Alcohol Policy UK

NHS hospital Alcohol Care Team guidance released

A set of resources relating to the delivery of hospital-based Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) has been released.

The guidance, co-produced with Public Health England (PHE), follows a commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) earlier this year to establish ACTs in hospitals with the highest rate of alcohol dependence-related admissions.

A summary document [pdf] sets out the role of ACTs as part of an effective local area alcohol treatment system, also supported by a core service descriptor [pdf], a case study example [pdf], and a checklist for commissioners [XLS].

The guidance states admission to hospital is 'often the first time alcohol dependence is identified and diagnosed as an underlying or primary condition, so hospital admission provides an ideal opportunity for early intervention and access to more comprehensive alcohol treatment.'

AHA manifesto calls on future Government to address rising alcohol harms

The Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) have released a manifesto to address alcohol harms ahead of the forthcoming snap general election on the 12 December 2019.

Download 'Improving health and wellbeing: our 2019 manifesto' here [pdf]

The manifesto calls on 'the next Government to develop an ambitious alcohol strategy, supporting healthier, happier lives, reducing health inequalities and boosting the economy'.

Key policies set out in the manifesto include:

Alcohol treatment in 2019: downward trend stabilising?

Public Health England (PHE) have released the latest national statistics for substance misuse 2018/19, indicating no significant change in the numbers receiving alcohol treatment.

The latest figures follow several years of declines in alcohol treatment, but in 2018/19 the number of people receiving alcohol only treatment was 75,555 (versus 75,787 last year). PHE note this follows large year-on-year declines from a peak of 91,651 in 2013/14.

Last year PHE released results from an inquiry into the falling trend in alcohol treatment figures which acknowledged the likely role of ongoing cuts to public health budgets and a loss of focus on alcohol treatment amidst service reconfigurations. In 2018/19 the number of adults entering all substance treatment services increased by 4% from the previous year (127,307 to 132,210), the first rise since 2014, possibly reflecting recent increases in the prevalence of illicit drug use.

What do we know about the relationships between drinking contexts, the amount we drink, and the harms we suffer?

In this guest blog, Abigail Stevely, a researcher in the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group at the University of Sheffield, explores findings from her new study describing the evidence on how drinking contexts (such as drinking in a pub versus at home) influence the amount we drink and the alcohol-related harm we suffer.

Why drinking context matters

It is increasingly clear that the details of how we drink are important, as well as how much and how often. Research finds that people drink more alcohol when they are pre-drinking, drinking with lots of friends or while loud music is playing.

IAS Alert October 2019: marketing, Russia policy effects, MUP impacts, cancer & more

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

• IAS hosts alcohol marketing event on protecting the vulnerable
• Drastic decline in alcohol-related deaths in Russia
• Does the EU Alcohol Health Forum have a future?
• MUP short-term economic impact on alcohol industry ‘modest’
• Facebook identifies kids ‘interested in’ booze for advertisers
• Halve alcohol guidelines to minimise dementia risk
• Money motivates GPs to initiate alcohol screening
• Alcohol duty cuts linked to 2,000 additional deaths in England
• Alcohol industry messaging puts pregnant women at risk
• Wales sets March 2020 date for 50p MUP
• Review calls time on use of gender stereotypes in alcohol marketing
• Cancer risk 30 times more likely for those who drink AND smoke
• ALCOHOL SNAPSHOT: Restrictive alcohol policies have increased the number of non-drinkers in Russia

Alcohol & cancer: SHAAP guide for professionals

New alcohol and cancer guidance from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) has been released, providing information and advice for health professionals to help advise patients and recognise symptoms of cancer.

Download Alcohol and Cancer: A Guide for Health Professionals [pdf] here.

The updated guidance says approximately 6.5% of deaths in Scotland in 2015 were attributable to alcohol consumption, with more than one in four (28%) of these due to cancer. As identified by the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) weekly guidelines, it highlights there is no safe level of alcohol consumption concerning cancer risks, statistics relating to alcohol's role in seven types of cancer and recent developments in understanding of the mechanisms of alcohol and cancer.

UK alcohol clinical guidelines to be developed

Public Health England (PHE) has announced it will lead the development of UK-wide clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment to support alcohol treatment practice.

The guidelines aim to develop a clear consensus on good practice and help services to implement interventions for harmful and dependent drinking as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) CG115 guideline. The guideline will aim to promote and support consistent good practice and improve the quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes.

The guidelines will provide:

Alcohol & marketing: IAS conference & report on gender stereotypes

This week the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) held a conference on Alcohol & marketing: protecting the vulnerable with a range of presentations, audio , and animations available to download. 

The event featured presentations including Prof David Jernigan exploring 'Alcohol Marketing and Public Health – what do we know and what can we do?' and Dr Nathan Critchlow on 'Regulating alcohol marketing in the digital 'Wild West''. A presentation by Dr Amanda Atkinson explored alcohol marketing gender roles and stereotypes following the release of a new report reviewing the literature exploring the ways in which women are both targeted and represented in alcohol brand and nightlife marketing.

Alcohol duty cuts responsible for 2,000 deaths says SARG report

A new report explores the impact of cuts to alcohol duties made in recent years, estimating it may have led to as many as 2,000 deaths in England.

Download Modelling the impact of alcohol duty policies since 2012 in England and Scotland [pdf] or see SARG and IAS summary here.

Conducted by the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group (SARG) on behalf of the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), the report estimates the scrapping the alcohol duty escalator has resulted in £341 million in additional costs to the NHS, and other costs such as half a million additional lost days of work at a cost to the economy of £62 million.

Findings bulletins: brief interventions implementation, improving mental health and SUD care, residential evidence & more

Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank:

Major trial of ways to extend brief alcohol interventions

Could combinations of three strategies – training and support, financial reimbursement, and the opportunity to refer patients to a website – effectively and cost-effectively boost delivery of brief alcohol interventions in five European countries, including England? The aim was to find the best way to narrow the gap in primary care between the number of patients who could benefit from these interventions and those who receive them. An important trial whose findings we analyse in depth, and for which we have updated our analysis of the cost-effectiveness findings.

What would better mental health and substance use care look like?