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Bringing together evidence, policy and practice to reduce alcohol harm

Ministers have “effectively dismantled” England’s national public health unit less than three years after creating it

The Health Service Journal has reported on significant restructuring within England’s national public health unit, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), less than...

Webinar: Alcohol brief interventions for people with cognitive decline

Join our webinar to hear from Dr Philippa Case and her team about her recent systematic review.

Alcohol Marketing: Explained film

The third film in our Explained series looks at alcohol marketing. Alcohol marketing is all around us: at our favourite sports matches, on our TV...

Alcohol duties frozen in Autumn Statement

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has frozen alcohol duty until August 2024 in his Autumn Statement. He stated that: “for many people going to the pub has...

Alcohol, tobacco, and junk food industries make £53 billion every year from harmful consumption, report finds

The alcohol, tobacco, and junk food industries make £53 billion every year from harmful consumption of their products, finds a report by the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA),...

UK has some of the highest rates of heavy episodic drinking across OECD countries

The proportion of people engaging in heavy episodic drinking in the UK is the third highest rate across countries analysed, a report by the OECD...

The Price of Alcohol: Explained

Following the launch of our Explained series, the second film covers The Price of Alcohol. Reducing the affordability of alcohol is one of the most...

Parliament watchdog says alcohol fuels inappropriate behaviour in Westminster

The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) has raised concerns about a culture of excessive drinking in the UK’s Parliament, leading to inappropriate behaviour. Based...

Latest webinar: An exploration of lay discussions about alcohol and pregnancy on Mumsnet

Join our latest webinar to hear about how forum users on Mumsnet discuss alcohol and pregnancy.

Scottish Government proposes raising minimum unit price to 65p in new consultation

The Scottish Government has published a new consultation regarding the future of minimum unit pricing (MUP). The consultation asks whether MUP should continue as a...

Big Alcohol: Explained – IAS launches new film series

IAS has launched a new film series to help explain topics relating to the world of alcohol harm, research and policy. The first in the...

Suicide prevention strategy and alcohol

The government has published its suicide prevention strategy. Among other priorities, it discusses addressing common risk factors linked to suicide at a population level by...

184,000 preventable cancers will be diagnosed this year

A report by Frontier Economics has found there will be 184,000 preventable cancers diagnosed this year in the UK, costing £78 billion. The causes of...

Lockdown study shows home drinking is a major contributor to alcohol-related violence 

New research isolates impact of alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets on violence, including domestic violence The proportion of violent incidents in England relating to...

Smartphone app could reduce student drinking

Widely covered across the news, a recent study found that a smartphone app to help reduce alcohol consumption among students led to them consuming 10%...

Alcohol duty reform commences today

The alcohol duty reform, which sees duty based on the strength of products, starts today and coincides with an increase in duty rates. There will...

New alcohol duty system provides an opportunity to fix inconsistent government messaging

A new IAS report highlights inconsistent government messaging regarding alcohol duty over the past 15 years.

Public Health Scotland recommends a continuation of the minimum unit pricing policy

In Public Health Scotland’s final summary report on the minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy in Scotland, the health body has said “MUP has had a...

New study that finds association between light-moderate drinking and lower stress fails to control for all confounding factors

A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that light to moderate alcohol consumption is linked to reductions in the brain’s...

Minimum unit pricing decreases alcohol deaths by 13% in Scotland

A new study in The Lancet shows that Scotland’s minimum unit pricing policy reduced alcohol deaths by 13% over the two years and eight months...