Editorial – August 2020
In this edition:
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The UK Government weighs up the trade-off between keeping pubs open or reopening schools in light of potential new lockdown
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New drink-driving data from the Department for Transport show no ‘significant improvement’ for another year, as road accidents and casualties stay largely unchanged since 2010
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Research looks into the recent history of alcohol and mental health policy for older people in the UK 🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
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A study finds alcohol advertising in Formula One racing is a potential driver of alcohol consumption
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Top health experts call for alcohol labelling overhaul as investigation finds consumers are not provided with adequate information about the beverages they drink
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In Ireland, the 2020 Alcohol Market Review and Price Survey finds drinkers are able to reach their weekly alcohol limit for pocket money prices
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Better Health campaign urges drinkers to think about the ‘empty calories’ in alcohol
- Global drinks producer Diageo manage to keep their UK sales operation afloat during the pandemic, through targeted e-commerce tactics
- Rumours that a booze ban on drinking in football stadiums will be lifted resurface in the press
We hope you enjoy our roundup of stories below: please feel free to share. Thank you.
Top of pageAnother (potential) lockdown – pubs versus schools
Will pubs have to close their doors again in the event of a second
wave of COVID-19? Yes, if chair of the Scientific Advisory Group for
Emergencies (SAGE) sub-group on pandemic modelling, professor Graham
Medley, had his way (The Guardian, 01 Aug).
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine academic told BBC Radio 4’s
Today programme: ‘It might come down to a question of which do you
trade-off against each other and then that’s a matter of prioritising,
do we think pubs are more important than schools?’
And so, a national debate began, with pubs pitted against schools radio and TV studios across the UK’s broadcasting network:
Early
reports suggested the government would choose to keep pubs open
regardless, with English pubs ‘likely to be spared any new restrictions
on social contact to stem coronavirus outbreaks’ (The Guardian, 03 Aug). This came as drinkers and businesses toasted the reopening of pubs, cafés and restaurants indoors in Wales (BBC News Wales, 03 Aug).
In
an economic sense, the importance of public houses being open for
business is obvious: overall consumption levels have fallen as a direct
result of mass closures of licensed premises during the recent lockdown,
a contributing factor to the country’s worst recession on record.
However,
in some instances, the trade-off with health became too stark to
ignore. Scotland’s beer gardens opened on 06 July, but lockdown
restrictions were reimposed in Aberdeen after a COVID-19 cluster
outbreak was found to be linked to a pub in the region (BBC Scotland, 05 Aug).
And
south of the border, the clamour for closure grew alongside fears of a
second lockdown. Councils called for more power to shut pubs flouting
COVID-19 guidance to combat the problem (Morning Advertiser, 10 Aug).
Subsequent
reports suggested that Prime Minister Boris Johnson would ‘sooner close
pubs, restaurants and shops than have schools shut again amid concerns
for both the educational future of children and for their safety and
wellbeing without the safeguarding provided in the classroom’ (The Independent, 10 Aug).
However,
if we have learnt anything from the lockdown earlier this year, we know
that if the pubs close their doors again, the off-trade will be on hand
to pick up the slack. Nielsen data found that many drinkers flocked to
purchase alcohol from their local off-licensed premises: ‘in the 17
weeks of lockdown to 11 July, UK consumers spent £7·7bn on alcohol in UK
supermarkets – an increase of £1·9bn year on year’ (The Grocer, 30 Jul).
It
appears that for many Brits, drinking at home is no substitute for
drinking in a social setting. Gemma Cooper, senior client business
partner at Nielsen, told the trade mag:
Without being
able to go out or socialise with others during the peak of the
pandemic, and no access to dine-in pubs or restaurants, we have seen a
natural decline in alcohol consumption even as at-home drinking
increased.
Furthermore, even as the government holds
out hope for pubs keeping the economy afloat, research from Senior
Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth, Emily Nicholls,
and Lecturer in Psychology at the University of East London, Dominic
Conroy, suggests that ‘although many people missed pubs, they are not
necessarily ready to rush back to those that have reopened’ (The Conversation, 03 Aug).
Interviewing
a cross-section of self-defined social drinkers about their drinking
habits during lockdown, they found that those who expressed a reluctance
to drink alone ‘missed the sociability of going to pubs’, but others
were also aware that ‘the reopening of pubs does not signify a return to
normality’, all of which raises the question of whether pubs can return
to the position of being institutions of spontaneous, intimate, and
fluid social interactions between individuals any time soon.
It
may also explain the government’s desire to focus on implementing
widespread restrictions on social contact rather than closing down
specific industries like pubs.
Ultimately, consumer confidence will determine pubs’ future: business-friendly measures such as granting permission to sell takeaway alcohol may not have as much impact on sales as is hoped.
At
some point in this trade-off between indoor venues for which is most
worthy of being exempted from restrictions, the government will have to
abandon the hope that the coronavirus knows the difference between a
school classroom, a boozer and a living room, to paraphrase a columnist from The Independent
(04 Aug). Ironically, for all the emphasis on priding the economy over
public health, it may well be public health measures to eliminate the
virus that are the only key to pub industry surviving this pandemic in
good health.
Top of pageDrink-driving data shows no ‘significant’ improvement yet again
There were an estimated 240 deaths due to road accidents where at
least one driver or passenger was over the drink drive limit in 2018, a
small but ‘not statistically significant’ fall on the previous year,
according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
In fact, the new Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain, final estimates involving illegal alcohol levels
release (27 Aug) saw little change in many areas, indicating little
improvement in drink-driving policy for the best part of the decade.
The
new lower central estimate of drink drive deaths (representing 13% of
all deaths from reported road accidents in 2018), similar to the levels
reported in 2010; however, the decrease from 250 deaths in 2017 is not
statistically significant, meaning this decrease is more likely due to
chance.
The DfT also estimated that 8,680 people were injured or
killed when at least a driver or passenger was above the drink drive
limit in 2018, a 1% increase on last year, although still 4% lower than
in 2016. The annual number of drink-driving accidents of all severities
rose 3% to 5,890 in 2018 – again, lower than in 2016 (-3%). And 5% of
reported accidents on Great Britain’s roads involved drink drivers, a
level that has remained more or less the same since the mid-2000s.
Top of pageDevelopments in UK alcohol policy and public mental health for older people
🎵 Podcast feature 🎵
In many countries, an increase
in the number of people aged over 50 is resulting in a subsequent shift
of those who are most vulnerable to alcohol-related harm. Using
Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) as a marker of morbidity, alcohol
increased to the 5th (from 14th) highest risk factor for those aged 50
to 69 in England, between 1990 and 2017.
Amidst this scenario, a
new piece of research aims to detail developments in UK alcohol policy
for older people, based on evidence for a growing public health problem
with alcohol misuse in that age cohort.
Published in the Journal of Public Mental Health
(29 Jul), expert consultant old age psychiatrist Dr Tony Rao carried
out a review of studies going back 20 years, using health and social
care databases, including grey literature.
Seven major themes in alcohol policy were examined: early
policy development, trends in morbidity and mortality, low-risk
drinking, prevention of alcohol-related harm, screening and brief
intervention, public education and integrated care for dual diagnosis.
The
review found that although there has been progress in areas such as
screening and brief intervention (through the use of the AUDIT Test),
evidence of improvements from recent policy implementations reducing
alcohol-related harm have yet to be seen. Together with other research
on public mental health, this review could be used to implement best
policy practice for health and social outcomes in the older population.
Top of pageWatching Formula One may drive viewers to drink
Alcohol advertising in Formula One racing is a potential driver of
alcohol consumption, according to researchers from the University of
Nottingham, after a study found nearly 4 billion references to alcohol
in 21 televised races over a nine-month period (BMJ Open, 07 Aug).
The
study used 3,396 one-minute coded intervals from 21 Formula One races
and their advertisement breaks, held between 15 March to 01 December
2018.
Classified into the following categories (actual use,
implied use, other alcohol appearances and brand appearances) exposure
to alcohol in these intervals was detected in all of the races, with
alcohol appearances in 56% of racing footage and 9% of advertisement
breaks.
Since ten of the 21 races were broadcast live on Channel 4,
this represents a significant level of alcohol exposure to the UK
population. It is estimated that 3·9 billion alcohol gross impressions
were delivered, including 154 million to children under 16 years. In
addition, 18 of the 21 races were shown before the 9PM watershed which
could significantly affect young people’s impressions of alcohol.
The
study adds to the growing body of research suggesting exposure to
alcohol branding on national television is a contributor of subsequent
alcohol consumption, particularly amongst young people. Furthermore,
whilst Ofcom enforces UK broadcasting regulations on alcohol (for
example, by reducing the amount of alcohol content before the 9PM
watershed), it has no regulatory power to control the advertising of
alcohol through sporting events broadcast on TV, radio, or online, such
as the Formula One Championships. Moreover, sporting events are
frequently sponsored by alcohol industries themselves – in 2018, the
Formula One Championships were sponsored by Heineken, thus providing a
hugely influential source of unregulated alcohol exposure.
Top of pageAlcohol labelling is failing consumers – AHA UK
Leading health experts and charities are calling for the government
to take responsibility for labelling on alcohol products, as new
research finds that the current system fails to provide consumers with
adequate information to make healthy decisions about their purchases.
In
the UK, alcohol producers are still not required by law to print
calorie information on their alcoholic beverages: they are only required
to show the strength of alcohol (ABV) and the container’s volume. Last
month, the government announced that it will consult before the end of the year on the calorie issue, as part of its Obesity Strategy.
The
alcohol industry claim that self-regulation is working and agreed to
update labels to display the chief medical officers’ (CMO) weekly
guideline – no more than 14 units of alcohol – by September 2019 – a
target reiterated by the then health minister in January of that year.
The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA UK) and Alcohol Change UK
examined labels on 424 alcohol products in shops across the UK to see
whether labels provided the CMO weekly guideline and other essential
information that would allow consumers to make informed choices about
their purchases. Their research found that:
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More than 70%
of labels did not include the drinking guidelines; over three years
after they were updated and after the deadline the industry agreed with
the government
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The industry-funded Portman Group styles
itself as the alcohol industry’s ‘social responsibility body’ and
‘leader in best practice’ but their members were least likely to include
the correct low-risk drinking guidelines: just 2% did so
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More
than half (56%) of labels included no nutritional information. 37% of
labels listed only the calorie content of the container, and just 7%
displayed a full nutritional information table
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Nearly a
quarter (24%) of labels surveyed contained misleading, out-of-date
health information, such as the old UK guidelines or guidelines from
other countries
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Health information was often illegible,
with the average height of the text displaying information about alcohol
units measuring 2mm – well under the 3·5mm required to be easily
readable
A Canadian study released in May
found that alcohol warning labels, like warnings on packets of
cigarettes, are effective tools in helping drinkers make informed
decisions. The study found consumers exposed to the labels were 10% more
likely to know about the link between alcohol and cancer and three
times more likely to be aware of the low-risk drinking guidelines.
AHA UK chair professor Sir Ian Gilmore, said:
Alcohol labelling in this country is woefully inadequate
and not fit for purpose if we wish to build a healthier society. It is
disappointing but telling that members of the Portman Group - the body
purporting to promote “best practice” on labelling of alcohol products -
are the least likely to display basic health information. It is time
that health labelling is required for all products.
The public must
be granted the power to make informed decisions about their health by
having access to prominent health warnings, information on ingredients,
nutrition and alcohol content at the point of purchase. The industry’s
reluctance to include this information on their products suggests
profits are being put ahead of people’s health.
You can read the full report, Drinking in the dark: How alcohol labelling fails consumers, on the AHA UK website.
Top of pageIreland: Weekly alcohol limit bought for pocket money prices
The new Alcohol Market Review and Price Survey
from Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) has found that Irish women can spend
as little as €4·95 at off-licences to reach their weekly limit for
low-risk alcohol consumption, with the figure rising to €7·65 for men
(Aug 19).
The
study was carried out in off licences over two weeks in July, in
locations in Dublin, Sligo and Navan in a range of convenience stores,
neighbourhood shops and supermarkets including Aldi, Centra, Dunnes,
Lidl, Londis, Spar, Supervalu and Tesco.
The charity found that
cider is the cheapest product by standard drink (at 44¢), followed by
beer (52¢), wine (59¢), gin (69¢), vodka and whiskey (both 62¢). The
recommended low-risk limits for alcohol consumption in men is 17
standard drinks spread out over the course of a week, while the limit
for women is 11 standard drinks.
The AAI said its annual
off-licence price survey confirmed the ‘exceptional affordability of
alcohol to everyday shoppers and the urgent necessity to commence
minimum pricing of alcohol products that will ensure the strongest,
cheapest alcohol at very low cost is eliminated from the market’.
AAI
chair, professor Frank Murray, said the findings demonstrated the need
for the new government to introduce minimum pricing of alcohol products:
Vital decisions, currently being put off or stalled by vested interests, will have to be made by this government.
Minimum
unit pricing of alcohol products, which offers significant gains for
public health, must be implemented urgently; spurious economic rationale
proposed by the alcohol lobby cannot be allowed to trump the health of a
nation.
Top of pageEmpty calories in alcohol still add up, say Balance
Balance, the North East alcohol office, urge drinkers to think about
the ‘empty calories’ in alcohol as part of a nationwide drive
encouraging people to get healthy and lose weight.
Week 5 of the NHS Weight Loss plan (w/c 24 August) from Public Health England’s Better Health
campaign turned the spotlight on alcohol. Many of us don’t think of
alcohol as being high in calories – but while we might avoid a dessert,
we might not think twice about a couple of drinks.
Alcohol
contains around seven calories per gram, almost as many as a gram of
fat. But research suggests around eight in ten people are unaware of
calorie content in many of their drinks, and so underestimate the true
content.
This is at least partly down to the fact that many
alcohol producers still don’t list on their packaging the number of
calories contained in drinks, denying their own customers of the right
to know how many calories they consume.
Alcohol is estimated to
account for nearly 10% of the calorie intake of those who drink, with
around 3·4 million adults consuming an additional days’ worth of
calories each week – totalling an additional two months of food each
year.
Colin Shevills, director of Balance, said (you can hear his full response in the podcast):
It
is clear that people need more information on alcohol labels and
alcohol firms have been dragging their heels for the best part of two
decades about providing this. The government has promised it will
consult on calorie information on alcohol this year and we are calling
ministers to make this happen.
But we need to go further and ensure
people see all the relevant health advice on product labels – something
which producers are failing to do. We all need to keep ourselves fit
and healthy in these times and that includes not drinking too much.
People need the right information to make informed decisions to be able
to look after their health.
Top of pageMaking the most of a lockdown: How online commerce is keeping Diageo’s sales afloat in the UK
Despite
the closure of bars, pubs and restaurants since March 2020 due to the
UK lockdown, global alcohol producers Diageo have managed to accelerate
its sales through e-commerce. Reports state that although sales in
Europe decreased by 12%, UK sales only decreased by 4% (London Evening Standard, 04 Aug).
Diageo
claim the success is largely attributable to their team of digital
marketing specialists, who were able to monitor a shift from on-trade to
online commerce during the lockdown. Spotting trends in internet
searches for goods such as ‘luxurious desserts’ and ‘cocktail shakers’,
they sought to take advantage by providing retailers with links for
relevant Diageo products to retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s
(where 60% of Diageo’s drinks are sold), ‘so that customers were able to
purchase these with ease’.
As UK managing director Dayalan Nayager – who regularly tells his staff ‘data is at the front of everything’ – explains:
Why would we go ahead with these big launches at that time? Because of the trends we were seeing online.
On one level, responding to consumer demand is simply the raison d’etre
of business. However, it is interesting to note the lengths to which
alcohol producers like Diageo are prepared to go to do so, relative to
public health calls to raise awareness of harmful drinking among those
most vulnerable during the pandemic lockdown.
Top of pageStadium booze ban to be lifted?
Lifting the decades-old ban
on booze consumed in the common areas of football grounds is one of
several post-lockdown proposals under consideration, according to
sources aligned with the Premier League (Mail Online, 03 Aug).
Football’s
elite tier body has set up a working group examining various
initiatives, along with medical experts, the Sports Grounds Safety
Authority and the government, who want to see fans back inside grounds
by October, should it be safe.
Any change may well come in the shape of a trial period, which could be initiated by 5A(3) of the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985
which allows the secretary of state to make the order designating
amending the restriction – or that there shall be no restriction – on
alcohol consumed in all seats.
The proposal comes amid growing
pressure to scrap the legislation, with figures like the then English
Football League boss Shaun Harvey branding it ‘disproportionate’ in
2018, and the European confederation UEFA trialling the sale of alcohol in stadiums for Champions League and Europa League fixtures during the 2018/19 season.
This
contrasts with one of the country’s other great stadium sports, rugby
union, whose governing body in Wales has tested alcohol-free zones for
fans wishing to attend matches free of the potential disorder that could
result from alcohol.
Top of pageAlcohol harm and COVID survey: Please input and share!
A message from Alcohol Health Alliance UK
What should
our relationship to alcohol look like after this crisis? What do you
think the government could be doing to support you, your community, and
our country? Make your voice heard!
We want to
hear your views about how COVID-19 has affected alcohol harm and what
the government should do to tackle it. Your answers will help us
highlight key issues to the government and convince them to take action.
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