Tackling teenage drinking 'one of Gordon Brown's top priorities'
Action against the binge drinking culture and among teenagers
in particular was stated to be one of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s
top priorities at the time of the Labour Party conference. The Sunday
Telegraph reported that a drive against teenage excessive drinking will
be led by Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and
Families, and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary.
However, expectations of a new anti-alcohol campaign may turn
out to be misplaced as, on closer inspection, the reported comments of
the Prime Minister and his colleagues appeared to be re-announcements of
measures already contained in the national alcohol harm reduction
strategy or the new licensing legislation.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Prime Minister
said: “I want to be very tough with those shops that are selling alcohol
to teenagers. They should lose their licence and they should lose it
for a long time. That is what is contributing to binge drinking in our
cities and towns and communities, and we have got to do something about
that.”
This could have been an announcement of new measures still to
come but it could, perhaps more plausibly, be interpreted as a reference
to the increased penalties for selling alcohol to the under-age which
are already on the statute book.
Mr Brown added in a comment which may cause some alarm in the
public health community, that “We also need to get the drinks industry
to help us educate young people about the dangers of binge drinking and
the dangers of excessive drinking.”
Mr Brown did not specify what role he saw the drinks industry
playing in educating young people about alcohol. However, he did say
that he did not believe raising the drinking age to 21, as some senior
police officers had argued,would tackle the problem of binge drinking
and related antisocial behaviour.
In his interview in the Sunday Telegraph, Ed Balls appeared to
announce a new set of guidelines on ‘safe drinking’ for under 18’s. Mr
Balls said: “Currently we don't have any guidance at all for parents on
alcohol consumption and its impact on under-18s. That worries me. When I
was 16 or 17, I would have a small glass of wine at lunch on a Sunday
or a shandy or a Babycham at Christmas.That’s fine – a lot of parents do
that and that’s not where the problem lies; it’s where parents are
allowing kids to consume substantial quantities of alcohol. We need to
help parents get the balance right and put behind us the excessive
drinking culture.”
Presumably, this was a reference to the authoritative new
guidance to be offered to under 18s and their parents about what is and
what is not safe and sensible alcohol consumption already promised in
‘Safe. Sensible. Social: The next steps in the National Alcohol
Strategy’. The process of formulating this advice has, in fact, already
begun with the formation of an expert panel to review the latest
evidence on the effects of alcohol on young people, and a consultation
with parents, young people and other stakeholders is already scheduled
for March-June 2008.
Judging by a comment quoted in the Sunday Telegraph report in
relation to guidance to adolescents in regard to drinking, achieving a
consensus may not be easy. Martin Shalley, the president of the British
Association of Emergency Medicine, said the proposals did not go far
enough to tackle teenage culture.
He said: “There is a lack of parental control.We've been
lulled by this idea of a continental system that says its OK for
children to drink from a young age, when in fact they shouldn't be
drinking at all.”
Alcohol industry to press for lower drinking age?
A lack of consensus is particularly likely to be evident on the
part of the alcohol industry which is, on the whole, unlikely to react
with enthusiasm to the idea that children should not drink.
Indeed, simultaneously with new crackdowns on underage
drinking and the stated objectives of the new national alcohol harm
reduction strategy, including delaying the onset of regular drinking and
reducing the amount drunk by teenagers, some senior alcohol industry
figures have started to call for the legal purchase age for alcohol to
be lowered.
The trade newspaper The Publican reported Punch Taverns’ Chief
Executive Giles Thorley ‘as adding his weight to calls for the drinking
age in the UK to be lowered to 16. ’Technically, Mr Thorley was
presumably referring to the legal age for purchasing alcohol, as the
legal drinking age in the UK is 5, though it is, of course, the case
that under 18s are prevented from drinking in licensed premises except
as an accompaniment to a table meal.
Mr Thorley, the boss of the biggest pub company in the
country, was reported to believe the move would help reduce problems
related to underage drinking, as long as it was strictly controlled.
He said: “It would be better to have young people introduced
to pubs and alcohol in a gradual and discretionary way, rather than have
them go out on their 18th birthday and overdo it.”
His comments followed those of JDWetherspoon boss Tim Martin
to the effect that the government's current action on young people’s
drinking was ‘making the problem worse, rather than better’.
Polled for a forthcoming feature in The Publican, Mr Thorley
said: “Look at the US. There, alcohol is so hard to come by for young
adults that many turn to drugs because they are easier to get.”
He explained that any reduction in the age at which young
people are allowed to consume alcohol should be accompanied by controls
such as limiting the strength of beer available to them or banning of
sales of strong alcohol such as spirits to youngsters.
Top of pageBrown 'may reverse drinking laws'
Comments by Gordon Brown seeming to suggest that he might
overturn the licensing legislation introduced by his predecessor Tony
Blair, allowing pubs in England and Wales to open 24 hours a day
received wide coverage. This followed earlier comments by the new Prime
Minister which were interpreted by the media as meaning that he was
undertaking a special, new review of the impact of the Licensing Act.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Brown said that
there was ‘an issue’ about 24-hour licensing, adding: “I will not
hesitate to change policies if I think that we have got to make these
changes… Where there are things that are wrong and where mistakes have
been made, we will look at these and we will change these things. That's
why on casinos we are looking again, on cannabis we are looking again
and that's why on 24- hour drinking we are looking again.”
Asked about the impact of longer licensing hours on behaviour,
he told GMTV: “I think we have got to learn. In most cases, it has not
had any devastating effect. It is the same with cannabis. It is the
message you send out. Why I want to upgrade cannabis and make it more a
drug that people worry about is because we don't want to send out a
message - just like with alcohol - to teenagers that we accept these
things. Binge-drinking is unacceptable, bullying is unacceptable, bad
behaviour in classrooms is unacceptable.
“If it needs a reversal of policy, we will do it. Just as with
gambling, we will review all the evidence and if a change needs to be
made, I will not hesitate to make a change in the interests of the
country.”
However, earlier reports that Mr Brown had ordered a new
review of the Licensing Act turned out to be incorrect. It was later
explained by spokesmen for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport,
the government department responsible for licensing, that there was no
new review of the licensing laws - the Prime Minister was re-announcing
the review which was already taking place – principally the evaluation
by the Home Office into the impact of the Act on crime and disorder
which is due to be published towards the end of 2007. In addition, there
were a number of other reviews, reports and consultations, including
the fees review, the scrutiny council’s work, the live music forum
report, the DCMS better regulation simplification plan, the new
licensing Statistical Bulletin and work looking at the impact on
circuses.
Top of pageNew licensing laws 'not creating a cafe culture' shows new report
Early claims that the new licensing laws for pubs and bars
would lead to a continental-style café culture in Britain have been
called into question in a new report by researchers at the University of
Westminster.
The report, Expecting ‘Great Things’? The Impact of the
Licensing Act 2003 on Democratic Involvement, Dispersal and Drinking
Cultures, was commissioned and funded by the Institute of Alcohol
Studies. It looked at three by-products of the act – the relationship
between pubs, clubs and the local community, the effect on the diversity
of nightlife provided and the dispersal of punters at closing time.
It found that there was little evidence to suggest drinkers
had adopted a more leisurely, continental approach to drinking, and only
a small change in the diversity of nightlife provided in town centres.
However, the report found that the changes in licensing had
had a generally positive effect on community relations in the areas
examined, with residents and local councillors alike feeling that they
had more of a say in the process of granting and challenging licensing
decisions.
The report was compiled by Marion Roberts, a Professor of
Urban Design in the University’s School of Architecture and the Built
Environment, and Adam Eldridge, a post-doctoral Research Fellow.
They conducted interviews with some of Britain's leading late
night operators, and Professor Roberts conducted case studies of four
areas – the eastern fringe of London, Chelmsford, Newmarket and Norwich –
over a four month period, including in-depth interviews with residents,
licensing officers, senior councillors and the police.
The results indicated that there was a mixed reaction to the
effectiveness of ‘staggered’ closing times of premises, with areas that
had good arrangements for policing and transport reporting successes in
the peaceful dispersal of drinkers, while areas with venues close to
houses, or with narrow streets, still seeing problems.
Professor Roberts said: “This report goes some way to proving
that while the new licensing laws have had some positive impacts,
depending on the context, there is still a long way to go before the
Government’s initial hopes of a more relaxed approach to alcohol
consumption are realised.”
- The full report, Expecting ‘Great Things’? The Impact of the
Licensing Act 2003 on Democratic Involvement, Dispersal and Drinking
Cultures is available for download as a pdf document from: http://www.ias.org.uk/cci/cci-0707.pdf
Chief Medical Officer
One person close to government who strongly favours a
review of the new licensing legislation is Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief
Medical Officer. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Sir Liam said: "Some
of us worried about the decision when it was brought in and any review
of the policy would be welcome.”
However, his concerns go wider than the licensing system to
the overall problem of alcohol misuse and the rising levels of cirrhosis
of the liver. Tobacco, he says, is a good example of a public health
problem that is in hand, “but when we turn to obesity and alcohol misuse
those are not yet anywhere near under control.”
Sir Liam wishes Britain was more like the Continent where he
thinks teenagers are much less likely than their British counterparts to
go out with the idea of getting drunk.
“In our culture”, he says, “getting drunk is seen as an exciting and status thing to do.We need to try and get away from that.”
His answer is to make excessive drinking more expensive. “I
would certainly strongly commend increased taxation. The evidence is
quite strong that putting the price up helps. Prices of alcohol have
fallen relative to the cost of living.”
He also wants to ban alcohol companies from sponsoring sporting events. “It’s something that worked with tobacco,” he says.
Top of pageDanger drink levels found on city streets
More than one in three men are over the danger limit for drink on late-night city streets, a Cardiff University study has found.
The study, funded by the Alcohol and Education Research
Council, and led by Dr Simon Moore and Professor Jonathan Shepherd of
the University's Violence & Society Research Group, surveyed 893
drinkers on Friday and Saturday evenings on the streets of Cardiff
across twelve months. From breath analysis, they found that more than a
third of men and one-sixth of women had a blood alcohol concentration
above the ‘at risk’ level of 0.15 per cent. This is twice the
drink-drive limit and is the internationally-recognised level at which
risk of injury and ill health rises steeply.
Overall, the team found an average blood alcohol level of 0.13
per cent for men and 0.09 per cent for women. The highest intoxication
levels were found in men in their late twenties, while women's
intoxication levels increased with age. Younger people, the unemployed
and students all had below-average alcohol levels. Only 12 people below
the age of 18 had any evidence of alcohol in their blood.
The study also found that most of the people surveyed were
unable to remember what they had consumed and how much. Drinkers with
higher levels of blood alcohol were less likely to recall the evening's
intake. This suggests that previous studies relying on drinkers' own
estimates of consumption have missed the true extent of alcohol misuse.
Even drinkers who could recall how much they had drunk
claimed, in most cases, to have consumed more than the recommended daily
alcohol limit (four units for men, three for women). Of these, more
than a third of the men and more than half the women claimed to have
drunk double the recommended limit - the accepted UK definition of binge
drinking.
Professor Shepherd said: “These findings challenge the belief
that underage drinking is commonplace in city centres and that the
youngest drinkers, such as students, are drinking most. Older age
groups, particularly employed men in their late 20s, are drinking more
heavily.
“Since Cardiff is one of the safest cities in the country and
alcohol-related illness is relatively low, alcohol misuse is likely to
be even higher in other city centres. Our research also found that after
a certain point, people lose track of the amount they have consumed and
therefore need other people, such as police, bar staff or friends to
prevent them drinking more. This means substantial resources are being
devoted to limiting consumption by heavily intoxicated people. One of
the best ways to limit consumption is through raising alcohol prices and
this could also provide funds towards the cost of managing binge
drinking in city centres.”
Dr Moore added: “The majority of people we met on the streets
of Cardiff were friendly and thoroughly enjoying their evening out. It
is likely that the best way to deal with those who drink excessively and
spoil others’ fun will come from changing the way alcohol is served.”
The research team interviewed and breathalysed people at
random between 11pm and 3am on twenty four weekend nights on busy
streets in Cardiff city centre. The findings have now been published in
the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Top of pageConservatives would impose 'treatment tax' on alcohol?
The prospect of a ‘treatment tax’ being placed on alcohol by a
future Conservative government was raised by the Party’s Social Justice
Policy Group, chaired by former Party leader Iain Duncan Smith MP.
The Policy Group was established to study the nature, extent
and causes of social breakdown and poverty in modern Britain, and to
recommend policy solutions to social breakdown and exclusion. Working
groups were set up to investigate ‘pathways to poverty’: family
breakdown, educational failure, economic dependence, indebtedness and
addictions.
The main thrust of the report on the addictions is that
alcohol abuse is out of control and that the Labour governments’ drugs
policy has failed: there are more drug addicts now than ever before.
A particularly noteworthy recommendation is that the
relationship between the affordability of alcohol and the level of
consumption provides the government with an effective tool for
controlling levels of consumption through the levying of a tax on the
product. This tax would, in turn, provide the funding needed to meet the
social and economic costs of alcohol related harm, such as police
enforcement measures resulting from binge drinking and violence, health
service costs and treatment for addicts.
While this is only a recommendation to the Conservative Party
which does not commit any future Conservative government, it does
suggest that the Conservatives are prepared to consider the kind of
controls on the price and availability of alcohol that the Labour
government has explicitly rejected, and been roundly criticized by the
public health lobby for so doing. In addition to a treatment tax on
alcohol to reduce harm, the Social Justice Policy Group also recommends:
- Replacing the current separate drugs and alcohol strategies
with an integrated addiction policy: This would be led by a new National
Addiction Trust, responsible to a Cabinet Office unit, and controlling
funds that would be administered locally by new Addiction Action
Centres.0
- Reducing the demand for drugs through a massive expansion in
abstinence-based rehabilitation. Spending on drug rehabilitation could
be doubled. This would be focused on abstinence, not harm reduction.
Both residential and day-care programmes would be supported, and they
could be delivered by charities and community groups.
- Introducing dedicated abstinence-based drug rehabilitation
wings in every prison. An expansion of abstinence programmes in prison
could be cost-effective in the long-term, since they are cheaper than
residential programmes in the community.
- Reclassifying cannabis from Class C to B. This could better
reflect the dangers posed by new, high-strength strains of cannabis like
skunk.
- Introducing abstinence based treatment vouchers: Addicts
could be given vouchers to pay for their treatment and rehabilitation,
empowering them to make decisions about which approach would work best
for them.
- More use of dedicated drugs courts. The existing pilots of
specialist drug courts have been shown to be effective: they could be
expanded.
Top of pageAlcohol boosts bowel cancer risk
Drinking a daily pint of beer or a glass of wine increases
the risk of bowel cancer by around 10 per cent – according to a new
report by Cancer Research UK, and the more alcohol is drunk the more the
risk increases.The lifetime risk for bowel cancer in men is one in 20;
in women it is one in 18. Around 30,000 news cases of bowel cancer are
diagnosed each year in the UK.
Almost half a million people in 10 European countries were
questioned on their drinking habits as part of the EPIC* study which is
funded by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council and other
European agencies.
The report, published online in the International Journal of
Cancer, found that people who drink 15 grams of alcohol a day -
equivalent to about two units - have about a 10 per cent increased risk
of bowel cancer.
Those who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol - equivalent to
three to four units, which is less than a couple of pints of strong
lager - increased their bowel cancer risk by around 25 per cent.
Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK epidemiologist and
Deputy Director of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit in Oxford, said: “The
research shows quite clearly that the more alcohol you drink the greater
your risk of bowel cancer. The increase in risk is not large but it is
important that people understand they can reduce their risk of a number
of different cancers – including bowel cancer - by cutting down on
alcohol.”
Almost 480,000 people were asked questions about how much
alcohol they drank and were followed up for six years. In that period,
1833 people developed colon cancer.
Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s Director of Cancer
Information, said: “There is a lot of confusion over safe levels of
drinking. This partly arises over the increasing strength of some wines
and beers and the fact that many pubs offer a large glass of wine that
is actually equivalent to one third of a bottle. It is important that
people do not automatically equate one drink with one unit. A large
glass of wine with a high alcohol volume is likely to be the equivalent
of considerably more than that. Cancer Research UK recommends that women
should drink less than two units a day and men less than three. While
there is increasing evidence that overindulging in alcohol can increase
the risk of some cancers, research also shows that by far the biggest
risk for life-threatening diseases is the combination of smoking
together with drinking alcohol.”
* http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/dietandhealthyeating/howdoweknow/diet-and-cancer-the-evidence
Top of pageWelsh doctors set out new measures to crack Wales' drink problem
Doctors’ leaders in Wales have unveiled a new set of tough measures designed to crack Wales’ growing drink problem.
These include:
- A national roll-out of local schemes to outlaw the consumption of alcohol in public streets;
- An increase in funding of services designed to treat alcoholism and alcohol-related illnesses;
- Doctors to take a lead by helping to change both attitudes and behaviour with respect to the misuse of alcohol;
- An increase in taxation on drinks containing alcohol, with taxation proportionate to the amount of alcohol in the product.
These new proposals follow the publication of BMA Cymru Wales’
four point plan to tackle Wales’ alcohol problem, unveiled in June
2007.
The plan called for:
- A Licensing Measure to end deep discounting of alcohol for sale in off licences, supermarkets and other off sales outlets.
- Research into the measures by which pricing mechanisms can
be used in Wales to discourage heavy consumption of high alcohol
products.
- Legislation for alcohol labeling rather than relying on voluntary agreements with the drinks industry.
- Reduction of the drink driving limit from 80mg to 50mg and introduction of random breath testing in Wales.
Welsh Secretary of the BMA, Dr Richard Lewis said: “The BMA
remains focused on offering practical solutions to Wales’ growing drink
problem. This comprehensive set of measures is designed to cover a
variety of problem areas. It’s now up to the Assembly Government, in
partnership with the UK Government, to ensure that these policies are
taken forward.
“After smoking, alcohol is the next big public health issue.The Government needs to get to grips with the problem.”
Above the recommended guidelines
In the Welsh Health Survey, 40 per cent of adults in Wales
reported that their average alcohol consumption on a day of consuming
alcohol was above the recommended guidelines of no more than four units a
day for men and no more than three units per day for women. This varies
by region, with the highest rates in Merthyr Tydfil and lowest rates in
Ceredigion. Nineteen percent of adults reported binge drinking (more
than eight units in a day for men and more than six units for women) in
the week previous to the Welsh Health Survey.
Data from the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC)
Survey shows that seven per cent of 11-year old girls and 12 per cent of
11-year old boys in Wales reported drinking any alcohol on a weekly
basis. For 13-year olds nearly a quarter of girls and a third of boys in
Wales reported drinking any alcoholic drink weekly. Of all the
countries participating in the HBSC survey,Wales has the highest
proportion of 15-year olds that reported drinking on a weekly basis
(over 50 per cent of girls and almost 60 per cent of boys).
The number of people admitted to hospital for alcohol–related
conditions has increased from 252 per 100,000 in 1999 to 309 per 100,000
in 2005. The admission rates are significantly higher than the average
rate for Wales in Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Gwynedd,
Newport,Wrexham, Swansea, Ynys Mon, Denbighshire, Conwy and Blaenau
Gwent.
The all-Wales alcohol-related deaths (European age
standardised mortality rate) has increased from 10 per 100,000 in 1996 –
1998 to 14 per 100,000 in 2002 – 2004.
Top of pageBII Certificate in Alcohol Awareness
The British Institute of Innkeeping is promoting its new
Certificate of Alcohol Awareness as part of a drive to reduce binge
drinking, but the certificate is accredited within the subject area of
hospitality and catering, and according to the leaflet describing the
course, it will give pupils “an insight into the exciting opportunities
of a career in the hospitality industry.”
BBIAB, the awarding body of the British Institute of
Innkeeping, has launched a Certificate in Alcohol Awareness for 13-16
year-olds. Teaching materials and a 25- question multiple choice exam
will be available to teachers for inclusion in PSHE, a non-statutory
part of the national curriculum.
The certificate is part of the BII Schools Hospitality
Project, which provides materials for teachers via a website. The
materials are designed to be teacher-friendly, requiring minimum
preparation for use in the classroom. The website even provides a school
newsletter item for informing parents about the alcohol awareness
classes.
The course is accredited within the hospitality and catering
sector at level 1 of the National Qualifications Framework. This is the
same level as a GCSE graded D to G. The course takes 10 hours of class
time, but no information was available on what fraction of a GCSE the
certificate is equivalent to.
According to the BIIAB leaflet, the certificate is “the first
step on the ladder to a career in hospitality,” and can lead on to other
qualifications offered by the organisation. These include a level 1
Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing and a level 2 National
Certificate for Personal License Holders.
What will schoolchildren learn about?
The certificate covers two areas, responsible drinking and the
hospitality industry.However, the emphasis given to these two strands
varies depending on the source of information. The school newsletter
item provided by BIIAB is headed, “Pupils learn about the dangers of
alcohol.” In contrast, another section of their website is aimed at
potential sponsors of the project, and states, “Our aim is to educate
young people about the importance of the UK's hospitality sector and the
many career paths it offers. In the process, we also encourage
responsible attitudes towards alcohol.”
The Schools Hospitality Project website provides teaching
materials including a number of simple quizzes. The ‘Hospitality Matters
1’ leaflet promises to help its readers “learn about alcohol and the
problems which arise when it is misused,” as well as learning about the
hospitality industry. The first quiz in the leaflet gives half sentences
which can be recombined to make sentences such as, “Millions of foreign
tourists visit the UK each year,” and “The Houses of Parliament have
passed strict laws on the sale of alcohol.”
Other quizzes do not mix alcohol and tourism information in
this way.However, a quiz called, ‘Mix the drinks,’ does mix alcoholic
and non-alcoholic drinks. It is introduced with the statement that,
“People need to drink a lot of liquid to remain healthy,” then requires
pupils to unscramble “some of the most common drinks.” The list of
twenty anagrams includes seven alcoholic drinks, but there is no mention
of the fact that alcohol does not contribute to a healthy intake of
liquid.
Publicity for the new certificate
Publicity surrounding the launch of the Certificate in Alcohol
Awareness has focused exclusively on the responsible drinking aspect of
the course. In a press release, John McNamara, BII Chief Executive
said,“We have been working on this project for many months and it has
been developed in response to governmental pressure on underage sales
and consumption but tackles the topic from a positive, educational
angle,” and on the BII website he is quoted as saying, “Education is key
to changing young peoples’ attitudes to alcohol and hopefully will take
a step towards tackling the binge drinkers of tomorrow.”
News reports followed the tone of the press release. The Times
used the headline, ‘Make mine a half – GCSE pupils learn lessons of
safe drinking,’ and reported that, “Teenagers will soon be able to sit
an exam in sensible drinking as part of a drive to deal with binge
drinking.” The article includes a number of quotes relating to the
knowledge pupils will gain about the effects of alcohol. It also gives
five sample exam questions, relating to sensible drinking guidelines,
the effects of alcohol on the body and the law. None refers to
hospitality and catering, nor is there any mention in the article that
the certificate is accredited within the field of hospitality and
catering.
Top of pagePerils of pop stardom
Rock and pop stars are more than twice as likely as the rest of the
population to die an early death,often within a few years of becoming
famous, a new study has shown.The study, the results of which may not
necessarily be seen as surprising, confirm that many of the deaths are
linked to alcohol and drugs.The authors suggest that, in view of these
findings, caution should be exercised in using pop stars and other
celebrities to promote health messages to young people.
The researchers investigated the lives and deaths of more than
1,050 North American and European musicians and singers who shot to
fame between 1956 and 1999. All the musicians featured in the All Time
Top 1,000 albums, selected in 2000, and covering rock, punk, rap,
R&B, electronica and new age genres.
In all, 100 stars died between 1956 and 2005. The average age
of death was 42 for North American stars and 35 for European stars. At
between two and twenty-five years of fame, both North American and
European pop stars experienced two to three times the risk of death
experienced in the general population of the same age and sex. At a
minimum estimate, around a third of the deaths appeared to be directly
alcohol- or drug-related.
The authors comment that consideration needs to be given to
preventing pop stars and other celebrities from promoting health
damaging, self-destructive behaviour among their fans and emulators.
This consideration is of some significance given that in the UK one in
ten children aged 7 to 16 aspire to be a pop star when they grow up, and
TV programmes such as The X Factor, which offer performing
opportunities to would be pop stars, receive tens of thousands of
applications and are watched by millions.
Theoretically pop stars could be used to promote health
messages, and in some countries this has happened. However, the authors
question whether pop stars,whose appeal to young people may well be
linked to their risky behaviour, can credibly serve as positive role
models.
* Mark Bellis et al: Elvis to Eminem: quantifying the price of
fame through early mortality of European and North American rock and
pop stars. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2007 61 896-901
Ringo Star
Ringo
Star was affected by alcohol and other lifestyle problems but
successfully underwent rehabilitation and is now a member of Alcoholics
Anonymous.
Jimi Hendrix
By
age 27 Jimi Hendrix’s drug and alcohol intake was enormous, but his
death was accidental.Hendrix was an insomniac as well as a borderline
addict. He swallowed some of a friend’s sleeping tablets without
realizing they were an extra strong prescription brand. He vomited and
choked to death in his sleep.
Janis Joplin
Addicted
to drugs and alcohol, Janis Joplin died in 1970 from a heroin overdose.
She had been hailed a one of the greatest white female singers to take
on the blues, and was only four years into her promising career.
Amy Winehouse
Current
star Amy Whitehouse is reported to be having a not obviously successful
struggle against drugs and alcohol. The NME pop music newspaper
contained a report that Janis Winehouse,Amy’s mother, had spoken of her
fears for her daughter, following revelations that she took heroin and
other class A drugs. Speaking to a magazine, Janis Winehouse talked
about how she believed her daughter had changed hugely since becoming
famous and feared she would never stop taking drugs. “She’s lost
herself,” she said about her daughter. “She's not someone I recognise.
She’s become her own stage creation.” Janis Winehouse went on to explain
that she was not aware of the extent of her daughter’s drug problems
until she was hospitalised after an overdose. “She won’t stop until she
sees the point in stopping,” she explained. “Talking to her about it
won't make any difference.”
George Michael
George
Michael has had a number of well-publicised incidents involving drugs.
In February 2006, Michael was arrested and cautioned for possession of
Class C drugs. In May 2006 the singer was found slumped over the wheel
of his Range Rover, apparently asleep while at traffic lights. He drove
off erratically and hit a traffic bollard. In October 2006 Michael was
again found semi-conscious at the wheel of his car. He was later
cautioned by police for possession of cannabis and pleaded guilty to a
charge of driving while unfit through drugs.
Elton John
Elton
John reportedly battled alcohol and drug problems for much of his
career. He finally entered a rehabilitation clinic in 1990.
Britney Spears
Britney
Spears has had a series of well-publicised incidents involving alcohol
and drugs. She has been reported as being “out every night until she’s
wasted”. She has entered and left drug rehabilitation clinics and
questions have been raised about whether she was drunk when she
performed her comeback appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, which
most seemed to agree was an embarrassing disaster.
Michael Hutchence
The
37-year-old singer’s naked body was discovered hanging from the door
handle of a room in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sydney, just after noon on
22 November, 1997. A police spokesperson said there were no suspicious
circumstances. Post mortem examinations showed that Hutchence died from
suffocation caused by hanging. Blood analysis indicated the presence of
alcohol, cocaine, Prozac and other prescription drugs. There was no
suicide note.
Pete Townsend
As
well as his problems with alcohol, he also became hooked on the
prescription drug Ativan, and was lucky to survive the experience. The
songs, ‘However Much I Booze’, ‘Dreaming From The Waist’ and ‘Blue Red
and Grey’ reflected Townsend’s personal battles at the time.
Keith Moon
After
years of taking illicit drugs, there was some irony in the fact that it
was the prescription drug Heminevrin, prescribed to wean him off
alcohol,was the drug that killed him.A post mortem confirmed there were
32 tablets in his system at the time, 26 of which were undissolved.
Brian Jones
Former
member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones,was found dead at the bottom
of his swimming pool. The Coroner’s verdict was ‘death by misadventure’
and he noted that Jones’ liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug
and alcohol abuse.
Pete Doherty
Pete
Doherty appears to be more famous for his drug and alcohol problems
than for his performing ability. He has had repeated encounters with
police, courts and rehabilitation clinics. It is reported that Doherty
is not allowed to see his son anymore, because of his erratic behaviour
linked to drug and alcohol abuse
Top of pageTV soaps accused of irresponsibility
TV soaps have again come under fire for seeming to promote
binge drinking and drunken behaviour. Speaking at the Labour Party
conference, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith attacked TV programmes which
‘celebrate’ drunkenness.
Ms Smith did not single out particular programmes for
criticism, and aides denied that she was referring specifically to soap
operas. They suggested that she was thinking of fly-on-the-wall
programmes such as Sky One’s Ibiza Uncovered, which shows British
holidaymakers drinking heavily before having one-night stands. Ms Smith
said: “Why celebrate drunken behaviour on our TV screens? Alcohol misuse
can cause real damage to real people.”
However, alcohol misuse groups have, in the past, complained
of ‘glorification’ of heavy drinking in soap operas including EastEnders
and Holby City on the BBC and Coronation Street on ITV. And a week
after Ms Smith had spoken, the Portman Group, the alcohol industry’s
‘social responsibility’ body, made an official complaint to OFCOM and
the BBC about an episode of Holby City.
In the episode concerned, two doctors were depicted in a bar
after a stressful day downing five shots of tequila each ‘in rapid
succession’. The Portman Group complained that it was implied that their
drinking would lead to a sexual encounter, and also that the programme
finished without any portrayal of the harmful effects that would have
been caused by this kind of drinking.
The Group commented that if a drinks producer were to
encourage excessive drinking or suggest an association with sexual
success, it would be a clear breach of the alcohol advertising and
marketing rules.
David Poley, Chief Executive of the Portman Group, said: “We
appreciate that programme makers want to mirror some aspects of real
life but they should avoid the encouragement of harmful, rapid and
excessive drinking. We would not advocate censorship, nor deny that
storylines of alcohol misuse can be used to good and positive effect.
But in this case, the characters drank far too much and the harmful
consequences were not shown. There are strict controls on alcohol
advertising and marketing but the impact of these rules is being diluted
by irresponsible programming.”
In 2003, Alcohol Concern published a study, ‘The portrayal of
alcohol and alcohol consumption in television news and drama
programmes’, which found that scenes of drinking appear very frequently
on the TV screen, especially in soap operas. It also suggested that TV
portrayals of drinking offer a very selective – and, in Soaps and Drama,
remarkably uniform – image of alcohol consumption as a routine,
pleasant and unproblematic component of social interaction, a marker of
celebrations, achievements, romance and sexual relations, and an
integral component of ‘having a good time’. Conversely, television soaps
and drama offer little portrayal of the wide range of potentially
serious personal and social consequences of alcohol consumption
generally, and excessive drinking more particularly.
While negative or problematising portrayals of alcohol
consumption do occur – particularly in news programmes – these are
infrequent by comparison with the dominant emphasis on positive,
convivial, funny images stressing the pleasant, socially facilitating,
and unproblematic aspects of drinking.
The Alcohol Concern study concluded that it was television’s
unbalanced portrayal of alcohol and drinking that should be criticised:
the selective emphasis on the positive aspects of alcohol consumption at
the expense of images/messages which highlight, explore, or represent
the potential personal and social dangers, cost, and consequences of
drinking.
Top of pageIs it necessary to drink to be a real man?
Dr Richard de Visser, Department of Psychology, University of Sussex
If we wish to address excessive alcohol consumption
among young men, then we need to understand why some young men drink
excessively while other men drink moderately or not at all. With such an
understanding,we may be able to reduce the health and social costs
associated with excessive alcohol consumption.
The observation that young men are more likely than other
people to drink and to drink excessively is sometimes interpreted as
implying that masculinity or maleness are inherently problematic. This
is not surprising, given the finding that men (especially young men) are
more likely to engage in a range of health-compromising behaviours and
less likely to engage in health-protective or health-promoting
behaviours. However, if there were simple links between masculinity and
alcohol consumption and binge drinking, then we could not explain why
many men drink moderately or abstain from alcohol. A major aim of
research conducted in recent years with my colleague Jonathan Smith has
been to explore how men’s beliefs about masculinity influence their
health-related behaviour. Rather than assuming that masculinity is bad
for men’s health, this research sought to examine more closely the links
between masculinity and health. One key focus was how men can forge a
masculine identity that does not involve unhealthy behaviours such as
binge drinking.
The research focus was young men’s own experiences of growing
up, socialising, and developing a masculine identity.To allow an
examination of young men’s experiences, a qualitative study was
designed. The participants were 18- 21 year old men living in inner
London. This group of men was chosen to complement the existing body of
research into school-aged boys, and to address a comparative lack of
research focusing on young men post-school.
The sample included two levels of class/socioeconomic
opportunity - some men were contacted from job centres and newspaper
advertisements, while others were recruited at universities. This
allowed us to look at whether links between masculinity and health
behaviour differed for higher SES men (i.e. those at university) and
lower SES men (i.e. those unemployed or underemployed). The sample was
also selected to ensure sufficient numbers of white, black, and Asian
young men. This meant that we could examine whether race, ethnicity,
and/or religion influence the links between masculinity and
health-related behaviour.
Two modes of data collection were used. We conducted in-depth
individual interviews with 31 young men. These interviews focused on
personal experiences of how young men develop a masculine identity in
relation to society’s ideas of masculinity, and how their masculine
identities are displayed via healthy behaviours such as sport and
exercise or unhealthy behaviours such as drinking. We also conducted 5
group discussions involving 27 men to address questions like:
- How do young men define masculinity?
- How do they define health?
- Which behaviours are considered to be healthy or unhealthy?
- Which behaviours are considered to be masculine or non-masculine?
This approach gave an insight into the different ideas about
masculinity available in society, the range of ways of being masculine,
and the extent to which different ways of being masculine were deemed
acceptable and appropriate.
Links between masculinity and alcohol
The analysis revealed that men’s beliefs about the links between
masculinity and drinking were a strong influence on their drinking
behaviour. Three broad patterns of association were found. These will be
described in turn, with a quote illustrating each theme. First, some
men made clear links between masculinity and alcohol consumption. These
men believed that it is important for men to drink - but not only should
they drink, they should drink in particular ways.
“Some of them, like, they’ll just ... have a drink just to show that they’ve got bigger balls”
According to this group, men should be able to hold large
quantities of alcohol - lest they be labelled a ‘lightweight’ - and they
should drink certain forms of alcohol - with beer seen to be more
masculine than wine or champagne. For these men, it was clear that if
they wanted to be seen as masculine (and view themselves as masculine),
they have to be competent drinkers.
A second group of men generally agreed with the first group
that drinking is a masculine behaviour. However, these men noted that it
is possible to trade masculine’ competence in one domain for
‘non-masculine’ behaviour in other domains. For example, participants
noted that although Rugby Union star Jonny Wilkinson might be deemed
less masculine because he does not drink alcohol, the fact that he had
helped England win the World Cup meant that his masculinity was not in
question.
“But do you think Jonny Wilkinson is any less of a man because he doesn’t drink? I mean, he’s a national hero!”
Similarly, some study participants noted that the fact that they
were good athletes meant that they could still be regarded as masculine
despite not drinking excessively, or abstaining from alcohol. However,
the worrying flipside of the ability to trade masculine competence was
that men who feel inadequate in one or more ‘masculine’ domains may try
to make up for this by gaining credit through drinking excessively. This
clearly has implications for health.
A third group of men - unlike men in the two groups described
above - denied any link between masculinity and alcohol consumption.
These men valued instead alternative masculine characteristics. For
them, being independent rather than succumbing to pressure to drink from
society or their peers was a marker of masculinity. These men also
tended to value ‘masculine’ characteristics such as rationality and
integrity, and some of them even stated that they felt more masculine
than other men because they were non-drinkers.
“I don’t drink, and I feel as masculine as the next
guy who does. I feel even more masculine, because I feel that I'm not
succumbing to pressure.”
Some men in this group indicated that their religious beliefs
influenced their decisions not to drink and their questioning of any
links between masculinity and drinking. This was particularly notable
for the Muslim men in the study. It is important to note, however, that
it was not only the religious young men who questioned links between
masculinity and drinking. The existence of this third group shows that
it is possible for men to have strong masculine identities that do not
involve unhealthy patterns of drinking.
Young men’s ambivalence toward alcohol
Previous research into attitudes toward alcohol has revealed
that rather than simply having favourable or unfavourable expectancies
and motives, most people are ambivalent about alcohol. This ambivalence
is perhaps not surprising given the paradoxical effects of alcohol: it
can produce positive or negative effects at different stages of a single
drinking episode.
Analysis of the data revealed that ambivalence toward alcohol
is widespread. None of the drinkers had uncomplicated positive
evaluations of drinking - indeed, all mentioned compelling reasons not
to drink.
“You wake up in the morning with a hangover with no money. There’s loads of downsides. There’s more downsides than ups”
Most motives for drinking were also identified as reasons for
not drinking if consumption became excessive - e.g. drinking to forget
about your worries was good in the short-term, but not good if it became
too excessive.
“You forget about all your troubles.Unless of course you go over the other end of the scale and it amplifies them10 times.”
However, three motives for not drinking were not also motives
for drinking: violence, alcoholism, and cost. These findings suggest
that if young men were more aware of alcohol-related violence and
antisocial behaviour, and/or the risks of alcoholism, they would be
likely to drink less. However, financial disincentives might be even
more important. Alcohol consumption is ‘price elastic’: consumption
falls when prices rise, and young men’s alcohol consumption is
particularly price sensitive because their financial resources are more
limited. These three unambiguously negative aspects of drinking have the
potential to influence young men’s drinking behaviour. In addition,
there may be value in encouraging men to acknowledge their own
ambivalence toward alcohol, and their personal reasons to drink or to
not to drink, rather than simply imposing external restrictions on their
behaviour.
Conclusions
This study shows that although certain beliefs about masculinity
are associated with excessive alcohol consumption, the links between
masculinity and health-related social behaviours such as drinking are
not simple - although many young men equated masculinity with alcohol
consumption,others explained that it was possible to have a strong
masculine identity that did not involve alcohol consumption. Further
analysis revealed that most drinkers are ambivalent about alcohol. The
results of this research show that there is more than one way of being
masculine, and that it is possible for men to have strong masculine
identities that do not involve unhealthy patterns of drinking. To reduce
alcohol-related harm, it may be fruitful to encourage men to develop
masculine identities that do not involve excessive alcohol consumption.
Further information
Three articles based on this study have been published in
academic journals: de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2007) Alcohol
consumption and masculine identity among young men. Psychology &
Health, 22, 595-614.
de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2007) Young men's ambivalence toward alcohol. Social Science & Medicine, 64, 350-362.
de Visser, R.& Smith, J. (2006) Mister in between: a case
study of masculine identity and health-related behaviour. Journal of
Health Psychology, 11, 685-695.
A fourth paper looking more broadly at young men’s beliefs
about masculinity and health is currently under review. In addition, Dr
de Visser is currently conducting a pilot study using a questionnaire
designed to measure some of the concepts and associations found in the
individual interviews and group discussions. This will include examining
the associations between previously validated measures of masculinity
and measures of alcohol consumption. For more information about the
study, please contact Richard de Visser:
R.De-Visser@sussex.ac.uk
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the National Health and Medical
Research Council (Grant 187027) and the Economic and Social Research
Council (grant RES-000-22-0406). The principal investigator was Dr
Richard de Visser (University of Sussex). The co-investigator was Dr
Jonathan Smith (Birkbeck, University of London).
Top of pageEuropean Commission funded study finds alcohol advertising controls fail to protect young people
Self-regulatory codes governing alcohol advertising in the
countries of the European Union do not adequately protect young people.
Many advertising messages retain their appeal to children and
adolescents and advertisers attempt to push back the boundaries of what
is allowed.
These are the main conclusions of the ‘ELSA’ study, a two year
study of alcohol advertising and marketing in Europe carried out by
STAP, a Dutch nongovernmental organisation concerned with alcohol
issues. Based on its findings, STAP argues in its report to the
Commission that advertising controls should be stricter and more uniform
across the European Union. The study was funded by the European
Commission.
The main findings of the study are:
- Exposure to alcohol advertising leads to higher consumption
- It appears from the study that young people are influenced
by alcohol advertisements. An extensive overview of scientific studies
found that the more young people were exposed to alcohol advertising,
the more alcohol they drank in the long run. This effect was reinforced
when an advertisement was experienced as attractive. Wim van Dalen, the
director of STAP said: “The negative influence of alcohol advertisements
on the drinking behaviour of young people has been shown sufficiently.
This fact forces governments to take measures to put a restraint on
alcohol advertisements”.
Varied alcohol controls in Europe
Currently there are 76 different regulations in the 24 European
countries studied. A majority (49) of these regulations are implemented
by law and a minority (27) of the rules have been established by the
alcohol industry itself (self-regulation). There are laws and
self-regulatory regulations on alcohol advertisements in almost every
country. Most of the regulations implemented by law restrict the
quantity of alcohol ads. Only the Netherlands has self-regulation, which
is unique in Europe.
European recommendations do not adequately protect young
people. The European Council Recommendations of 2001, regarding
protection of children and adolescents from alcohol advertising and
promotion, have not been implemented strongly enough in the member
countries.Although youngsters feel highly attracted by alcohol
advertisements, a reference to the element of humour is absent in the
European Recommendations. In addition, the European Council
Recommendations do not restrict the volume of alcohol advertisements or
limit the broadcasting times of advertisements on TV.
Support for the effectiveness of self-regulation is lacking.
The study finds no scientific support for the effectiveness of
self-regulation. This is in contrast with the claims of the alcohol
industry that self-regulation is the best and most successful means of
regulating alcohol advertising. There is no objective information
available to demonstrate the degree of adherence to national
regulations. Few countries in Europe systematically monitor how well
alcohol advertisements adhere to the national regulations.
Based on this research, STAP called for a greater role for
legislative controls on advertising and for harmonisation of this
legislation in Europe. The European Union should take a leading role, it
said, in developing clear legislation to protect vulnerable groups such
as young people. Systematic monitoring of compliance with the existing
regulations was also of vital importance. Further information on the
project and copies of the report can be found at www.stap.nl/elsa
Top of pageThe Science of Addiction - from neurobiology to treatment
By Carlton E.Erickson.Norton Professional Books, 2007.£21.00. 288 pages
Review by Dr Killian Welch, Specialist Training Registrar in Substance Misuse, Edinburgh, UK
Professor Erickson’s book is ambitious. His stated goal is to
improve the care and outcomes for people with drug and alcohol
dependence problems by educating their professional caregivers on the
latest ‘addiction science’ research (sic, he loathes the term
addiction). To try and distil the accumulation of neurobiological
research on compulsive alcohol and drug use into a jargon-free, lucid,
accessible and comprehensive text is a remarkable undertaking; to
attempt this in less than three hundred pages even more so.
As an educational resource ‘The Science of Addiction’ largely
achieves its objectives. After a discussion of terminology, it moves on
to outline the neuroanatomical and neurochemical basis of addiction,
describes the complexities of genetic studies and comprehensively
summarizes the characteristics of the various drug groups. Treatment
follows, and then a discussion of treatment research and the techniques
and technologies employed in this. Additionally it includes a section
dispelling drug myths, boasts a useful glossary and is rigorously
referenced throughout.
The style is well judged; while informative and certainly not
simplistic, jargon is indeed avoided, and the interested reader will
remain engaged even if they have only the most rudimentary scientific
background. This is one of the book’s great strengths. When a grounding
in basic scientific concepts is essential to comprehend research
findings, then a clear and eloquent explanation of these concepts is
provided. As such, the reader is educated in the basics of
neuroanantomy, neuroscience, physiology and human genetics. Perhaps most
impressively, in the chapter discussing the methodology of addiction
research, the reader is taught the basics of critical appraisal.
Though ‘The Science of Addiction’ has huge breadth and covers
disparate topics, some themes are evident throughout. Prominent among
these is the repeated emphasis on the disease model of chemical
dependence. This is understandable and unsurprising; it is a natural
consequence of placing emphasis on the deranged neurochemistry
associated with compulsive drug and alcohol use. Related to this model
is the distinction, emphasised repeatedly throughout the book, between
abuse of a drug, in which choice is involved, and dependence, a chronic
brain disease which prevents the sufferer from exerting control over
their substance use. Professor Erickson likens the latter state to
conditions such as type I diabetes or Parkinson’s disease, believing
that the individual can no more be held responsible for their condition
than can the person afflicted by these illnesses. It is an important
message, convincingly argued, and one which may well have great utility
in tempering the stigma frequently experienced by drug users.
The adoption of the disease model does have other consequences
however. It also provides the rationale for Professor Erickson’s belief
that while reducing availability of alcoholic beverages will certainly
reduce wilfull abuse of the substance, it will not reduce alcohol
dependence; ‘the people with the disease will use alcohol any way they
can get it’ (p219). He may well be right, and of course detailed
discussion of social interventions to address substance use is anyway
largely beyond the remit of his book. It is important, however, that in
the pursuit of a medical explanation for substance dependence, societal
interventions known to have major benefits for the population as a whole
are not sidelined.
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