What we do

Our main work is based around helping to bridge the gap between the scientific evidence on alcohol and the wider public.  We want to make all of this evidence accessible to anyone with an interest in alcohol – politicians, reporters, health professionals, students, youth workers and others – and to advocate for effective responses that will reduce the toll of alcohol in society.

This takes place through four major parts of our work:

• We write occasional major reports and research papers, most recently the 450-page volume Alcohol in Europe – a public health perspective that forms the evidence base for the European Commission’s alcohol strategy.  Earlier reports have included another report for the European Commission (Alcohol and the Family, with COFACE) and specially–commissioned papers by experts in the field including Richard Velleman (on alcohol and the family) and Kevin Brain (on youth, alcohol and drugs).

• We exchange information and advocate for evidence-based alcohol policy as active members of both Eurocare (the European Alcohol Policy Alliance) and GAPA (the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance).  We have also helped to set up a network of resident associations and others (Open All Hours?) to campaign for improvements to the recent licensing legislation.

• We produce regularly-updated and well-used factsheets on key aspects of alcohol policy in the UK that are freely available on our website, as well as producing a quarterly magazine called Alcohol Alert.

• Finally, our day-to-day work includes answering queries from the media and general public and making media appearances when requested.