Alcohol Policy UK

CMO guidance for children and young people: an overlooked issue?

Issues around children and young people's drinking (CYP) are never far from the headlines, and certainly well-publicised declines in CYP's drinking have continued to attract media attention. However efforts to further protect CYP from alcohol harms appear to remain a policy priority despite challenges over evidence gaps and communication challenges.

This week Scotland's new national alcohol strategy was released, promising to 'put the voices of children and young people at the heart of developing preventative measures', whilst in the North East of England a new campaign was launched by Balance warning parents about the risks to their children from alcohol. The 'What's the harm' campaign, launched during Alcohol Awareness Week 2018, encourages parents to delay when children first start to drink, citing evidence on the harmful effects on early-onset drinking and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) guidance released in 2009 advising an alcohol-free childhood as best.

Youth drinking in decline: who, why & where next?

A new report examining the decline in youth drinking since the turn of the century has been released as part of a new four-year study which aims to examine the patterns and causes of the decline in youth drinking.

Whilst based on previously released data, it brings together the Smoking Drinking and Drug Use amongst Young People in England surveys (SDD) and Health Surveys for England (HSE) findings 'to present the most comprehensive picture to date of the downturn in alcohol use among young people aged 8 to 24'.

News & updates July 2018: flying and boating; University AA, alcoholocks, marketing & more

Selected media stories since the June update:

A government-backed campaign to prevent inebriated passengers from boarding airplanes is being rolled out at ten airports – Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Southampton, Bristol and Newcastle. The One Too Many initiative, where passengers will see warnings about alcohol consumption posted on digital display screens, will be shown in duty-free shops and leaflets handed out by the police. Telegraph

NUS Wales president Gwyneth Sweatman said Cardiff University's successful Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings means they should be rolled out across all universities, reports the BBC. An AA trustee said the number of younger attendees at meetings was rising each year. However Professor Tony Moss Tweeted the article missed two important points; firstly that not all alcohol problems are dependence, and secondly that AA is just one form of support drinkers might seek.

Further calls for alcohol advertising regulation review as venue digital marketing examined

New research released by Alcohol Research UK says advertising regulation needs to be strengthened to better regulate alcohol marketing on social media. The new study finds social media presents 'new, and significant, challenges to the current regulatory regime' of alcohol marketing which is not able to keep pace with the changes in modern technology and advertising practices.

Download ‘All night long: Social media marketing to young people by alcohol brands and venues’ [pdf].

The report finds that:

News & updates June 2018: airports, teenagers, U-shaped curves, consumption & more

Selected media stories since the May roundup:

A forthcoming consultation on how alcohol is sold at airports has been reported. With increasing numbers of alcohol-related problems on flights and at airports over recent years, calls have been made to review the licensing exemptions at airports. A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will issue a Call for Evidence to assess the impact that an extension of the Licensing Act to airside premises at airports in England and Wales could have on reducing alcohol-related disruptive passenger behaviour.”

The “smoke and mirror” tactics of defence lawyers in drink-driving cases have been criticised by the government’s forensic science regulator, who has launched an investigation into the work of a number of expert witnesses. Guardian

Statistics on Alcohol England 2018 & latest OPN drinking figures

The annual Statistics on Alcohol for England 2018 has been released, detailing national data for key alcohol-related indicators and health harms.

Mainly bringing together recent alcohol data releases, the overall trends remain suggesting stabilisation of overall consumption and harm measures such as alcohol-related hospital admissions. As before though, significant variations exists between age groups, gender, regions, income and other factors. The measures used are also important as the 'broad' measure of alcohol-related admissions suggest an increase on last year, whilst the 'narrow' measure suggests a fall for the first time. Meanwhile, the final release of the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, focusing on drinking in the last week, will no longer continue.

Key figures from the national statistics release include:

Funding for children of alcohol dependent parents: tackling the stigma of 'alcoholism'?

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced further details on Government support for the children of alcohol-dependent parents. The funding follows a pledge earlier this year by the Health Secretary and campaigning by several MPs including a parliamentary group and a Manifesto for 'Children of Alcoholics'. 

The Government release say £6 million will be available to support a package of measures including £4.5 million for an 'innovation fund for local authorities to develop plans that improve outcomes for children of alcohol-dependent parents'. £1 million will go to fund national capacity building by non-governmental organisations whilst '£500,000 to expand national helplines for children with alcoholic parents' which had been previously pledged.

Parental Alcohol Misuse: where next for policy?

A new briefing on Parental Alcohol Misuse (PAM) has been released by the Government's Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. It follows increasing attention to the issue of parental drinking after several MPs have campaigned for more attention to the issue of 'Children of Alcoholics' (CoA).

The briefing identifies parental alcohol misuse (PAM) as 'a spectrum of problem drinking by those with parental responsibility for children', but highlights the majority of evidence focuses on parents drinking at or above harmful or dependent levels. The briefing identifies PAM is associated with a greater risk of mental and physical health problems, including eating disorders and depression, and is also associated with neglect and domestic abuse. It highlights child protection cases involving PAM have poorer welfare outcomes for children, whilst PAM is also linked to problematic parenting styles that may leave children with problems such as guilt, isolation, stigma.

News & updates January 2018: airports, labelling 'awareness vacuum', young people, Newcastle MUP

Selected media stories since the November roundup: 

Restrictions on the sale of alcohol at UK airports could be introduced in an effort to reduce the number of drink-related rage incidents on planes. Airports are currently exempt from legislation governing when they can sell alcohol. The Home Office says passengers should be able to enjoy their holidays without having their flight disrupted by "a small minority of people". It is expected to begin assessing the impact of implementing the Licensing Act 2003 on airside premises in a few weeks. BBC

Funding for helpline to support 'children of alcoholics' announced

New funding of £500,000 has been reported by the Health Secretary to go towards a national helpline to support 'children of alcoholics' as part of a new Government strategy.

The announcement comes after ongoing work by several high profile MPs who have spoken about their experiences and attracted significant media attention to the subject. The funding will go to the National Association of Children of Alcoholics (NACOA) to help run its helpline which has previously relied on voluntary donations.