Alcohol Policy UK

One in five hospital patients harmful drinkers, new study finds

A new study highlighting the extent of alcohol problems amongst hospital patients has attracted media attention, indicating 1 in 5 are harmful drinkers and 1 in 10 are alcohol dependent.

The research used data from 124 studies covering 1.7 million patients in UK hospitals, indicating the level of harmful drinking amongst hospital patients is ten times higher than the general population, and eight times higher for alcohol dependence.

Findings bulletins: harm reduction for homeless drinkers, parenting interventions, therapy insights

Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank: 

Low-barrier intervention for homeless people with (mostly severe) drinking problems

Heavy drinking is clearly problematic for homeless populations, but is the best way to tackle it to aim for abstinence, or to accept the reality of life on the streets and aim to reduce harm and improve lives in ways which make sense to the patient? This US study provides part of the answer.

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.

Street drinking in Barking & Dagenham: a research report

A new research report detailing the experiences of street drinkers in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham highlights the lack of published research on the subject, as well as the complexity of the issue and possible responses.

Download Street Drinking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham: 2018 Research Report [pdf].

The report was commissioned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and conducted by researchers at London South Bank University in partnership with local service provider WDP. The project used in-depth interviews and field observations alongside local outreach workers from April to October 2018 involving people in recovery, key workers, and local residents.

Statistics on Alcohol England 2019

The annual Statistics on Alcohol for England 2019 has been released, detailing national data for key alcohol-related indicators and health harms including the latest Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) data update and reported by The Independent and The Guardian.

The 2019 national statistics are no longer available to download as a report, but mostly compiles data from previously released data summarised in web page sections on:

• Part 1: Alcohol-related hospital admissions
• Part 2: Alcohol-specific deaths
• Part 3: Alcohol-related prescriptions
• Part 4: Drinking behaviours among adults
• Part 5: Drinking behaviours among children
• Part 6: Road casualties involving illegal alcohol levels
• Part 7: Expenditure and affordability

Alcohol treatment in 2018: PHE inquiry explores continued falls

Public Health England (PHE) have released the latest national statistics for substance misuse, confirming a further fall in the number of people receiving alcohol treatment despite no significant change in estimated prevalence.

The new 2017/18 figures show 75,787 people received alcohol only treatment in England, down 6% from 80,454 on the previous year and down 17% from the peak of 91,651 in 2013/14. An additional PHE release also updates the estimated number of people with alcohol dependency deemed in need of treatment, indicating little change in national prevalence of 589,101.

Alcohol Concern call for treatment levy to address services gap

The charity formed by the merger of Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK has called for a 1% increase in alcohol duties to raise £100 million each year which it says if invested in alcohol treatment 'could save the NHS and other public services around £300 million annually.' Briefing paper here [pdf].

The charity says this would equate to just 5p more for an average bottle of wine and 3p more for a pint of beer and would allow treatment budgets to be boosted by 50%. In recent years ongoing cuts to treatment budgets have resulted in a 'crisis' which is likely to be behind falling numbers of people receiving formal help. Concerns that the situation will worsen have also been raised as a new public health funding structure comes into effect in 2020.

Findings bulletins: brief advice, prevention, baclofen, acupuncture

Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank:

Delivered in under 10 minutes, are ultra-brief interventions effective?

The hectic and fast-paced environment of the emergency department is not always considered conducive to even a brief alcohol intervention. While in principle further shortening the time of the intervention would make delivery more feasible, on important patient outcomes an effective ultra-brief intervention in this setting has yet to be found

Preventing alcohol- and tobacco-exposed pregnancies

In the USA the CHOICES Plus trial tested a bundle of ‘pre-conception’ services for risky drinking, smoking, and ineffective contraception. Significant reductions in the risk of pregnancies exposed to alcohol and tobacco suggest the package may be feasible and effective, but would it transfer to the UK context?

Alcohol treatment 'in crisis': hope for the new national strategy?

Earlier this month Alcohol Concern/Alcohol Research UK released a new report “The hardest hit: addressing the crisis in alcohol treatment services”, calling for action to address the many issues arising from funding cuts and other challenges facing the sector.

Subsequently the Government has made the surprise announcement that it will develop a new alcohol strategy, though whether this will include any commitments to further resourcing alcohol services remains to be seen.

Funding for children of alcohol dependent parents: tackling the stigma of 'alcoholism'?

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced further details on Government support for the children of alcohol-dependent parents. The funding follows a pledge earlier this year by the Health Secretary and campaigning by several MPs including a parliamentary group and a Manifesto for 'Children of Alcoholics'. 

The Government release say £6 million will be available to support a package of measures including £4.5 million for an 'innovation fund for local authorities to develop plans that improve outcomes for children of alcohol-dependent parents'. £1 million will go to fund national capacity building by non-governmental organisations whilst '£500,000 to expand national helplines for children with alcoholic parents' which had been previously pledged.