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In this month’s podcast we spoke to John Holmes, Professor of Alcohol Policy at the University of Sheffield, about no and low alcohol products. We discussed the project the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group is running on the topic, why these products are gaining attention, who consumes them, the concerns among public health groups, and what the market for such products will look like in the coming years.
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In February's podcast we spoke to Dr James Morris, Research Fellow at London South Bank University, about how the model of ‘alcoholism’ evolved and led to beliefs about alcohol problems being heavily focused on the severe end of the spectrum.
Dr Morris discusses how Alcoholics Anonymous, despite helping a great many people in their recovery, reinforces this model and leads to people failing to recognise their own issues with alcohol. Discussing why this model can cause harm, Dr Morris stated:
“I think the main way it prevents progress is through ‘othering’, essentially the process of classifying alcohol problems as belonging to an ‘other’. The alcoholic stereotype is drawn on heavily for that. We see lots of heavy drinking groups point to the ‘alcoholic other’ to distance their own drinking and protect their own drinking identify."
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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In our first podcast of 2024, we spoke to Nicola Merrin, Alcohol Focus Scotland's (AFS) Policy & Research Manager, about the Scottish Government's consideration of reintroducing a Public Health Supplement (or levy).
We discussed what the previous levy raised and why it was implemented, AFS's support for a new levy, and why it's so important to introduce one now, when alcohol deaths are at record highs.
Listen to the end to hear from Dr Alastair Macgilchrist, who explains next steps for minimum unit pricing in Scotland.
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In this month's podcast, we spoke to Dr Aalaa Jawad about a new report by the AHA, OHA and ASH that found that alcohol, tobacco, and junk food industries make £53 billion a year from harmful consumption.
We also spoke to Susan Taylor of Balance North East, about their hard-hitting new campaign, which aims to raise awareness in the region of alcohol as a cause of cancer.
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In this month's podcast we spoke to a number of the attendees at the 7th Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Cape Town, including Prof David Jernigan of Boston University, Prof Charles Parry of the SAMRC, Alison Douglas and Nicola Merrin of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Chris Smith of Open Philanthropy, and Juan Tello of the World Health Organization.
We asked them what they had found most enlightening during the three days, as well as what they hoped people would take away from the conference.
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In this month's podcast we spoke to economist Nicholas Woolley about a new report by Frontier Economics, which found that 184,000 preventable cancers diagnosed in 2023 will cost the UK economy £78 billion. We also spoke to Robert Stebbings of Adfam, about their new report: State of the Family Support Sector.
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In this month's podcast we spoke to Lucy Bryant of IAS and Dr Carly Lightowlers of the University of Liverpool, about their new study that found that off-trade alcohol availability is a crucial driver of alcohol-related violence.
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In our latest podcast we spoke to Anu Rumm of the Alcohol Health Alliance, about new polling data which suggests there is significant public support for political action on reducing alcohol harm. We also spoke to Ailar Hashemzadeh of Alcohol Change UK about Alcohol Awareness Week 2023.
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In our latest podcast, we spoke to Professor John Holmes, Director of the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group, about Public Health Scotland's new report which concludes that minimum unit pricing has been effective in reducing health harms and should continue.
Also on our podcast, IAS's head of research Dr Sadie Boniface explains the findings of a new IAS study which highlights the inconsistency of government messaging around changes to alcohol duty over the past 15 years.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
On the podcast this month, we are joined by our chief executive, Dr Katherine Severi, to discuss her proudest moments of the last three years, our new strategy, why we are focusing on inequalities, and what she’s most looking forward to.
Dr Courtney McNamara, a lecturer in public health at Newcastle University, also joined our podcast, to discuss her new analysis of the CPTPP trade deal, and why it could be a threat to public health.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Joining our podcast this week is Susan Taylor, Head of Alcohol Policy for Fresh and Balance in the northeast. We discussed the burden of alcohol-related harm in the northeast of England, and how the region still experiences disproportionate harm compared to other English regions.
Taylor explained that alcohol harm doesn’t need to be a political issue, and that whatever happens in the next General Election, any government should look at the evidence base and commit to policies to prevent further harm.
Listen to the end of our podcast, where you can hear from Dr Harriet Rumgay about her recent study on the economic cost of deaths from alcohol-related cancer in Europe.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
On this month’s podcast, we spoke to Dr Peter Rice, an addiction psychiatrist and IAS's chair, about changes to alcohol duty made in the Spring Budget. Before that, we hear from Dr Sadie Boniface about a recent study that found minimum unit pricing reduced alcohol deaths in Scotland by 13.4%.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
On this month’s podcast, we spoke to Nicola Merrin, Policy and Research Manager at Alcohol Focus Scotland. We discussed the proposals within Scotland’s alcohol marketing consultation, how Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation could affect the proposals, and tactics the alcohol industry are using to fight against the proposals.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
In this month's podcast: What are the commercial determinants of health?
The phrase ‘commercial determinants of health’ is being increasingly used in the public health sphere. But what does it mean, how does it relate to the alcohol industry, and what should our listeners reflect on?
We spoke to Jeff Collin, Professor of Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh, about the issue.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
In this podcast: People, planet, or profit: Alcohol’s impact on a sustainable future.
We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new report: People, planet, or profit: Alcohol’s impact on a sustainable future. On our podcast this month we discussed the most interesting findings.
The report brings together the learnings from our sustainability webinar series and provides insight into:
Discussing the report, IAS’ Head of Policy Jennifer Keen said:
“As a society we know that we need to reduce our consumption across products generally, due to the burden on natural resources and biodiversity.
“However alcohol has a dual harm, as not only does it negatively impact the environment, but also kills millions of people around the world every year.
“So reducing alcohol consumption, through known, evidence-based population measures - such as reducing alcohol's affordability through an increase in duty - will improve both the health of people and also the planet.”
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
In this podcast:
How alcohol companies use gendered norms to sell more product
In our podcast this month we spoke to Dr Amanda Atkinson of Liverpool John Moores University about gendered alcohol marketing. Among other things, we discussed:
* The gendered tactics alcohol companies use to promote their products
* Why this is worse than other product-based companies using similar tactics
* And what Dr Atkinson would do if she had control over the UK’s alcohol marketing regulations
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How far can we trust the latest Global Burden of Disease study?
🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
In the summer, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) group published a study that looked at alcohol consumption and harm, and suggested older people may benefit from drinking, while people under 40 should not drink.
This conclusion was lambasted by a number of alcohol researchers, including Colin Angus in an IAS blog and Professor Tim Stockwell in a Movendi blog, who criticised the study’s analysis and the data the conclusions were based on.
In our podcast we spoke to Professor Stockwell about the major issues of the study, including:
- Why the study has reported 1 million fewer alcohol deaths compared to its 2018 publication, despite no fall in global alcohol consumption
- How various biases throw off studies and suggest health benefits of alcohol
- Whether we should now distrust the GBD group
- The difficulties of understanding risk
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Why the alcohol industry can’t afford to let us kick our drinking problem
🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
James Wilt, PhD candidate and author of ‘Drinking Up the Revolution’, writes that we aren’t talking enough about the influence of the alcohol industry on Britain’s unhealthy drinking habits and how alcohol’s ubiquity is largely due to “its commodification and deregulation by Big Alcohol”.
Wilt states that the industry has successfully maintained self-regulation and offloaded responsibility for harm on ‘problem’ users “especially through the discourse of ‘responsible drinking’”.
He argues that: “The crisis of alcohol-related harms is principally caused by the fact that the profit-motivated alcohol industry structurally incentivises higher-risk drinking”, highlighting that their profits would fall by £13 billion a year if drinkers consumed within the guidelines.
As well as limiting the alcohol lobby’s power – through advertising restrictions and restrictions on density and hours of sale – Wilt argues that there also “needs to be a massive expansion of free and public alcohol-specific healthcare for higher-risk drinkers that doesn’t demand sobriety as a condition of use, including managed alcohol programmes, therapy, medication-assisted treatment and psychiatric care”.
“Ultimately, this is about expanding opportunities for relaxation, socialising and pleasure in ways that don’t eventually kill, injure or harm.”
In our podcast we spoke to James Wilt about his Guardian article, as well as his new book: Drinking Up the Revolution: How to Smash Big Alcohol and Reclaim Working-Class Joy.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
In this edition:
* Shift in England’s drinking during COVID-19 could lead to 150,000 more cases of disease by 2035 🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
* The global burden of poor analysis
* Minimum pricing has never been promoted as a panacea
* Pubs: “lost forever” or consolidated?
* Health Disparities white paper delayed
* Boris Johnson “minimises” sexual harassment and blames alcohol
* Industry arguments dominate Commons debate on alcohol tax reform
* Alcohol packaging captures the attention of and creates appeal among young people
* Alcohol Toolkit Study: update
We hope you enjoy our roundup of stories below: please feel free to share. Thank you.
IAS Blogs
To read blogs click here.
Shift in England’s drinking during COVID-19 could lead to 150,000 more cases of disease by 2035 🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
A new IAS and HealthLumen modelling study suggests changes in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to lead to thousands of additional cases of diseases and premature deaths.
The pandemic saw heavier drinkers consuming more alcohol and this trend is continuing. If consumption does not return to 2019 levels or lower, England could see an additional 147,892 cases and 9,914 additional premature deaths from nine alcohol-related diseases, costing the NHS £1.2bn.
Three scenarios were modelled between 2022 and 2035 to project how recent changes in drinking may affect health harm from nine alcohol-related diseases: high blood pressure, stroke, liver cirrhosis, and six forms of cancer. The research found:
Joint Lead on the study Dr Sadie Boniface said:
“Much of the health harm from alcohol is from chronic diseases which take years to develop. Our results shed light on the long-term impacts of recent changes in drinking patterns.
“These increases in alcohol harm, lives lost, and costs to the NHS projected in our study are not inevitable.
“Deaths from alcohol are at record levels, and this research should act as a ‘wake-up call’ to take alcohol harm seriously as part of recovery planning from the pandemic.”
A very similar modelling study by the University of Sheffield was published at the same time and backed up IAS’ findings. The Sheffield study looked at more diseases across a longer period of time, so projected higher alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions.
Dr Boniface was interviewed on the BBC News, explaining the study findings and implications:
If you missed our launch webinar, where Dr Boniface and Sheffield’s lead author Colin Angus presented their studies, you can catch up on YouTube here.
The global burden of poor analysis
In mid-July, a new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study was published in The Lancet. The GBD study is a long-running observational epidemiological study. Their new publication was widely covered in the media with most either stating that “alcohol is never good for people under 40” or “Young people should not drink alcohol but older people may benefit from small amounts”.
The study found that for men aged 15-39, the recommended amount of alcohol before “risking health loss” was just 0.136 of a standard drink a day. For women of the same age, the “theoretical minimum risk exposure level” was 0.273 drinks – about a quarter of a standard drink a day.
Among those aged 40-64, safe alcohol consumption levels ranged from about half a standard drink a day to almost two standard drinks. For those aged 65 or older, the risks of “health loss from alcohol consumption” were reached after consuming a little more than three standard drinks a day.
The senior author, Dr Emmanuela Gakidou, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, said:
“Our message is simple: young people should not drink, but older people may benefit from drinking small amounts.”
This is in contrast to their study four year ago, which said that even the occasional drink was harmful to health and suggested governments should advise people to abstain entirely.
Colin Angus wrote an IAS blog criticising elements of the study, for instance the study saying “older people may benefit from drinking small amounts” could be seen to suggest non-drinking older people should take up drinking for its supposed protective effects. Another major issue he flagged was that the study tells you “absolutely nothing about the difference in risks between age groups or the absolute risks that people are facing as a consequence of their drinking”.
In the media Mr Angus said:
“Younger people are, on average, much less likely to become ill or die from any cause than their older counterparts. Assessing how we should set drinking guidelines or prioritise interventions to minimise the total harm of alcohol requires an assessment of absolute, not relative risk.
“The GBD’s own figures suggest that there are over 14 times as many alcohol-attributable deaths in the UK among 70-74 year-olds than 20-24 year olds, which rather contradicts the assertion in this new study that we should focus on the drinking of younger age groups.”
Statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter also criticised the study on Twitter:
Minimum pricing has never been promoted as a panacea
In the 22nd of July’s BMJ Editorial, IAS’ Dr Sadie Boniface discussed the new WHO report on minimum pricing policies for alcohol, explaining the report structure and stating that minimum pricing “is an effective part of the policy toolbox for reducing harm from alcohol”.
Following a number of recent reports that minimum pricing has failed in Scotland, Dr Boniface writes in the Editorial:
“Minimum pricing has never been promoted as a panacea, so arguments that it does not singlehandedly eliminate harm from alcohol can be rejected. Proponents do not claim, for example, that minimum pricing is enough to reduce alcohol consumption and harm among people who are dependent on alcohol, for whom the wider healthcare and support needs are obvious. Minimum pricing is one policy in the toolbox, needed alongside others as part of a coherent strategy.”
Dr Boniface discusses what a coherent policy landscape would look like, with population level policies implemented, effectively monitored and evaluated, alongside a suitably resourced and accessible healthcare system offering support. She explains that policies have to be independent from industry influence, an influence which remains a major challenge to a coherent approach.
Pubs: “lost forever” or consolidated?
According to real estate consultancy Altus Group, there were 39,970 pubs in June, down by more than 7,000 since 2012. Altus said after struggling through Covid the industry now faces soaring prices and higher energy costs.
Altus said that pubs which had "disappeared" from the communities they once served had either been demolished or converted for other purposes, meaning that they were "lost forever".
A 2017 IAS publication found publicans often attributed pub closures to failures of their managers who are unable to respond to shifting consumer expectations. It also found supermarkets undercutting pubs in price was the major threat to pubs’ commercial viability. As shown below, the gap between on and off-trade consumption has been steadily widening for many years:
Another reason for pub closures is consolidation of business into bigger bars. This ONS report in 2018 showed that while small pubs were closing, big pub chains were consolidating business, with employee numbers and overall revenue remaining relatively constant
The Government said:
"We've cut taxes for hundreds of thousands of businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance while slashing fuel duty. We've also introduced a 50% business rates relief for eligible High Street businesses and prevented bill increases by freezing the business rates multiplier, saving businesses £4.6bn over the next five years."
Health Disparities white paper delayed
The Health Disparities white paper – due to be published in late July – has been delayed for the summer and will only go ahead if given the green light by the new Prime Minister.
The white paper is set to include further legislation to increase alternatives to tobacco products and increase alcohol-free products in pubs.
An ITV article said:
“In recent weeks charities and other health groups have been pushing for the paper to introduce preventative measures and measures that have a population wide focus. Sources said there was a risk that a future pm could drop this agenda - although pointed out that the policies had been framed as "non-nanny state" - perhaps to try to make sure it had Cabinet support.”
The white paper is said to include a change to the classification of no and low alcohol beers. Currently no-alcohol has to be 0.5% or lower and low-alcohol 1.2% or lower. This could rise to 1% and 3% respectively.
The change is said to be designed to help people cut down alcohol consumption “by helping brewers make low-strength options more appealing”.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the AHA, suggested that more evidence was needed on low-alcohol products but said “if it could be done in a way without brand promotion, we would be supportive”.
However, Gilmore said the plan was “tinkering round the edges” and that the government had “consistently put its head in the sand on evidence-based policies that have been shown worldwide to reduce harm”, mainly by increasing prices and reducing availability.
Boris Johnson “minimises” sexual harassment and blames alcohol
While being question by the Liaison Committee about his handling of the conduct of former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, Boris Johnson said there’s a problem with alcohol in Westminster and that “some people simply can’t take their drink”.
Conservative committee member Caroline Nokes MP asked him “have you just sat there and told us that alcohol is an excuse?”, to which Boris disagreed.
In the resignation letter of parliamentary private secretary Mark Fletcher, he wrote about the Pincher assault:
“You suggested that the events of that night were the fault of the colleagues who were present for allowing him to drink too much. Such a view seems to me an attempt to absolve Mr Pincher of his actions and, in so doing, to be an apologist for someone who has committed sexual assault.”
Ian Hamilton, of the University of York, wrote in the Independent that alcohol should not be used as an excuse for predatory sexual behaviour as this displaces responsibility from the perpetrator. He wrote:
“While the victim is left with the impression that it was the drug rather than the person responsible, the perpetrator tries to evade taking responsibility for what they did. This hardly gives anyone hope that this predatory behaviour will change. Even if predators become abstinent from alcohol, this won’t magically displace their thought processes and perception about what is permissible and what isn’t, in relation to others.”
Industry arguments dominate Commons debate on alcohol tax reform
On 7 July the Commons debated the proposed reform to alcohol duty, with discussion of its impact on the alcohol industry – particularly the wine industry – dominating proceedings.
Welsh Conservative Alun Cairns opened the debate and asked for “minor adjustments” to the strength bands and Small Brewers’ Relief.
Various other MPs spoke of the new system being too complicated, with too many tax bands, and how wine producers will find it difficult as wine strength is dependent on the weather.
Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper said: “Overall, the alcohol duty reforms proposed by the Government just tinker around the edges in dealing with the pressures facing hospitality”, seemingly not recognising the importance of the public health element of the reform.
Shadow Exchequer Secretary, Abena Oppong-Asare MP, said Labour agrees the system should be simplified and be more consistent, and be balanced across public health and supporting business. She said the wine bands should be looked at, as the new system has too much red tape, as should changes to beer duty which currently would help bigger brewers more than small brewers.
Oppong-Asare went on to point out the cider exceptionalism, with it having a lower rate than beer in the proposals, and asked the Treasury to explain why this is when strong cheap cider causes so much harm.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Frazer MP responded to the majority of the concerns and said they will be looked into. She did highlight that public health was a major reason for the reform.
Alcohol packaging captures the attention of and creates appeal among young people
A new Stirling study has highlighted the impact alcohol packaging has on capturing the attention of and creating appeal among young people.
50 current drinkers aged 18-35 participated in 8 focus groups, in which they were asked about a range of alcoholic products.
Daniel Jones, the lead author, said:
“Five main themes emerged from our data: the ubiquity of alcohol packaging; its appeal and ability to catch attention; its association with particular occasions and activities; its ability to inform perceptions; and its engagement of both visual and non-visual senses – taste, touch, sound and smell.”
Notably, some participants reported purchasing alcohol products solely on pack appeal, with one saying: “I don’t actually like beer, but I bought it specifically because I liked the packaging”.
Drinkers preferred exclusive-looking “limited edition” packaging over large price marks portraying the drink as value for money, as they felt value drinks were inferior. Most retained expensive or “cool” empty bottles for display or collection.
Matt Lambert of the Portman Group said:
“This study demonstrates that the packaging of a product is designed to appeal to different audiences, something that would ring true across all forms of marketing and is not in itself a surprise.”
He added that the group's code of practice ensures alcohol is not marketed inappropriately and highlighted how adherence to the code had contributed to “over a decade of decline in underage drinking in Scotland”.
Alcohol Toolkit Study: update
The monthly data collected is from English households and began in March 2014. Each month involves a new representative sample of approximately 1,700 adults aged 16 and over.
See more data on the project website here.
Prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinking (AUDIT-C)
Increasing and higher risk drinking defined as those scoring >4 AUDIT-C. A-C1: Professional to clerical occupation C2-E: Manual occupation
Currently trying to restrict consumption
A-C1: Professional to clerical occupation C2-E: Manual occupation; Question: Are you currently trying to restrict your alcohol consumption e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses? Are you currently trying to restrict your alcohol consumption e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses?
All past-year attempts to cut down or stop
Question: How many attempts to restrict your alcohol consumption have you made in the last 12 months (e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses)? Please include all attempts you have made in the last 12 months, whether or not they were successful, AND any attempt that you are currently making.
The UK Alcohol Alert (incorporating Alliance News) is designed and produced by The Institute of Alcohol Studies. Please click the image below to visit our website and find out more about us and what we do, or the ‘Contact us’ button. Thank you.
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Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies.
In this edition:
* International experts call for ban on all alcohol promotion 🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
* ‘No clear evidence’ MUP reduces harmful drinking
* Vast difference in alcohol-related deaths remains between richest and poorest in Scotland
* Contents Unknown: How alcohol labelling still fails consumers
* ‘No place for cheap alcohol: The potential value of minimum pricing for protecting lives’
* Sobriety tags rolled-out further despite no evidence of efficacy
* Irish Government makes moves to improve product labelling
* Brexit Freedoms Bill could deliver pint-sized wine bottles
* No and low alcohol sales double in the UK
* Alcohol Toolkit Study: update
We hope you enjoy our roundup of stories below: please feel free to share. Thank you.
IAS Blogs
To read blogs click here.
International experts call for ban on all alcohol promotion 🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
Realising Our Rights, a new report launched on 28 June by Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) and a group of subject experts, calls on governments across the world to introduce comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing in order to improve health.
The publication explains how increasingly sophisticated marketing means that people are being constantly bombarded with positive messages about how alcohol enhances their lives. The alcohol marketing experts who helped develop the report point out that this seeks to build long-term relationships between people and alcohol brands, which reinforce alcohol as a social norm and ultimately contribute to high levels of consumption and harm across the world.
They particularly draw attention to at-risk population groups, with children and young people, and people at risk of an alcohol problem, more affected than others.
A number of additional pieces of research were commissioned to help develop the report, including research examining the impact of alcohol marketing on people with an alcohol problem. The complementary research found that this demographic has an increased susceptibility to alcohol marketing, which fosters positive alcohol-related emotions and increases their likelihood of drinking.
The group’s recommendations include:
Additional research for the report included analysing case studies from seven countries with marketing restrictions, to understand the processes, successes and challenges to introducing these restrictions. These case studies can be used by countries looking to introduce similar restrictions, to better understand issues around:
* Utilising a window of opportunity
* Opposition from the alcohol industry
* How to frame regulations
* Use of evidence and arguments
The AFS report includes a human rights-based approach to marketing restrictions, highlighting that states have a legal obligation to protect citizens’ rights – such as the right to health – and that commodities that infringe on these rights need further restriction.
AFS’ Chief Executive, Alison Douglas, said:
“The current self-regulatory approach to alcohol marketing is failing to protect people and has led to our communities being wallpapered with promotions for a product that harms our health.
“People don’t just have a need to be protected from alcohol marketing they have a right to be protected. A number of other countries have already imposed bans on alcohol marketing, if we want to create a more positive culture where everyone can realise their right to health, the UK and Scottish governments must act to restrict alcohol marketing.”
The Scottish Government is consulting this year on marketing restrictions, and the Minister for Public Health, Maree Todd said:
“I welcome this report and will study carefully its detailed findings and recommendations. I am determined to tackle the harmful impacts that alcohol marketing can have on children and young people, as well as the triggering effect it can have on heavy drinkers and those in recovery.”
Tom Bennett, one of the report experts who is in long-term, abstinent recovery from an alcohol problem, said:
“Alcohol marketing can be massively triggering; it’s designed to be. Seeing an image of a cold beer on a warm sunny day or a midwinter glass of whisky in front of an open fire can be highly appealing. Yet the message these images convey, that alcohol is life enhancing, is at odds with the health risks.”
‘No clear evidence’ MUP reduces harmful drinking
Public Health Scotland and the University of Sheffield released the final report on the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland, which suggests that among those drinking at harmful levels or those with alcohol dependence, there is “no clear evidence of a change in consumption or severity of dependence”.
It also found that some economically vulnerable groups saw increased financial strain as they ended up spending more on alcohol. Some of those surveyed reduced spending on other things such as food and utilities.
Public Health Scotland’s theory of change for MUP (reproduced from Beeston et al, 2019)
However, there was little evidence of other negative consequences, such as increased crime or a shift to illicit substances. As this was an argument frequently used against the introduction of MUP, it is an important consideration.
Further, the proportion of people who had drunk at hazardous levels in the last week fell significantly by 3.5% in the market research data. Other analyses of Scotland’s MUP have also found reductions in consumption among some population groups.
Professor John Holmes, the lead researcher on the project, highlighted in a recent IAS blog that MUP isn’t designed to reduce drinking for those who are dependent:
“Alcohol dependence is a more complex problem than harmful drinking and is best-tackled by early identification of alcohol problems and the provision of an accessible and effective treatment system.
“MUP may therefore only contribute to a reduction in alcohol dependence by preventing future cases rather than addressing current ones.
“Overall, our report offers a nuanced and mixed picture of the impact of MUP on a key population of concern, with both positive and negative findings for those on both sides of the policy debate.”
During a meeting of the health committee in Holyrood, Dr Sandesh Gulhane (Conservative MSP for Glasgow) claimed that MUP was failing, and that the most vulnerable were cutting back on food to afford the high prices. Professor Petra Meier responded that pricing policies alone would not be enough to alter the consumption for some very heavy drinkers, and investment in health services is also necessary: “addiction services have had major cutbacks during Covid, they have been virtually inaccessible unless you were able to join online groups and make do with things like alcoholics anonymous online and so on.”
Vast difference in alcohol-related deaths remains between richest and poorest in Scotland
In related news, Public Health Scotland (PHS) also released its MESAS report 2022 (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy) on 21 June , which shows huge inequality between the poorest and most affluent adults who consume alcohol, in terms of hospital stays and deaths.
Rates of alcohol-specific deaths were five times higher in the poorest communities and hospital stays were nearly eight times higher.
Vicki Ponce Hardy of PHS said the report showed that significant inequalities were resulting in "preventable" deaths:
“The most recent survey data shows that almost a quarter (24%) of adults in Scotland still drink more than the recommended, low risk, weekly, drinking guideline. Among those exceeding the guideline, it's those in the lowest income group who are likely to consume the most."
Contents Unknown: How alcohol labelling still fails consumers
A new study by the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) looked at alcohol product labelling information on 369 products and found that:
The AHA recommends that the UK Government sets up an independent body to monitor and enforce mandatory labelling, based on the WHO’s best practice for labelling.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, AHA’s chair, said:
“Those who profit from the sale of alcohol cannot be trusted to willingly provide product information. Legislation on alcohol labelling must ensure that consumers have the full picture of the contents and risk to health of the products they buy through Government making clear labelling on all alcohol products a legal requirement.
“Given the choice, most alcohol producers are leaving this vital information off the labels, keeping consumers in the dark about what’s in the products they are drinking.”
Product discrepancies were also found
Matt Lambert, the chief executive of the industry body the Portman Group, responded:
“This report doesn’t correspond to the findings of Portman Group’s much larger and more comprehensive recent survey where we looked at 400 products including the biggest brands by market share – the ones which accurately represents what most customers are buying. That research found near universal coverage of industry best practice showing pregnancy warnings, alcohol unit information, signposts to responsibility messages, and four in five products carrying the Chief Medical Officer’s low risk guidelines.
“Industry self-regulation has been responsible for voluntarily delivering greater information and awareness for consumers and the AHA’s own report shows that significant progress has been made. The sector is firmly on track to provide more information to consumers without recourse to valuable Parliamentary time, public funding or mandatory measures.”
The UK Government is set to consult on alcohol product labels “in due course”.
‘No place for cheap alcohol: The potential value of minimum pricing for protecting lives’
The World Health Organization has published a comprehensive review of minimum pricing policies, in order for states and policymakers to understand the best available evidence and implementation practicalities on these policies.
The report looks at evidence from simulation modelling studies and real-world studies in Scotland and Canada, which show encouraging results regarding reducing overall alcohol consumption.
It goes on to look at objections and concerns around minimum pricing policies, such as any adverse economic impact and increases in illicit alcohol, and finds little to support these.
As Scotland struggled to introduce minimum unit pricing due to legal battles with the whiskey industry, the report discusses requirements for the policies to be consistent with international trade law.
International comparisons of minimum pricing rate
As Dr Aveek Bhattacharya, one of the report’s lead authors, explained in an IAS blog this week:
“Here in one place, WHO Europe has collected a fact base on how and how well the measure works in different countries.
“It is, to our knowledge, a unique resource, and we hope it will be useful to policymakers as other governments consider taking the leap in future.”
Sobriety tags rolled-out further despite no evidence of efficacy
From the 15 June, the Government rolled-out so-called ‘sobriety tags’ further. The tags monitor alcohol through sweat and are being used for prison leavers if their probation officer thinks they could reoffend when drinking.
Alcohol is believed to play a part in 39% of violent crime in the UK and roughly 20% of offenders supervised by the Probation Service are identified as having drinking issues.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said:
“We’ve seen that alcohol tags work - with tagged offenders complying 97% of the time. That’s why we’re going to double the number wearing them from 900 to 1,900 over the next two years, focusing on those leaving prison on license.”
This focus on compliance while wearing the device says little about whether the scheme works in the long-term in reducing reoffending. As Dr Carly Lightowlers wrote in an IAS blog last year:
“A focus on compliance – in terms of alcohol-free days – is somewhat of a smokescreen as what is needed is evidence of whether drinking and related offending are reduced in the long term after tag removal, which is yet to be provided.”
Additionally, a report from the National Audit Office released on 8 June said a failed plan to transform the electronic tagging system has wasted £98 million.
The report says that the Government does not know if tagging offenders is helping to cut reoffending because of failings in the system, and that efforts to change the system were abandoned in March after 11 years and £153 million.
Irish Government makes moves to improve product labelling
Last week, the Irish Examiner reported that the Irish Government has made an application to the European Commission to enact regulations that would require health warnings on all alcohol products. These would include warnings regarding liver disease, fatal cancers, and consuming alcohol while pregnant.
The regulations also provide for those selling alcohol in licensed premises to be required to display a notice containing the same health warnings, a link to the public health website and an indication that the alcohol and calorie content of products is available on request.
The measures are contained in the Public Health Alcohol Bill, which has introduced a range of interventions including minimum unit pricing and restrictions on advertising at sporting events.
Brexit Freedoms Bill could deliver pint-sized wine bottles
In a Telegraph article on the first day of June, Brexit Opportunities Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, was said to be “spearheading the drive to ditch unnecessary regulations” around the sale of alcohol.
One of the mentioned regulations was that sparkling wine “can only be sold in traditional champagne-style glass bottles, complete with mushroom cork and foil”. The article states that regulations about bottle sizes could be scrapped, meaning wine producers could offer pint-sized bottles for the first time in half a century.
Another rule that says drinks cannot be called wine if they are under 8% could be got rid of, meaning no and low-alcohol wines can be referred to as wine, instead of synonyms such as “wine-based drink”.
The article states that:
“The plans, set to be outlined in the upcoming Brexit Freedoms Bill, could be enacted swiftly because legislation giving ministers the power to make the changes has already passed Parliament.”
Patrice Noyelle, President of Pol Roger Champagne, presents a pint bottle of champagne to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms in 2008. CREDIT: Daniel Jones
No and low alcohol sales double in the UK
According to alcohol market research group IWSR, sales of no and low alcohol products in the UK have doubled from 2016 to 2021, from $240m to $454m. Alcohol-free sales tripled from $52m to $184m.
Emily Neill, head of research at IWSR, said promoting low-alcohol drinks was partly a commercial decision by companies:
“What you’ve seen in markets such as the UK and US is consumers becoming much more conscious of their health…there’s a higher proportion of younger consumers who don’t drink at all or would like to moderate their consumption.”
AB InBev said six years ago that it would aim for low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers to make up a fifth of sales by 2025, a target it admits it is unlikely to meet, with about 6% of sales currently from the products.
Despite this, sales of no and low alcohol products are still very low in the UK. A study summarised in an IAS blog last year showed that of UK households that bought alcohol, only “0.92% also bought zero alcohol beer between 2015 and 2020” and only “2.17% bought low alcohol beer”.
Alcohol Toolkit Study: update
The monthly data collected is from English households and began in March 2014. Each month involves a new representative sample of approximately 1,700 adults aged 16 and over.
See more data on the project website here.
Prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinking (AUDIT)
Increasing and higher risk drinking defined as those scoring >7 AUDIT. A-C1: Professional to clerical occupation C2-E: Manual occupation
Currently trying to restrict consumption
A-C1: Professional to clerical occupation C2-E: Manual occupation; Question: Are you currently trying to restrict your alcohol consumption e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses? Are you currently trying to restrict your alcohol consumption e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses?
All past-year attempts to cut down or stop
Question: How many attempts to restrict your alcohol consumption have you made in the last 12 months (e.g. by drinking less, choosing lower strength alcohol or using smaller glasses)? Please include all attempts you have made in the last 12 months, whether or not they were successful, AND any attempt that you are currently making.
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