activities including alcohol and tobacco interventions under a prevention of ill health theme.

Drinking in pregnancy: lasting effects of low-level alcohol use?

In this guest post, Kayleigh Easey (@KayEasey), a PhD student and member of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (@BristolTARG) at the School of Psychological Science at the University of Bristol, takes a look at a recent systematic review investigating effects of parental alcohol use and offspring mental health.

It’s generally well known that drinking large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy is linked to Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and negative outcomes such as premature birth and an increase in the risk of miscarriage. However, less is known about the effects of low to moderate alcohol use during pregnancy on offspring outcomes after birth, and even less for mental health outcomes in the child, particularly internalising disorders such as depression. Despite government guidelines being updated by the Department of Health in January 2016, advising pregnant women that the safest approach is to abstain from drinking alcohol altogether through their pregnancy, there remains uncertainty amongst the public as to whether a ‘drink or two’ is harmful or not.

'Count 14' NHS Scotland campaign & debate on the future of alcohol guidelines

NHS Scotland has launched a new campaign to promote awareness of the recommended guidelines, whilst the journal Addiction has published a set of open access commentaries debating how drinking guidelines should be developed and communicated.

The new 'count 14' campaign follows several years of regular debate about alcohol health risks and their communication since the revised guidelines of 14 units per week, spread over three days or more, were announced by the Chief Medical Officer in 2016. Whilst based on epidemiological evidence indicating drinking at around the guideline level broadly reflects a 1% increased risk of dying from an alcohol-related condition over a lifetime, issues raised range from the interpretation of the available evidence itself through to how such messages should form policy or behaviour change approaches.

Portman Group release new code of practice: labelling changes ahead?

The alcohol industry body the Portman Group, which oversees aspects of alcohol marketing self-regulation, has published the sixth version of its Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks.

The code applies to alcohol promoted or marketed by producers in the UK and joint promotions with retailers from September 2019. Changes to the code include an overall principle of not appealing to vulnerable groups, whilst products should not cause serious or widespread offence, suggest any association with illegal behaviour, or claim to have mind-altering qualities or suggest that it will change mood or behaviour.

News & updates February 2019: record deaths, Wales MUP, drink driving, gin & more

Selected media stories since the January round up:

The number of alcohol-related deaths in England is at its highest level since records began, reports the Independent. It states someone is admitted to hospital every 30 seconds where drinking was a factor, based on 1.2 million hospital admissions in 2017-18 as we reported in the recent national alcohol statistics 2019 release. Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK said heavier drinking among older people was taking its toll given 78% of deaths due to alcohol were amongst those between 40 and 69 years of age.

The Welsh Government is pressing ahead with plans to introduce a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales following a public consultation. "We believe a 50p minimum unit price strikes a reasonable balance between the anticipated public health and social benefits and intervention in the market", said Health Minister, Vaughan Gething.