Alcohol Policy UK

'Four Nations' report highlights varied alcohol policy across UK

A new report released by the Alliance for Useful Evidence explores the extent to which alcohol policies across the UK nations are evidence-based.

Download 'Four Nations: How evidence–based are alcohol policies and programmes across the UK?' [pdf] or.

See here for a blog post by authors Niamh Fitzgerald (University of Stirling) and Colin Angus (University of Sheffield) discussing the reasons behind alcohol policy divergence across the UK.

IAS Alcohol Alert October 2015: GAPC conference, Northern Ireland, depression & dementia research

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: October 2015 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Majority of emergency service staff suffer alcohol fuelled abuse

• GAPC 2015 a success as Scotland’s First Minister reaffirms commitment to minimum unit pricing

• Comment on the Policy Innovation Research Unit’s evaluation of the Responsibility Deal Labelling Pledge

News & updates October 2015: praise for Scotland's MUP fight; alcohol for Bournville; 'boozebulance' banned

Selected alcohol media reports since the September roundup: 

Alcohol policy

The Scottish government has been praised by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance for its "political courage" in attempting to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol - BBC News. 'We drink for a good time AND when we're having a sh*t time': SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon says alcohol is 'ever present' in Scottish people's lives - Daily Mail

News & updates September 2015: stressed mums, hangover prevention, beer goggles & sober students

Selected alcohol media reports since the August roundup:

Alcohol research

British doctors and scientists have developed a pioneering technology that could save the lives of hundreds of people with livers damaged by alcohol abuse and obesity, reported the Mirror.

Stressed mothers are increasingly turning to wine after the school run, according to a report which suggests parents with children at home are the most likely to have a drink problem. Telegraph

IAS Alcohol Alert September 2015: further minimum pricing analysis, public purse debate, Scotland, NI & EU news

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: September 2015 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Minimum Unit Pricing legal if justified as best health measure

• Minimum Unit Pricing: The Advocate General’s view

• Alcohol and the Public Purse: Debating the correct frame for alcohol harm

• Scotland: Rise in teetotalism “masks differences” in alcohol consumption and harm

News & updates August 2015: policing Spanish resorts; drunk rape victims, UK nightclubs decline, rise of the half pint

Selected media stories in August since the July roundup:

Crime and disorder

Two police officers posted to a Spanish resort to deal with UK tourists involved in crime have received flak for finishing work at 10pm, just as the bars start to get busy, reported the Guardian. The Daily Mail said Benidorm is to follow Ibiza and Magaluf and deploy British police officers on the streets to curb alcohol-fuelled trouble.

Drunk rape victims can remember their attacks, reported the Telegraph. The story

IAS Alcohol Alert August 2015: guidelines, gambling, drink driving, deaths in Scotland & more

The latest Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) Alcohol Alert: August 2015 is now available (here for PDF version). Read the editorial here and articles below:

• Study questions usefulness of current drinking guidelines
• Report reveals burden alcohol places on North East ambulance staff
• The relationship between alcohol and gambling behaviours
• Alcohol’s harm to others: new British studies in a wider perspective
• Recovery Partnership Review of Alcohol Treatment Services in England: Final report released

An end to falling UK consumption?

NHS Scotland's latest report on alcohol sales data indicates an end to the downward trend in alcohol consumption. It suggests the trend is now 'flattening' in Scotland, with similar patterns in England and Wales.

The report analyses alcohol sales using specialist market research data and price band analyses. It suggests that 'off-trade sales may be returning to an upward trend', with a continuing shift in the share of alcohol being sold through off-sales. 72% of alcohol in Scotland is now sold by supermarkets and off-licenses, at an average price of 52 pence per unit (ppu) versus £1.66 ppu for the on-trade.

Scotland's alcohol consumption also remains significantly higher than the rest of the UK, with the 18% difference in sales almost wholly made up by off-trade units, particularly lower priced vodka.

Alcohol Research UK reports: pricing in Scotland, belief and environmental influences on drinking

Three new reports funded by Alcohol Research UK have been released:

Alcohol pricing and purchasing among heavy drinkers in Edinburgh and Glasgow

This study from Edinburgh Napier University/Queen Margaret University makes an important contribution to the debates on alcohol pricing and harm in Scotland. There are some key findings:

News & updates June 2015: MUP cuts crime, loi evin, Anti-Social Behaviour, chimpanzees that drink, pregnancy, smoking in pubs

Selected June media stories since the May roundup:

Alcohol policy

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) cuts crime, according to research from Canada. Crimes against the person fell by 9% over a decade as authorities in British Columbia increased prices by 10%. The Guardian

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland has called for alcohol advertising at events aimed at children to be banned. BBC News

Drinks advertising in France, currently severely restricted, could become "almost limitless" if MPs approve wine grower-senator Gerard Cesar's (pictured) amendment on Monday, warns Claude Evin, father of landmark law on drink ads ban. Telegraph

Alcohol-related hospital admissions rise again reports the Guardian, despite falls in consumptions - APUK analysis here.