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England ‘should look to the Scots’ to solve alcohol problem, says Nottingham academic

29 February 2012

England should look to Scotland to solve its drinking culture, which has seen having a pint of lager become as cheap and freely accessible as downing a pint of milk, an expert at The University of Nottingham has said.

Dr Jane McGregor, a specialist in drug and alcohol addiction treatment in the University’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, said that with prices for a four-pack of lager as cheap as a pint of milk in some cases, people are drinking too freely and often way in excess of sensible limits.

And, she said that with initiatives such as minimum pricing, Scotland is leading the way in fighting back against its traditional hard-drinking image, placing it way ahead of its more liberal neighbours.
Click here for full story

Dr McGregor said: “It is treating alcohol as a health risk, rather than an issue of disorder — England is only now waking up to this.

“Because of the huge impacts of alcohol misuse on health, the Scottish Parliament has been quicker to act than the rest of the UK and now is way ahead of the curve in this area.”

Dr McGregor made the comments as she launched a new book about alcohol problems in urban Britain, Drink and the City, which tracks drinking trends and the many factors which have led the UK to its current situation.
Binge drinking

The publication of the book comes just weeks after the Prime Minister David Cameron called on the drinks industry to do more to tackle the ‘scandal’ of drunkenness and binge drinking and hinted that the Government’s alcohol strategy due to be published later this year could contain proposals for minimum pricing for drink and the potential use of US-style ‘drunk tanks’ to detain people while they sober up.

Dr McGregor said that Government liberalisation of alcohol laws had led to more deaths and an increase in health problems. She blamed a bid by politicians to create a ‘café culture’ and to rejuvenate city centres through the relaxation of licensing laws for actually fuelling binge drinking. Alcohol-related deaths are on the increase — the Office for National Statistics reported 8,790 fatalities in 2010, up 126 on the previous year.

At present the English Government favours ‘nudging’, a non-coercive approach to behaviour change.

She added: “It expects people to follow the unit system of measure which was set in the l980s. This sets sensible drinking limits of 21 units a week for men, and no more than 14 for women.

“While there is no evidence to raise the limits, there is evidence that this approach on its own is not enough. This is why the Government must look at other means — minimum pricing being just one of a number of levers — to encourage everyone to change their drink behaviour.”

Dr McGregor said that Scottish policymakers had been quicker to emphasise public health concerns because the full impact of increasing levels of alcohol consumption has recently become all too apparent. Alcohol-related mortality in Scotland is twice that of the rest of the UK, with one Scot dying every six hours as a direct result of alcohol misuse, according to recent studies.

Scottish Parliament passed the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010, which came into force on October 1 2011 and introduced a ban on promotions that encourage binge drinking, such as ‘3 for 2’ and ‘3 bottles for £10’.
Minimum pricing

A recent report by Alcohol Focus Scotland calls for the Scottish Government to take further action to regulate off-sales and return licensing to its fundamental purpose of controlling the availability to prevent harm. This includes calls for separate alcohol checkouts and reduced trading hours.

Dr McGregor added: “Now the Scottish Parliament proposes to set minimum prices for alcohol, and is utilising the abundant evidence that the most effective way of reducing consumption and harm is increasing the price of alcohol relative to disposable income. Policymakers in England are looking to Scotland to lead the way.

“Altering the nation’s drinking behaviour is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. MPs on the cross-party Science and Technology Committee recently raised concerns that the Government approach was not enough and that greater efforts should be focused on helping people understand the unit system and how to use it. They suggest that people also be advised to take at least two drink-free days a week.”

Drink and the City — Alcohol and Alcohol Problems in Urban UK Since the 1950s is published by Nottingham University Press.

The University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5765

Alcohol Help Nottingham (NG).
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Drinkaware campaigns show ‘green shoots’ of Alcohol behaviour change

29 February 2012

Drinkaware’s campaigns have started to show the beginnings of behaviour change across all three of its target audiences. Independent research reports against adults, young adults and parents highlight the impact that the charity’s campaigns have had over the last year, exceeding the goals set at the beginning of 2011.

“Each campaign area performed above expectations,” said Chris Sorek, Chief Executive, Drinkaware. “We can say that we have started to see some of the ‘green shoots’ of behaviour change. When you add in industry support, we have also been able to reach more consumers, more often than in previous years.”

Drinkaware’s ‘Why let good times go bad?’ campaign to reduce the desirability and acceptability of drunkenness among young adults has proved effective in engaging the audience and motivated them to consider drinking differently. 8 out of 10 regular drinkers (680,000) claim to have adopted at least one of the campaign tips and are pacing with soft drinks, drinking more water and eating before drinking*. The evaluation also showed that prompted recall of the campaign was 27%, double the industry average, with at least 850,000 regular drinkers seeing the campaign. ‘In-kind’ support was also up, valued this year at £26.5 million, representing a 39% increase in commitment by industry.

‘Excuses’, the campaign aimed at 30-45 year old ‘increasing risk’ drinkers, drove a 31% increase in sign-ups to MyDrinkaware.co.uk, the charity’s online drinks tracking tool. Alcohol consumption of active users of MyDrinkaware fell from an average of 5 units per day to 3.9 units.** The tool now has more than 120,000 registered users enabling them to self evaluate their drinking, set personals goals and helps them understand their alcohol consumption in terms of units, calorie, exercise and spend.

The ‘Your Kids and Alcohol’ campaign, which encourages parents to speak to their children about alcohol, couples information and advice on alcohol with an interactive video. Played more than 190,000 times by parents, research showed that 44% of parents went on to have conversations with their children about alcohol after seeing the campaign.*** In addition, people ordered more than 35,000 copies of the ‘Your Kids and Alcohol’ leaflet.

Announcing the results at a gathering of its supporting companies, Drinkaware Chief Executive, Chris Sorek, said “Industry’s participation in Drinkaware campaigns over the past year has helped us dramatically increase our reach and now we’re starting to see positive behaviour change.

“Support from industry generated a media value way beyond the £25 million target for 2011 and we are delighted with the enormous enthusiasm to do even more in 2012. Partnerships offer a fantastic opportunity to boost the visibility of our campaigns. As we look for support reaching adults and parents in 2012 there’s now even greater scope for companies to get involved”.

Drinkaware
Samuel House
6 St Albans St
London
SW1Y 4SQ
Tel: 020 7766 9900

Alcohol Help London.
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Alcohol in Islington: Police present alarming picture

28 February 2012

Islington Police yesterday (23rd February) presented an alarming picture of alcohol-related crime to a Council Committee. The headlines are that:

Islington has the second-highest rate of alcohol-related violent crime in London, after Westminster, which has more police;
Angel, Old Street, Holloway Road and Finsbury Park are the hotspots for alcohol-related violence;
off-licences, some open 24 hours, now far outnumber on-licensed premises in Islington and are being used by many people to “pre-load” with cheap alcohol, before even arriving at pubs and clubs;
Islington now has the highest rate of alcohol-related (non-emergency) hospital admissions in London, both for under-18s and adults.

Fortunately, there was also some good news. Following Police & Council campaigns, violence with injury has fallen by 10% in the last year.

Islington Police say they will now oppose applications for licensed premises which propose to stay open at times later than these:

Pubs: 11pm Sun-Thurs, midnight Fri-Sat
Nightclubs: 1.00am Sun-Thurs, 2.00am Fri-Sat
Restaurants: 11pm Sun-Thurs, midnight Fri-Sat
Off Licences: 11pm Sun-Thurs, 11pm Fri-Sat

Clerkenwell’s Alcohol “Saturation Zone” policy starts to work, say Police

The Police confirmed that the “saturation zone” in Clerkenwell is proving successful in resisting the expansion of the licensed trade in the area. A large number of Clerkenwell residents supported my long-running campaign for this, which was successful in early 2011.

The designation requires anyone wanting to apply for new licensed premises, or extended hours for selling alcohol, in a roughly 400 metre radius of Farringdon station, to show that it won’t add to the “cumulative impact” of the familiar problems of noise and anti-social behaviour in all its forms in the area.

Map of the Clerkenwell Saturation Zone

Since its adoption, one application for a new 300-seater bar/restaurant in Charterhouse Street was thrown out and 4 others were either withdrawn or refused. Four smaller and less controversial licences have been granted, all to premises serving hot food.

Although the Farringdon area has 10% of Islington’s 1,000-plus licensed premises, it doesn’t feature in the Police list of hot-spots for alcohol-related violence.

New Alcohol Controls on the Way

The meeting also heard how Coalition legislation on late-night drinking could bring some relief to Clerkenwell residents soon.

Later this year, local authorities will be able to bring in “Early Morning Restriction Orders” (EMROs) and to impose a late-night Levy on premises selling alcohol in their areas.

EMROs allow local authorities to ban the sale of alcohol in certain areas in between midnight and 6.00am, in certain areas. This is clearly a major issue for Clerkenwell as this is when most of the problem sales of alcohol take place.

Some types of premises, such as hotels, may be exempted if they only sell alcohol to people staying there – although we know this is also a problem at the two Travelodge Hotels in Kings Cross Road and adjacent off-licences, particularly in summer.

The Levy is a charge that a local authority can decide to make on all premises selling alcohol after a chosen hour – between midnight and 6.00am – in a designated area. The idea is that the money from this levy is then split between the Police and the Council, to pay for the extra policing and cleaning that alcohol sales bring about.

The Levy would be applied to all licensed premises in the designated area – that is, off-licences as well as bars and clubs, although there is scope for some exemptions such as hotels, as for the EMROs. It would be related to the rateable value.

I think Clerkenwell has much to gain from imposing a levy, and the Police seem to be in favour too. At present, bar owners pay virtually nothing towards correcting the mayhem they cause. The fee they pay for their licence doesn’t even cover the cost of administering it – and hasn’t been allowed to rise since 2004. So residents are subsidising the alcohol industry while having to live with its violent and malodorous results.

The Levy would enable off-licences and bars to reconsider their viability when they are made to pay even a fraction of the true social costs they impose on the community.

The Home Office is now consulting on how these should be introduced. See the link here. The Council will consider its views on this soon and I will be pressing it to adopt this power.

I also told the Committee meeting that I feel that action is now needed on the use of Clerkenwell’s pavements by drinkers, forcing passers-by to take their chances with traffic in the carriageway.

Clerkenwell Liberal Democrats
122 Kings Cross Road
London
WC1X 9DS
T: 020 7837 2661

Alcohol Help London.
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Alcohol in Movies Influences Young Teen Habits

28 February 2012

Teens exposed to alcohol use in films are at risk for binge drinking and other risky behaviors, Cancer Center study shows

Young teens who watch a lot of movies featuring alcohol are twice as likely to start drinking as their peers who watch relatively few such films, reveals new research from Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Moreover, these teens are significantly more likely to progress to binge drinking, the study shows.

The findings, published in the online journal BMJ Open, prompt the researchers to suggest that Hollywood should adopt the same restrictions for alcohol product placement as it does for tobacco.

“Our research to date has emphasized the movie smoking-youth smoking link. But movie stars model other cancer-causing behaviors, like alcohol use, an important cause of gastrointestinal cancers,” commented James Sargent, MD, one of the study’s authors and co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at the Cancer Center. “This study shows that exposure to movie depictions of alcohol predicts alcohol onset and progression to binge drinking during adolescence, and argues for greater attention to both smoking and drinking in movie ratings.”

Alcohol On-Screen

The conclusions of the study, titled “Comparing Media and Family Predictors of Alcohol Use: A Cohort Study of U.S. Adolescents,” are based on a representative sample of more than 6,500 U.S. teens between the ages of 10 and 14, who were regularly quizzed about their consumption of alcohol and potentially influential factors over the next two years. These factors included movies and marketing, the home environment, peer behavior, and personal rebelliousness.

James Sargent, MD. “This study shows that exposure to movie depictions of alcohol predicts alcohol onset and progression to binge drinking during adolescence.”

The teens were asked which randomly selected 50 movies they had seen from among the top 100 U.S. box office hits in each of the preceding five years, plus 32 films grossing more than $15 million in the first quarter of 2003, the year of the first survey.

The number of seconds of on-screen alcohol use, including product placement, in each of these 82 films was measured by trained coders. Given the movies they reported seeing, typical adolescents had seen an estimated 4.5 hours of on-screen alcohol use and many had seen in excess of 8 hours.

More Movies = More Risky Behavior

After adjusting for factors likely to influence the results, teens who watched the most movies featuring alcohol were twice as likely to start drinking as those who watched the least. And they were 63% more likely to progress to binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row. Alcohol in movies accounted for 28% of the proportion of teens who started drinking between surveys and for 20% of those who moved on to binge drinking.

Approximately one in 10 of the teens (11%) said they owned branded merchandise, such as a T-shirt or hat, with the name of a beer, wine, or spirit displayed on it. Nearly one in four (23%) said their parents drank alcohol at least once a week at home; 29% said they were able to get hold of alcohol at home.

Over the course of the two years, the proportion of teens who started drinking alcohol more than doubled from 11% to 25%, while the proportion who began binge drinking tripled from 4% to 13%.

Exposure to alcohol in movies, owning branded merchandise, having friends who drink, and rebelliousness were associated with both taking up drinking and progression to binge drinking.

Parents who drank at home and availability of alcohol in the home were associated with taking up drinking, but not with progression to binge drinking.

Hollywood’s Responsibility

The impact exerted by movies can be explained not only by characters who drink, but also by alcohol product placement, suggested the authors.

“Product placement in movies is forbidden for cigarettes in the USA, but is legal and commonplace for the alcohol industry, with half of Hollywood films containing at least one alcohol brand appearance, regardless of film rating,” they write.

They point out that the depiction of smoking in movies has fallen since it became a public health issue and the subject of industry monitoring, and suggest that alcohol in movies “may deserve similar emphasis.”

Hollywood has responsibilities further afield, given that half its movie revenues come from overseas, they add. “Like influenza, images in Hollywood movies begin in one region of the world then spread globally, where they may affect drinking behaviors of adolescents everywhere they are distributed,” state the authors.

Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
One Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03756
United States
(603) 653-9000

Alcohol Help United States.
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Alcohol-related emergencies take up resources

27 February 2012

Now that THON has passed us by, the next big event that has our attention is the infamous State Patty’s Day.

Whether you love it or hate it, the St. Patrick’s Day substitute holiday is upon us. Some groups have been more vocal than others about criticizing the event, but it seems like the student body is divided. One either supports or scorns State Patty’s. There is no middle ground.

Or is there? I like the idea of State Patty’s Day. A holiday Penn State can call its own that’s a little wacky and maybe a knockoff of a real holiday, but nothing detrimental.

It’s the actions of our student body that make many of us, myself included, cringe every February.

We all know the type of behavior that is typical of this weekend, and if this year’s faux-holiday follows the trend, the destructive behavior will only increase.

It doesn’t matter if it’s mostly students visiting from other schools who cause the damage, we Penn Staters are the ones who are held accountable. And we should be. After all, these visitors need floors to sleep on. It’s not like students from other universities flock here without any friends to stay with.

But is it necessary to get black-out drunk and cause a ruckus for no reason other than this student-created holiday?

While some have called for an across-the-board cancellation of the event, I say there’s no reason we all can’t celebrate State Patty’s Day responsibly. But if you find self-control to be extremely challenging, then maybe you shouldn’t partake this weekend.

A friend of mine recently shared a story with me about her State Patty’s experience. It began with her mother airlifted to Mount Nittany Medical Center after serious medical complications. She was admitted to the emergency room, and the family drove to the hospital to meet her before emergency surgery.

The sight of the ER that night was a mess, she said. There were drunks everywhere, and the staff was overwhelmed with the amount of alcohol-related emergencies and injuries they had to deal with. Luckily, my friend and her family were able to relocate to a different part of the hospital while they waited for the surgery to be over and during the weekend-long recovery process.

This story disgusts and saddens me every time I think about it, and now that the weekend is almost here, I can’t help but think how many other families will have to go through this same situation.

It’s bad enough that the town feels the need to put extra police presence into action during this weekend, taking those officers away from their families and spending already limited funds as a result. But taking up hospital resources too? Let’s get real.

There will be people who face real emergencies this weekend. Car accidents, heart attacks and other medical complications that have nothing to do with drinking too much alcohol will happen, and those people will need the help and care of staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Are you or your friends going to be the jerks who sit in the emergency room getting your stomachs pumped or needing stitches because you had a few too many, while these real emergencies have to wait?

Over consumption of alcohol is entirely preventable and therefore inexcusable. People do that to themselves entirely by their own free will.

The people who will need emergency surgeries and other types of serious medical don’t have a choice, and if being stuck in the hospital isn’t bad enough, a bunch of alcoholics in green vomit-stained t-shirts won’t make patients’ stays any more comfortable.

If that’s not enough to convince State Patty’s Day revelers to be more responsible this weekend, then perhaps I overestimate the morality of my fellow students.

Spending an entire weekend of our lives in a state of alcohol-induced haze seems like a waste of precious life to me. Especially following THON weekend where we recognize how short life really is, it seems pretty hypocritical.

I’m all for inviting friends to spend a weekend in State College. Go to the bars. Enjoy your weekend. Life is short, and we work hard in college. But just because you’re wearing green doesn’t give anyone an excuse to end up in the emergency room.

The Collegian
123 S. Burrowes St
University Park
Pa. 16801-3882
United States

Alcohol Help United States.
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Licensee admits selling fake alcohol

27 February 2012

Barnsley licensee Ali Asgari pleaded guilty at Barnsley Magistrates to five charges in relation to the possession for sale of 39 bottles of Arctic Ice Vodka.

Some of the bottles were found open and in use behind the bar of his premises at Soul Bar and Oxygen on Shambles Street.

The ‘vodka’ was not actually vodka, but industrial alcohol which had been watered down with tap water. Industrial alcohol is not suitable for human consumption and should not be consumed.

The court heard (23 February) that Mr Asgari had paid £5 a bottle for the vodka but that was far too cheap as the current duty alone would have been £6.70 for a 70cl bottle. The prosecution told the court that Mr Asgari had not purchased the drink from legitimate suppliers and could not produce paperwork for it when requested by officers.

The court also heard that the Arctic Ice Vodka was manufactured without any control and was found to vary in strength. It was felt that as an established licensee Mr Asgari should have realised the product was not a legitimate one; the label on the bottle was particularly amateurish and failed to give none of the required traceability information such as an address for the supplier and lot number.

District Judge Foster said he felt this was a serious matter, and adjourned the hearing until 21 March, when all sentencing options will be considered. Sentencing options open to the court include a custodial sentence.

Cllr Roy Miller, Cabinet spokesperson for Development, Environment and Culture, said: “It is totally unacceptable for Barnsley consumers, particularly young people drinking in pubs and clubs in the town centre, to be exposed to this type of illegal product.

“Officers from the council will continue to investigate and take action against those who attempt to make a profit from this type of food fraud. Anyone having any information in relation to this product should telephone Barnsley Trading Standards on 01226 772468.”

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Corporate Mail Room
PO Box 634
BARNSLEY
S70 9GG

Alcohol Help Sheffield (S).
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Fifteen Percent of Surgeons Show Signs of Alcohol Problems

26 February 2012

A new study shows that alcohol problems are not uncommon among surgeons, with about 15 percent having alcohol abuse or dependency problems, a rate above the general population’s nine percent.

Researchers also say that surgeons who showed signs of alcoholism were 45 percent more likely to admit that they had a major medical error in the past three months, according to Reuters.

The study, published in the Archives of Surgery, was led by Michael Oreskovich at the University of Washington. His team sent out a survey to more than 25,000 surgeons, with 7,200 responses. It included questions about the work, lifestyle and mood. Several were used to screen for alcohol abuse or dependency.

It was not determined why alcohol problems may be more common among surgeons, a field considered particularly demanding. It did show that problems with alcohol were linked with physicians who also reported depression and burnout.

Oreskovich said, “The nature of the beast is that the percent of emergencies, the percent of after-hours work and actual scheduled work itself all require an energy and concentration that is really different than a lot of other specialities.”

Last November, another study found a majority of doctors who are treated for addiction return to work within a few years of treatment. Surgeons had similar success rates compared with other types of physicians.

The Partnership at Drugfree
352 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10010
United States
Phone: 212-922-1560

Alcohol Help United States.
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Weston-super-Mare: ARCH project

25 February 2012

ARCH project, Weston-super-Mare
Advice, information, support and counselling for people who have alcohol abuse problems.

About us:

The ARCH project is a community alcohol outreach service funded by NHS North Somerset and provided by Addiction Recovery Agency.

The service was launched in October 2011 and aims to reach adults who drink at problematic levels but find it difficult to address their alcohol misuse and access existing services due to geographical or other barriers e.g. transport problems.

The ARCH service offers those individuals a choice of venues at 6 locations across North Somerset, current locations are Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead, Yatton and Weston-super-Mare Central and South wards.

Clients are offered assessments, given support and advice, access to structured brief interventions and for those with complex needs or high levels of dependency a referral to ARA?s specialist alcohol service. ARCH also provides advice and guidance to carers, families and friends of problematic alcohol users, signposting them to appropriate services for ongoing support.

Referrals to the ARCH project come from GPs, supported housing services, family services and domestic abuse services. GPs and other professionals can use the ARA referral form which can be faxed (01934 643082) , e-mailed or posted to us.
Or you can self refer by using ARA?s direct access drop in service at our office at the following times:

Monday 1100 to 1200
Tuesday 1500 to 1630
Wednesday 1100 to 1200
Thursday 1500 to 1630
Friday 1100 to 1200
Saturday 1100 to 1200

or telephone 01934 415376 to make an appointment.

Contact Details:

ARCH project
Addiction Recovery Agency
31 Alexandra Parade
Weston-super-Mare
North Somerset
BS23 1QZ

Telephone: 01934 415376

Alcohol Help Bristol (BS).
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Minimum alcohol price not set high enough

25 February 2012

Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s vow last week to tackle binge drinking, new research from Newcastle University has highlighted the need for a strong approach to alcohol pricing.

The timely study, published today in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism finds that the ban on below cost pricing, to be introduced in April, is unlikely to have a noticeable effect on the cost of alcohol.

The study found that, in Newcastle, less than two percent of promotions led to alcohol being sold at below cost price.

The government’s move is aimed at reducing the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption, but research by academics at Newcastle University has found that the measure is likely to have a limited impact.

They recommend the much higher minimum price of £0.50 per unit. This was first suggested by Sir Liam Donaldson in 2009, when he was Chief Medical Officer and which the Government is said to be considering.

The study, led by Dr Jean Adams, was carried out in Newcastle city centre and focused on price promotions – which are likely to represent the cheapest end of the alcohol market. The researchers visited all 29 stores selling alcohol and found over 2000 alcohol promotions on display for customers.

Dr Adams said: “The effect of price on alcohol consumption has been documented clearly: when the price of alcohol increases, consumption decreases; whereas when price decreases, consumption increases. Setting the minimum alcohol price at below cost price will not deter binge drinkers, as very little alcohol on sale will actually have to increase in price.

“Our results indicate that the current government proposal to ban sales of alcohol at below ‘cost’ price is likely to affect very few products and so would be unlikely to have a substantial effect on purchasing and consumption. In contrast, a minimum price of £0.50 per unit would impact on more than one quarter of the price discounts we identified.”

The researchers, who are part of Fuse (The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health) also found that many of the promotions required customers to buy large amounts of alcohol to claim the discount.

The findings of this study suggest that the ban on below cost sales of alcohol is unlikely to have a substantial effect on the price of alcohol sold in shops because hardly any alcohol is currently sold at such low prices.

Alcohol consumption is the third biggest contributor to disease in developed countries and in the UK young people aged between 16 and 24 consume more than any other group.

Last week, during a visit to the North East, David Cameron said the level of drunkenness in the UK was a “scandal” and that supermarkets, bars and the drinks industry should do more to help the situation. The coalition Government is due to publish a new alcohol strategy later this year.

Colin Shevills, Director of Balance, the North East alcohol office, said: “We welcome this research, which further demonstrates the real need for a minimum price per unit of alcohol if we are serious about tackling the problems caused by its misuse.

“Alcohol continues to be sold for pocket money prices across the North East, where we have the highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions and male deaths in England. Research we published last year revealed that alcohol was available for as little as 12p a unit, meaning a man can drink at his recommended daily limit (3-4 units) for just 48p. This can’t be right when we know that consumption is driven by price.

“Importantly, the majority of North Easterners don’t think this is right. Support for a minimum price per unit of alcohol continues to grow. More than half of North Easterners support the measure, an increase of 7% from 2010 and a third think supermarket alcohol is too cheap against just over one in ten who think it is too expensive.”

Newcastle University
Claremont Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
Tyne and Wear
NE1 7RU

Telephone: 0191 222 6000

Alcohol Help Newcastle upon Tyne (NE).
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Latest projections of alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales

24 February 2012

A comment authored by two of the RCP’s special advisers on alcohol, Sir Ian Gilmore and Dr Nick Sheron, and colleagues from the British Society of Gastroenterology provides the latest projections on alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales over the next two decades, based on data up to 2010.

The data suggest that if current trends continue (a worst-case scenario for the UK), there will be up to 210,000 avoidable alcohol related deaths in the next 20 years, of which 70,000 will be avoidable deaths from liver disease and the rest from other causes including avoidable deaths from liver disease, accidents, violence, and suicide or from chronic diseases, such as hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and cancers of the breast and gastrointestinal tract.

Alcohol-related liver deaths in England and Wales fell from 6,470 in 2008 to 6,230 in 2009, but then increased again to 6317 in 2010. The authors say:

‘Unfortunately, the recent moderate improvement might be related more to the recession than to current alcohol policy; the fact that deaths increased during 2009–10 indicates there is no room for complacency.’

The authors highlight the conflict of interest in current UK government alcohol policy, which relies on the alcohol industry being party to a voluntary ‘responsibility deal’ promoting safe drinking.

The authors believe the UK is at a potential tipping point in taking on the shameful, preventable loss of life caused by alcohol that so often affects younger people—the peak age for alcohol-related deaths is in people aged 45–65 years and alcohol is a factor in 26·6% of deaths in men aged 16–24 years. There are signs that the UK government might reconsider adoption of the evidence-based strategies of increasing price, reducing availability, and preventing marketing of alcohol to children and young people.

The authors conclude:

‘There are understandable concerns over the legal status of a minimum price per unit of alcohol and whether the general public is ready for tough action on the widespread availability of cheap alcoholic drinks. Can the UK government, however, afford to duck effective action on alcohol that will have such a positive impact on crime and disorder, work productivity, and health? The UK government will have to withstand powerful lobbying from the drinks industry, but the prize of reversing this tragic toll of alcohol-related deaths is there for the taking.’

Royal College of Physicians
11 St Andrews Place
Regent’s Park
London NW1 4LE

020 3075 1649

Alcohol Help London.
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