Alcohol Policy UK

Newly defined at-risk drinkers following the change to the UK low risk drinking guidelines: who and what to do?

In this guest blog, Philippa Case, a researcher at University College London, explores findings from a new study on ‘newly defined at-risk drinkers’ following a change to the UK’s low risk drinking guidelines.

Alcohol guidelines have existed in the UK since 1984 in various forms.  These guidelines exist to help people make informed choices about drinking alcohol by highlighting potential alcohol-related health risks. Guidelines also help health care practitioners assess and advise patients around their alcohol consumption as alcohol brief interventions have become a popular component of alcohol strategies in the UK and beyond.

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.

Events & dates 2019: SMPA treatment event, Alcohol Change UK Wales, MCA, SHAAP/IAS 'men and alcohol', Mindful Drinking festival

Forthcoming events in 2019

NHS Substance Misuse Providers Alliance on alcohol treatment

On 9 September the NHS Substance Misuse Providers Alliance (SMPA) conference takes place in Sheffield on the topic of 'Alcohol Treatment: reduced demand or more hidden harm?'. Including a range of speakers and workshops, the event aims to cover both the perspective of the population and individuals, asking how do we address low alcohol treatment uptake and how do we reverse and ensure we have the capacity to meet this need? See here for more info and booking.

News & updates June 2019: Labour mandatory labelling pledge, alcohol deaths, wine retailing, alcohol-free & more

Selected media stories since the June round-up:

The latest health guidance is missing from alcohol labels, the BBC reports. It says the alcohol industry has not updated health information labelling three years after health experts issued new guidelines. Several media reports highlighted an announcement that labelling on alcohol products would be made mandatory under a Labour government, as shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth revealed at Alcohol Change UK national conference.

Policy for the people? Alcohol Change UK 2019 conference

In this post, James Morris, Editor of Alcohol Policy UK, reflects on the recent 2019 Alcohol Change UK conference.

19 June 2019 was a significant day for the UK alcohol field. Not only did it mark Alcohol Change UK’s first national conference, at which keynote speaker Jonathan Ashworth MP announced the Labour Party’s commitment to make alcohol labelling mandatory, but also the release of early data indicating ‘encouraging signs’ of a decline in alcohol consumption following Scotland’s landmark minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy.

In many ways the timing couldn’t have been more fitting. While strong arguments for the role of key population level measures such as minimum pricing, availability and marketing have been repeatedly made, policy-makers for England have shied away from evidence-led approaches. Instead, alcohol policy has favoured cleverly framed but flawed arguments for alternative approaches of self-regulation and ‘local partnerships’, and ideas of ‘personal responsibility’.

IAS Alert June 2019: cost of hangovers, labelling, consumption, MUP & more

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

• COVER STORY – Hangovers cost the UK up to £1.4bn a year
• Scottish alcohol sales fall to 25-year low
• Northern Ireland: Middle-aged alcohol misuse costly for health services
• London hospital ACTs to reduce alcohol-related A&E admissions

Hangovers cost society £1.4 billion says IAS

A new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) says the cost of hangovers is up to £1.4 billion a year, with as many as 89,000 people may be turning up to work hungover or under the influence of alcohol every day.

Download 'The cost of workplace hangovers and intoxication to the UK economy' [pdf]

Key findings from a survey of 3,400 British workers that found:

'Encouraging signs' as consumption falls one year after Scotland's MUP

The first official data on alcohol sales has been released since the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland on 1st May 2018, indicating a fall in consumption to 'the lowest level seen' in Scotland since 1994 when data collection began.

The news was welcomed by supporters of the policy as an early indication that MUP may be starting to have the desired effect of reducing consumption by removing the cheapest alcoholic drinks from the off-trade market.

The Psychologist: alcohol special edition

The magazine The Psychologist, the official monthly publication of The British Psychological Society, has released a special alcohol edition.

The feature includes a series of articles written by a range of alcohol specialists, researchers and clinicians and an introduction in which authors explore why 'everyone has something to add to this conversation'.

Feature articles include:

Capability Framework toolkit for co-occurring mental health and drug/alcohol released

A capability framework to better equip services to meet the needs of people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol/drug use conditions has been released by Clinks, in partnership with Revolving Doors. A supporting e-learning resource is also available.

Download the 'Capability Framework: Working effectively with people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol/drug use' conditions [pdf]