Alcohol Policy UK

Alcohol Awareness Week 2020: alcohol & mental health, November 16-22

Alcohol Change UK have announced Alcohol Awareness Week (AAW) 2020 will take place from 16-22 November on the theme of alcohol and mental health.

Alcohol Change UK say:

Around 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year and drinking too much or too often can increase our risk. But many of us are unaware of the link between alcohol and poor mental health and it’s often the first thing we turn to when we’re feeling low, stressed, worried or unable to cope.

'Positive sobriety', Dry January & the rise of alcohol-free in 2020

It's hard to imagine many people won't have heard about Dry January this month as the alcohol-free trend appears to go from strength to strength. At least that appears to be the case for younger generations where rising numbers of teetotallers mark a significant departure from the picture of the alcopop-fuelled binge Britain around the high-tide of the millennium.

Alongside Dry January, a wider movement has also been flourishing, most recently dubbed the 'positive' or 'new sobriety' movement. Under this umbrella, a range of organisations, support groups, hashtags, 'quit-lit', alcohol-free drinks and events have continued to emerge at a seemingly ever-increasing rate.

Alcohol Awareness Week 2019: ‘Alcohol and me’

Alcohol Change UK have announced Alcohol Awareness Week (AAW) 2019 will take place from 11-17 November on the theme of 'alcohol and me'.

Alcohol Change UK say they will be 'encouraging people to test their knowledge on the low-risk drinking guidelines and on the health impacts associated with drinking', and will be 'tackling some common myths around drinking and showcasing what healthy drinking really looks like'.

Drink Free Days evaluations: a worthwhile partnership?

Two evaluations have been released assessing the 'Drink Free Days' (DFD) campaign launched last year as a partnership between Drinkaware and Public Health England (PHE), prompting controversy.

Drinkaware, the alcohol industry funded education charity, jointly launched the DFD campaign in partnership with Government body PHE, with the aim of encouraging at-risk and harmful middle-aged drinkers to take more days off from drinking.

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.

'Count 14' NHS Scotland campaign & debate on the future of alcohol guidelines

NHS Scotland has launched a new campaign to promote awareness of the recommended guidelines, whilst the journal Addiction has published a set of open access commentaries debating how drinking guidelines should be developed and communicated.

The new 'count 14' campaign follows several years of regular debate about alcohol health risks and their communication since the revised guidelines of 14 units per week, spread over three days or more, were announced by the Chief Medical Officer in 2016. Whilst based on epidemiological evidence indicating drinking at around the guideline level broadly reflects a 1% increased risk of dying from an alcohol-related condition over a lifetime, issues raised range from the interpretation of the available evidence itself through to how such messages should form policy or behaviour change approaches.

Dry January in 2019: still in vogue, but still facing questions

It seems 2019 is to be another strong year for Dry January, with over four million people expected to take part according to Alcohol Change UK. However the campaign continues to face criticisms from some perhaps unexpected quarters.

Alcohol Change UK emphasise that going dry for the month leads people to drink less year-round, responding to the commonly raised issue of whether taking part may lead to more drinking pre or post January, with some arguing year round moderate drinking messages are preferable. Alcohol Change UK say new unpublished data on 2018 participants bolsters previous research by the University of Sussex which suggested 70% of risky drinking participants were still drinking less six months on. Participants also reported a wide range of other health and social benefits including saving money, better sleep and losing weight.

Alcohol Change UK launched as new national charity to reduce alcohol harm

The new charity formed as a merger of Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK has ben announced as Alcohol Change UK. The charity says its vision is 'a world free from serious alcohol harm' and launches its new profile as Alcohol Awareness Week 2018 kicks off.

As part of the launch, the charity has released the Alcohol Change Report, which makes the case for 'change being not only needed, but possible'. The report sets out the charities approach to 'alcohol harm and how we will work with government, public bodies, organisations, charities and individuals to reduce it', and states it has three core values in doing so: 'Truthful: we seek and tell the truth', 'Compassionate: we care deeply about everyone seriously harmed by alcohol, whoever they are', and 'Ambitious: we are optimistic and determined'. Setting out how change happens, the report covers a number of key areas including:

Alcohol Charter calls for evidence based national strategy

An Alcohol Charter has been released by a cross-party parliamentary group and thirty organisations calling for the forthcoming national alcohol strategy to reflect the PHE evidence review for reducing alcohol harm.

Download the Alcohol Charter [pdf] here.

The Charter includes a call to increase alcohol duties by 1% above RPI in order to provide £100 million ring-fenced for alcohol treatment services which are currently "in crisis" according to a recent report. It also makes key calls to improve support for those in need, measures to protect public health and actions to address alcohol-related crime and disorder, attracting some media attention.

News & updates September 2018: Labour pledge hospital alcohol teams, drink-drive limit questioned, health, pubs & more

Selected media stories since the August update:

Alcohol treatment figures are falling despite record numbers of people with dependency, reports The Guardian. The figures come as MP Jon Ashworth pledges Labour would fund an alcohol care team in every district hospital at a cost of £13.5 million, though would result in savings of £40 million to the NHS. Figures suggest that at least 41 English hospitals do not currently have an alcohol care team in place - The Metro.

Drink-drive limits are too high suggests a BBC report. In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, it says 'you can drink a surprising amount of alcohol before you go above the current drink-drive limits'. However even within the limits - 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood- drinkers are up 13 times more likely to kill someone than a driver with a zero BAC. The drink-drive limit is the highest in Europe with most countries at 50mg per 100ml. "The government currently has no immediate plans to lower the drink-drive limit" a Government spokesperson said.