Alcohol Policy UK

IAS Alcohol Alert 2019 : The Year in Review

The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) has released a 2019 year in review, providing an overview of the key developments featured in the IAS Alcohol Alert series:

JANUARY 2019 
The start of the year saw the release of a long-term plan for the NHS, which promised the provision of new Alcohol Care Teams to treat patients at the 50 hospitals with the worst levels of alcohol dependence-related admissions in the UK.
Meanwhile, the health secretary appeared to deny the nation had a drinking problem at all. See full edition here.

Latest 2019 alcohol-specific deaths, HSE, Scotland & domestic abuse data

Alcohol-specific deaths 2018

The latest ONS figures on alcohol-specific deaths show in 2018 there were 7,551 deaths registered in the UK related to alcohol-specific causes. The rate is the second highest since records began in 2001, representing a 13% increase over the period, but down by 146 from the previous year's peak of 7,697. Alcohol-specific death rates were highest among men aged 55 to 59 years and women aged 60 to 64 years in 2018, at least twice as high among men and highest in Scotland.

An article in The Conversation explores the range of factors behind alcohol deaths, calling for better use of policy measures available to reduce alcohol harms. An IAS blog has explored the party manifestos say on alcohol policy (see APUK's analysis here) ahead of the forthcoming snap election on December 12.

Health Survey England (HSE) 2018

Declines in drinking amongst young people: what does the evidence say?

In this guest post Rakhi Vashishtha, a research officer at Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Melbourne, Australia, explores the current evidence behind falls in youth drinking following publication of a recent systematic review.

For decades, alcohol consumption among young people has remained a huge concern for community, public health practitioners and policy advocates. Adolescent alcohol consumption is a well-established risk factor for range of negative health and social outcomes.

IAS Alert November 2019: parental drinking impact, Brits drink above OECD average, Welsh MUP & more

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

• COVER STORY – One in three children report negative outcomes from parents’ drinking
• Majority of alcohol treatment service patients middle-aged
• OECD: Brits still above-average boozers
• Bit-by-bit: Ireland phases in parts of its alcohol legislation
• Welsh Assembly approves MUP
• Alcohol and me
• Scotland: No change in alcohol-related hospital stays
• NHS hospital Alcohol Care Team guidance released
• Underage drinking on the rise in Scotland again?
• ALCOHOL SNAPSHOT — How global drinking preferences have come together