Alcohol Policy UK

News & updates September 2019: MUP impacts, tax policy, Brexit, drugs, pubs & more

Selected media stories since the August update:

Minimum price 'cuts drinking by half a pint a week', according to a BBC headline following the release new data on Scotland's minimum unit pricing (MUP) introduced in 2016. While households in England increased their consumption slightly, Scottish purchasing was estimated to have fallen by 7.6% on average, equivalent to 1.2 units a week.

Meanwhile, the number of alcohol-related deaths in Glasgow fell by more than a fifth since MUP, reported ITV news. The figures were presented at the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) conference in Glasgow based on data from the city's Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) and also reported by the BBC. The BBC also reported on a study to look at the impact of MUP on the homeless to be lead by Glasgow Caledonian University.

IAS Alert September 2019: pregnancy, WHO, duty, MUP, military & more

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

• COVER STORY – Midwives call for more support to deliver alcohol advice
• Irish to ban discount deals
• Airport alcohol arrests plummet
• WHO Europe: Prevalence of alcohol consumption ‘detrimental’
• Use Brexit to shake up “irrational” alcohol duty system, think tank says

Minimum pricing at home and away: where next?

In this guest post, Jane Hughes, a researcher at the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group (SARG), explores the current position of MUP across the UK and elsewhere, and the key issues for policy debates.

A bit like Brexit, implementation of the minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy in Scotland has had its share of twists, turns, legal challenges and divided public opinion. In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation to introduce the policy in 2012 and, after a five-year legal challenge led by the Scotch Whisky Association, it was eventually implemented on 1^st May 2018.

The alcohol tax system: politics & reform after Brexit?

A new report has set out detailed proposals on how alcohol duty could be reformed after Brexit to deliver a 'fit-for purpose' duty system.

See here for the Social Market Foundation's (SMF) report 'Pour Decisions? The case for reforming alcohol duty' [pdf], and summaries from the SMF and the report's sponsors the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS).

The current duty system has been a long-running issue of contention in UK policy debates, and whilst the Treasury has the ability to adjust rates, duty systems vary significantly by product. For example, spirits and beer duty is based on alcohol content, whilst wine and cider duties are based on the final product volume, creating 'mixed incentives' in terms of product strength.

More needed to ensure consistent advice from midwives: IAS report

A new study funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) highlights there is no standardised approach to screening for alcohol consumption during antenatal appointments and inconsistency in official guidance has led to midwives giving different advice on alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

Download ‘Alcohol guidelines for pregnant women: Barriers and enablers for midwives to deliver advice’ [pdf].

Nine out of ten midwives reported alcohol abstinence was advised within the guidelines, however four out of ten midwives were not aware of the actual content of the 2016 alcohol guidelines on pregnancy.

Although nearly all midwives (97%) ‘always’ or ‘usually’ advised all women to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy at the booking appointment (the first appointment), the proportion of who did so at later appointments fell to 38%.

The smoking ban and its effects on alcohol consumption: unintended consequences?

In this guest post, Rob Pryce, a Research Associate at the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group based in the University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), looks at recent research on the effect of the smoking ban on alcohol consumption.

The smoking ban came in to force in Scotland in March 2006, followed by Wales (April 2007), Northern Ireland (April 2007) and then England (July 2007). It prohibited smoking in public places including workplaces, pubs, bars and restaurants. Smoking bans are now commonplace throughout the world, and research has examined their effect on smoking and associated health. However, the smoking ban may also have had unintended consequences on other health behaviours, including alcohol consumption.

News & updates August 2019: MUP 'compliance high', brain damage, labelling, student bar closures & more

Selected media stories since the July update:

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol (MUP) has been effectively implemented since it was introduced in early 2018, reports the BBC. Compliance had be found to be high among licensed premises in Scotland according to a report published by NHS Health Scotland as part of a series of evaluations of MUP. Scottish Ministers say the policy will save approximately 400 lives over the next five years and lead to about 8,000 fewer alcohol-related hospital admissions, reports The Guardian.

Funding to support Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder projects

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently announced project funding to support work around foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). 

The fund totals £473,000 though DHSC are aiming for a smaller number of grants and therefore encourage application via consortia where projects align. However, grants will be awarded according to quality of the bid against the specified criteria.

The guidance states it is particularly interested in innovative approaches from the voluntary sector along the themes of:

IAS Alert August 2019: MUP, cancer, genetics, parenting & more

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

• COVER STORY – MUP ‘well implemented’ in first year
• Nearly 20,000 new alcohol-related cancer cases in England
• Strict alcohol policy environments may reduce intimate partner violence
• Scientists untangle links between genes and alcohol intake
• Abertay Uni watering hole goes dry
• £1 drinks promo fuels row over Belfast’s drinking culture
• Children’s drinking influenced by parents
• Alcohol does not impair our (moral) behaviour
• Drink driving death numbers still stalling
• ALCOHOL SNAPSHOT – Parental permissiveness the best predictor of underage drinking

Alcohol Change UK Rapid Evidence Reviews: mental health, BME, ARBD, Criminal Justice, digital & intimate partner violence

Alcohol Change UK have released a series of six rapid evidence reviews (RERs) on areas identified as priority areas in the field of alcohol harm reduction.

The RERs are highlighted in the context of alcohol policy and research on the Alcohol Change UK website here, based on the six RERs including:

• Alcohol and Mental Health
• Alcohol and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups
• Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD)
• Digital interventions
• Alcohol and the Criminal Justice System
• Alcohol and intimate partner violence