Alcohol Policy UK

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.

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.

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.

Alcohol harm to others: 1 in 5 experience harm in the last year

A recent BMJ study exploring the level of harm people experience from other people's drinking has attracted widespread media coverage.

The findings, based on data from the Alcohol Toolkit Study, indicate one in five people in England have been harmed by others drinking over the past year. Whilst being kept awake at night (8%) or feeling anxious/uncomfortable at a social occasion (nearly 7%) were the most common harms, these problems could still contribute to health issues, whilst nearly one in 20 people reported experiencing threats or acts aggression.

MUP one year on: speculation, spin & evidence?

The 1st of May 2019 marked one year since the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland, prompting mainstream media coverage and inevitable attempts to declare its impact, despite limited data as yet available.

Media speculation had also followed recent Nielsen data indicating volume sales of alcohol had increased in the first 46 weeks after MUP came into effect. Various stories claimed 'Scots are drinking more despite minimum pricing', even though the data provides no indication of how actual alcohol consumption in units (or pure litres) has changed. As others sought to clarify, the Nielsen figures only reflects 'natural' volume sales; the volume of alcoholic drinks regardless of its strength.

NICE consultation on QOF IBA indicators & prevention and treatment guidance

The National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE) is undertaking a consultation to review its guidance on prevention (PH24) and treatment (CG115), and new proposed QOF indicators for alcohol brief intervention in Primary Care.

QOF indicators: a boost for Primary Care IBA?

The Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) forms a central part of the delivery of Primary Care services, involving a wide range of indicators to measure and incentivise performance against. A new set of alcohol QOF items are being proposed to help prompt alcohol brief intervention (also known as Identification and Brief Advice) when patients present with a number of illnesses or conditions commonly associated with alcohol misuse.

Findings bulletins: residential treatment reviewed, brief intervention implementation, domestic violence & more

Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank: 

Glass half full for residential/inpatient treatment of drinking problems in England

For the small cohort of people with severe and chronic drinking problems, this study found that residential and inpatient treatments were effective over half the time based on the important public health indicator of not just completing treatment successfully, but also not returning to treatment within six months. Ground-breaking and important as this is, the findings refer only to people who accessed treatment. What does this mean for those whose vulnerabilities make them eligible for intensive support but go hand-in-hand with significant barriers to treatment?

Can the disappointing roll-out of brief alcohol interventions be cost-effectively turned around?

'No safe level' for stroke - an end for moderate drinking 'health benefits'?

A new study challenging the much debated health benefits claimed for moderate drinking has been published in the Lancet, adding to the evidence that positive health outcomes amongst low level drinkers are less likely to be due to a direct effect of alcohol.

The research, indicating no protective effect of moderate consumption against stroke, follows a large scale study published last year indicating there was no overall beneficial effect of moderate drinking on mortality risk when considering all conditions, despite lower levels of cardiovascular disease among those drinking at low levels. It states 'the apparently protective effects of moderate alcohol intake against stroke are largely non-causal', and that alcohol consumption 'uniformly increases blood pressure and stroke risk'.

Drinking in pregnancy: lasting effects of low-level alcohol use?

In this guest post, Kayleigh Easey (@KayEasey), a PhD student and member of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (@BristolTARG) at the School of Psychological Science at the University of Bristol, takes a look at a recent systematic review investigating effects of parental alcohol use and offspring mental health.

It’s generally well known that drinking large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy is linked to Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and negative outcomes such as premature birth and an increase in the risk of miscarriage. However, less is known about the effects of low to moderate alcohol use during pregnancy on offspring outcomes after birth, and even less for mental health outcomes in the child, particularly internalising disorders such as depression. Despite government guidelines being updated by the Department of Health in January 2016, advising pregnant women that the safest approach is to abstain from drinking alcohol altogether through their pregnancy, there remains uncertainty amongst the public as to whether a ‘drink or two’ is harmful or not.

'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.