The Police Federation’s Tim Rogers questions why England and Wales have the highest drink drive limits in Europe and calls on the Government to end this anomaly. Read more »
Putting safety first
Blog
Our blog webpages host a series of opinion articles on various aspects of alcohol policy. If you are interested in making a contribution, please do get in touch via our 'Contact us' page
Does a tipple topple the scales? The science on alcohol and body weight
Does alcohol increase calorie intake? Does alcohol lead to weight gain? Mackenzie Fong’s new study looks at these important questions, at a time when the UK Government is looking to tackle an epidemic of obesity. Read more »
Has MUP in Scotland reduced alcohol-related crime in the first 21 months? Reflections on an evaluation
A recent report suggested Scotland’s minimum unit pricing has done little to reduce alcohol-related crime. Dr Lightowlers and Ms Bryant look at the limitations of the study and show why it is so difficult to get to the bottom of the issue. Read more »
Is it time to help alcohol retailers make more money by selling less alcohol?
Public health bodies need to focus on more specific policy aims in order to make a difference and educational campaigns can develop the necessary climate to implement these policies. Read more »
Higher alcohol taxes could save thousands of lives lost due to cancer in WHO European Region
A modelling study looked at how many cancer deaths and cases would be avoided by raising taxes by differing amounts. Here Carolin Kilian gives insight into the study findings and implications. Read more »
What COVID-19 restrictions tell us about violence and how alcohol availability affects this
The 2020 coronavirus lockdowns gave researchers in Cardiff a rare opportunity to look at how alcohol-related violence in and out of homes changed compared to when restrictions were lifted. Read more »
Preventing harmful alcohol consumption is an excellent investment for countries
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published an in-depth book that highlights the huge cost of alcohol harm across 52 countries, and models how much could be saved by enhancing public health policies. Read more »
How can we use what we already know about health inequality to understand inequalities in alcohol harm?
As part of the Royal College of Physicians action on health inequalities day, our blog post looks at four key theories in health inequality and their potential to help understand the causes of alcohol harm inequality. Read more »
Alcohol, pregnancy and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): NICE, PHE, DHSC and other bodies are finally getting serious
For FASD awareness month, Sandra Butcher gives a detailed update on progress made in the improvement of FASD care, with a number of health bodies developing new guidelines. Read more »
Alcohol-related violence: a summary of research presented at the 2021 British Society of Criminology conference
In England and Wales, approximately two in five violent incidents are alcohol-related, posing a huge cost to the police, justice system, and healthcare. Here Olivia Horsefield presents recent research on the topic. Read more »