Alcohol Policy UK

Cancer media campaigns: an effective policy lever?

A new study has found a media campaign designed to raise awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer was associated with an increase in support for alcohol-related control policies.

Whilst based on findings from a Danish campaign, the study has attracted the attention of UK groups where policy debates have frequently revolved around the issue of alcohol's links to cancer and its communication.

Awareness of the link has been described as 'worryingly low', whilst a 2016 report warned alcohol-related cancers could cause 135,000 deaths over the next 20 years in England. Results from the 2018 Global Drugs Survey indicated almost half the British sample said cancer messages could get them thinking about drinking less, whilst health groups have continued to call for stronger alcohol policies and mandatory labelling including cancer warnings.

PHE guide to making licensing representations

Public Health England (PHE) have released a new resource to support relevant bodies making representations within the licensing process; see here for A practical approach to making representations to a licensing authority.

Under the current licensing framework, responsible authorities (RAs) include stakeholders such as the police or public health who can comment on applications or apply for a review of a licence in certain circumstances. Members of the public with issues concerning licensed premises do so via their relevant local authority, or report criminal matters to the police.

The state of alcohol marketing evidence and policy in the UK

In this guest post, Nathan Critchlow, a researcher at the Institute for Social Marketing, discusses findings from recent research on alcohol marketing exposure and drinking amongst young people, and the UK policy context. 

Until recently, research exploring how much alcohol marketing young people in the UK see has been limited to either those over the minimum legal purchasing age or adolescents in Scotland. This has created important gaps in the evidence, which also has implications for informing policy need and prioritisation. In response, the Cancer Policy Research Centre at Cancer Research UK and the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling conducted the first assessment of alcohol marketing exposure among a sample of 11-19 year olds from across the UK.

Britain top for 'binge drinking' says Global Drugs Survey 2019

The release of the latest Global Drug Survey has prompted various media stories reporting the UK as topping the table for drunkenness, with UK GDS respondents reporting getting drunk 51 times in the last year versus an average of 33 times for all countries in the survey.

The findings may provoke further debate about the UK's drinking culture - or its various aspects - despite significant falls in drinking and drunkenness amongst younger people. However, despite a 10% fall in overall consumption over the last three decades as recently reported in the Lancet, middle and older adult's drinking has yet to see falls, with warnings over cuts to services and absence of key policy measures repeatedly made by many health groups.

Alcohol harm to others: 1 in 5 experience harm in the last year

A recent BMJ study exploring the level of harm people experience from other people's drinking has attracted widespread media coverage.

The findings, based on data from the Alcohol Toolkit Study, indicate one in five people in England have been harmed by others drinking over the past year. Whilst being kept awake at night (8%) or feeling anxious/uncomfortable at a social occasion (nearly 7%) were the most common harms, these problems could still contribute to health issues, whilst nearly one in 20 people reported experiencing threats or acts aggression.

MUP one year on: speculation, spin & evidence?

EDIT: Consumption data has since been released - see report and analysis here.

The 1st of May 2019 marked one year since the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland, prompting mainstream media coverage and inevitable attempts to declare its impact, despite limited data as yet available.

Media speculation had also followed recent Nielsen data indicating volume sales of alcohol had increased in the first 46 weeks after MUP came into effect. Various stories claimed 'Scots are drinking more despite minimum pricing', even though the data provides no indication of how actual alcohol consumption in units (or pure litres) has changed. As others sought to clarify, the Nielsen figures only reflects 'natural' volume sales; the volume of alcoholic drinks regardless of its strength.

News & updates April 2019: MUP, health, pubs, drinking insights & more

Selected media stories since the March roundup:

Lloyd's of London is setting out a new code of conduct 'calling time on drink and drugs', reports the BBC. It states the long established insurance firm 'is regarded as the last bastion of the financial district's boozy culture', but following further reports of inappropriate behaviours, anyone deemed under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be barred from the building.

IAS Alert April 2019: MUP, brain damage, stroke, Lloyds & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: April 2019 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• COVER STORY – MUP sees off white cider in Scotland
• Alcohol brain damage persists into abstinence
• No stroke of luck for moderate drinkers
• Lloyd’s of London calls time on drink
• WHO: Partnering with alcohol industry on public health is not okay
• Flight of fancy – risky whisky ad banned
• Call for global 50% rise in alcohol tax