Alcohol Policy UK

Commission on Alcohol Harm (2020) report calls for 'science-led' alcohol strategy

A report from a recent Commission on Alcohol Harm undertaken by the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) has been released, calling for a new comprehensive alcohol strategy for England.

The Commission received over 140 written submissions of which around 40 were from people with direct lived experience of alcohol harm. Key themes presented include harm to others, society and individuals, and the need for a new strategy given that 'nothing has really changed' since the last national alcohol strategy published in 2012.

Recommendations from the final report include:

• The new alcohol strategy must include targeted measures to support families and protect children from harm, including alcohol-fuelled violence.
• The new alcohol strategy must be science-led and adopt the World Health Organization’s evidence-based recommendations for reducing the harmful use of alcohol. This includes measures on affordability - such as the introduction of minimum unit pricing in England - and restrictions on alcohol advertising and marketing - such as ending sports sponsorship, better information for consumers, advice and treatment for people drinking at hazardous and harmful levels, and action to reduce drink driving.
• Reducing the £3.5bn cost of alcohol to the NHS would help to relieve pressure on the service and free up capacity to respond to the consequences of COVID-19.
• Changing the conversation and challenging alcohol’s position in our culture. This means addressing the stigma around alcohol use disorders, encouraging conversations about drinking to take place more easily and creating space for people to be open about the effects of alcohol on their health and those around them.

Government silent on a national strategy?

In 2018 a surprise announcement that the Government were developing a new alcohol strategy appeared to come out of the blue, but as time passed it became apparent that any such plans had been shelved. Since 2012's alcohol strategy - which infamously announced minimum pricing only to a major u-turn in 2013 - England has had no dedicated alcohol policy plan. Instead, the 2016 'Modern Crime Prevention Strategy' set out alcohol-related crime objectives whilst certain health and treatment objectives include a renewed national CQUIN for IBA and Public Health England (PHE) guidance and support.

Many health and alcohol groups however have been critical of a lack of national strategy and a general Government policy approach seen to shy away from the policy levers thought to be most effective. In 2013 a 'Health First' alcohol strategy was proposed by a coalition of health bodies whilst in 2015 England was ranked lowest out of the four UK nations in a report assessing the extent of evidence based policy making. Meanwhile, Scotland has been widely applauded for its evidence-led approach resulting in MUP implementation in 2018 with early findings indicating support for its predicted effects. Meanwhile, snippets of alcohol policy have included commitments to hospital alcohol care teams and brief interventions.

 

In the run up to the 2019 snap election, the AHA released a manifesto for alcohol policy, and called on the public to email their MPs to support action to address harm. Not surprisingly in the context of British politics, alcohol policy hasn't appeared a significant priority, although the new Conservative Government's manifesto committed to make sobriety orders available to all courts in England and Wales and a new alcohol duty review. In this sense, it looks likely that those calling for an evidence based strategy, including pricing measures and reversal to cuts to treatment will have their work cut out in the years ahead.

Many health and alcohol groups however have been critical of a lack of national strategy and a general Government policy approach seen to shy away from the policy levers thought to be most effective. In 2013 a 'Health First' alcohol strategy was proposed by a coalition of health bodies whilst in 2015 England was ranked lowest out of the four UK nations in a report assessing the extent of evidence based policy making. Meanwhile, Scotland has been widely applauded for its evidence-led approach resulting in MUP implementation in 2018 with early findings indicating support for its predicted effects. Meanwhile, snippets of alcohol policy have included commitments to hospital alcohol care teams and brief interventions.

 

In the run up to the 2019 snap election, the AHA released a manifesto for alcohol policy, and called on the public to email their MPs to support action to address harm. Not surprisingly in the context of British politics, alcohol policy hasn't appeared a significant priority, although the new Conservative Government's manifesto committed to make sobriety orders available to all courts in England and Wales and a new alcohol duty review. In this sense, it looks likely that those calling for an evidence based strategy, including pricing measures and reversal to cuts to treatment will have their work cut out in the years ahead.

IAS Alert August 2020: pubs, drink-driving, mental health, advertising & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: August 2020 is now available. Reports include:

• The UK Government weighs up the trade-off between keeping pubs open or reopening schools in light of potential new lockdown

• New drink-driving data from the Department for Transport show no ‘significant improvement’ for another year, as road accidents and casualties stay largely unchanged since 2010

• Research looks into the recent history of alcohol and mental health policy for older people in the UK  (Podcast feature)

• A study finds alcohol advertising in Formula One racing is a potential driver of alcohol consumption

• Top health experts call for alcohol labelling overhaul as investigation finds consumers are not provided with adequate information about the beverages they drink

• In Ireland, the 2020 Alcohol Market Review and Price Survey finds drinkers are able to reach their weekly alcohol limit for pocket money prices

• Better Health campaign urges drinkers to think about the ‘empty calories’ in alcohol

• Global drinks producer Diageo manage to keep their UK sales operation afloat during the pandemic, through targeted e-commerce tactics

• Rumours that a booze ban on drinking in football stadiums will be lifted resurface in the press

Access the full Alcohol Alert here.