Alcohol Policy UK

Alcohol policy mentions in the 2019 manifestos: more of the same?

A few selected alcohol policies and related commitments have made it into several party manifestos ahead of the upcoming snap election on 12 December. Meanwhile, the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), who have released a manifesto for alcohol policy, are calling on the public to email their MPs to support action to address harm.

The Conservative party manifesto, Get Brexit done: unleash Britain’s potential [pdf], says they will:

"expand electronic tagging for criminals serving time outside jail, including the use of sobriety tags for those whose offending is fuelled by alcohol."

Readers may note the 2015 manifesto had committed to "make sobriety orders available to all courts in England and Wales, enforced through new alcohol monitoring tags", so arguably nothing new in policy terms. 'Sobriety tags' were trialled in London during Johnson's time as Mayor, prompting speculation that they could go national, whilst the available evaluation indicated largely successful compliance.

Events & dates 2019/20: FASD conference, Drinking Studies Network, GAPA 2020, Men & Alcohol series

Forthcoming events in 2019/20:

An event on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) takes place on 12 December 2019 in Manchester, hosted by the University of Salford. The conference will provide delegates with an introduction and understanding of the issues and complexities in the topic of FASD. Delegates will hear from internationally renowned speakers on a range of issues relating to FASD including its history, diagnosis, comorbidity, issues around social care, national healthcare guidelines, behaviour management of children with FASD and more. See the conference programme here [pdf] or further details and registration here.

Also on the 12 December, a Drinking Studies Network (DSN) workshop in Leicester will explore 'Excess, moderation and sobriety'. The DSN is an interdisciplinary and international research group that connects scholars working on drink and drinking culture across different societies and time periods. See here for more information and registration.

NHS hospital Alcohol Care Team guidance released

A set of resources relating to the delivery of hospital-based Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) has been released.

The guidance, co-produced with Public Health England (PHE), follows a commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) earlier this year to establish ACTs in hospitals with the highest rate of alcohol dependence-related admissions.

A summary document [pdf] sets out the role of ACTs as part of an effective local area alcohol treatment system, also supported by a core service descriptor [pdf], a case study example [pdf], and a checklist for commissioners [XLS].

The guidance states admission to hospital is 'often the first time alcohol dependence is identified and diagnosed as an underlying or primary condition, so hospital admission provides an ideal opportunity for early intervention and access to more comprehensive alcohol treatment.'

AHA manifesto calls on future Government to address rising alcohol harms

The Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) have released a manifesto to address alcohol harms ahead of the forthcoming snap general election on the 12 December 2019.

Download 'Improving health and wellbeing: our 2019 manifesto' here [pdf]

The manifesto calls on 'the next Government to develop an ambitious alcohol strategy, supporting healthier, happier lives, reducing health inequalities and boosting the economy'.

Key policies set out in the manifesto include:

Alcohol treatment in 2019: downward trend stabilising?

Public Health England (PHE) have released the latest national statistics for substance misuse 2018/19, indicating no significant change in the numbers receiving alcohol treatment.

The latest figures follow several years of declines in alcohol treatment, but in 2018/19 the number of people receiving alcohol only treatment was 75,555 (versus 75,787 last year). PHE note this follows large year-on-year declines from a peak of 91,651 in 2013/14.

Last year PHE released results from an inquiry into the falling trend in alcohol treatment figures which acknowledged the likely role of ongoing cuts to public health budgets and a loss of focus on alcohol treatment amidst service reconfigurations. In 2018/19 the number of adults entering all substance treatment services increased by 4% from the previous year (127,307 to 132,210), the first rise since 2014, possibly reflecting recent increases in the prevalence of illicit drug use.

What do we know about the relationships between drinking contexts, the amount we drink, and the harms we suffer?

In this guest blog, Abigail Stevely, a researcher in the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group at the University of Sheffield, explores findings from her new study describing the evidence on how drinking contexts (such as drinking in a pub versus at home) influence the amount we drink and the alcohol-related harm we suffer.

Why drinking context matters

It is increasingly clear that the details of how we drink are important, as well as how much and how often. Research finds that people drink more alcohol when they are pre-drinking, drinking with lots of friends or while loud music is playing.