News
- Invitation to Tender - Alcohol Marketing Evidence Review
- How can we prevent alcohol deaths?
- Australian ministers agree to visible pregnancy warning
- Alcohol Deaths and Minimum Unit Pricing
- Young Scots show support for restrictions on alcohol marketing
- YoungScot Health Panel report on alcohol marketing and harm
- New release of alcohol related hospital admissions
- Better alcohol labelling – A way to boost awareness of the risk between alcohol and cancer?
- Alcohol Deaths Prevention Support
- Almost half of Scots in favour of minimum unit pricing
- NICE Guidelines on FASD Surveillance or Support?
- Leading health charities call for action in Scotland
- Health experts campaign for better understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- Health experts call for alcohol labelling overhaul
- Survey shows Scots lockdown drinking rise caused by stress
- Alcohol Focus Scotland welcomes new WHO report on alcohol pricing
- Statistical analysis of off-trade alcohol sales in the year following MUP
- Alcohol Focus Scotland Review of statements of licensing policy 2018 to 2023
- Scotland needs to continue long-term focus on alcohol
- We need to continue long-term focus on alcohol
- Scots report changing drinking patterns during coronavirus lockdown
- Time to Blow the Whistle on Alcohol Sport Sponsorship
- Five top tips for working remotely
- New evidence demonstrates that alcohol ads lead to youth drinking
- Alcohol sales fall in first year of MUP
- First study published into under 18 drinkers post MUP
- Commission on Alcohol Harm calls for evidence
- Two years on Are annual functions reports reaching their potential?
- We need to do more to protect our children and young people
- Alcohol related hospital admissions for 2018 to 2019
- Hitting the right note in training
- Minimum unit pricing update
- Scottish primary children call for action on alcohol
- New Alcohol Deaths Prevention Support Now Available from AFS
- Its time to tell us whats in our drinks
- A home for Rory
- Making a bad impression - blog post
- Alcohol sales and MUP
- Alcohol-specific deaths 2018
- Five tips for upping the engagement factor
- Alcohol marketing and children debate in the Scottish Parliament
- Lowest alcohol sales in 25 years
- Research into fall in violence
- The Children's Parliament investigates an alcohol-free childhood
- Five tips for training delivery nerves
- Minimum unit pricing one year on
- More about sales data
- A family of resources it is all about prevention, education and resilience
- AFS publish Review of Licensing Board Annual Functions Reports 2017-2018
- Marketing unmasked dispelling the myths and taking a stand
- No place for alcohol marketing in sport
- Five pitfalls to avoid in evaluating training
- Scotland publishes first UK guidelines for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
- The Alcohol Framework 2018 Preventing Harm
- Scotlands new drug and alcohol strategy launched
- AFS welcome new alcohol strategy
- Recent reporting on alcohol sales data
- Cross-Party Group Improving Scotland's health: 2021 and beyond October 2018
- Diageo is failing to provide latest guidelines on their products
- Drinks companies keeping consumers in dark about risky drinking
- Reducing alcohol consumption can address health inequalities
- Alcohol-specific deaths remain at very high levels
- Oh Lila goes digital
- Global first alcohol policy set to save hundreds of Scots' lives
- AFS welcomes minimum unit pricing for alcohol
- Walker's crisp ad exposes children to alcohol marketing
- Truer picture of alcohol harm revealed
- Focus on link between alcohol and obesity
- Alcohol causes 3,700 deaths in Scotland every year
- Last Christmas for heavily discounted alcohol
- Scotland's licensing system needs clearer direction
- Minimum pricing blog
- Minimum pricing gets green light
- Reflections on GAPC 2017
- Alcohol brands and young people
- Time for honest conversations about alcohol
- Q&A on alcohol marketing
- UK children anxious about parents' drinking
- Quarter of Scots drink above guidelines
- Alcohol producers failing to inform public
- Concern over alcohol-related deaths
- We need to make it easier for people to drink less
- Worrying rise in alcohol-related deaths
- Minimum pricing will save lives
- Pocket money prices for alcohol continue
- Scotland's alcohol problem laid bare
- Cheap alcohol is costing Scotland dear
- One drink a day can increase breast cancer risk
- Poverty linked to increased harm from alcohol
- What next for reducing alcohol harm in Scotland?
- Scotland must do more to turn tide of alcohol harm
- Concern as funding for alcohol services cut
- Budget: No change in alcohol duty
- Scottish Government urged to curb alcohol marketing
- Consumers have the right to know health risks
- Chancellor urged to tackle cheap, strong cider in Budget
- Online help for families affected by alcohol
- Alcohol-free childhood is healthiest option
- SWA granted leave to appeal minimum pricing
- Drink drive warning
- Scottish Greens call for action on alcohol marketing
- Scottish Government receives European alcohol award
- SWA will appeal to UK Supreme Court
- Half of alcohol being sold under 50p per unit
- SWA urged to respect minimum pricing decision
- Alcohol and mental health are closely linked
- Minimum pricing can be implemented in Scotland
- Alcohol sold at pocket money prices
- Scotland has so much to gain from reducing how much we drink
- AFS welcomes revised alcohol consumption guidelines
- Emergency services face shocking levels of alcohol abuse
- Every child has the right to grow up safe from alcohol harm
- Public health must prevail over big business
- New toolkit to help children affected by family alcohol problems
- Price check reveals cheap cost of strong alcohol
- Sales increase underlines need for minimum pricing
- Time to kick alcohol out of sport
- Alcohol linked with stomach cancer
- AFS calls for compulsory health warnings on alcoholic drinks
- Are supermarkets 'responsible retailers' when it comes to alcohol?
- Scottish health charities call for excise duty rise to tackle cheap alcohol
- Alcohol campaigners unite to call for stronger protection from alcohol advertising to children
- New resource for people concerned about alcohol in their community
- Minimum pricing decision delayed until summer
- No completely 'safe' level of drinking
- New alcohol guidelines published
- Minimum pricing - European court ruling
- Alcohol fuels ambulance assaults
- 82% of Scots agree drink driving is unacceptable
- Scotland's alcohol strategy - what next?
- Scotland leads way in evidence-based alcohol policy
- New report reveals impact of alcohol on emergency services
- Alcohol: a global concern
Consumers have the right to know health risks
With an estimated 1 in 6 Brits participating in Dry January, most of us know someone who decided to start 2017 alcohol-free.
Campaigns like Dry January are becoming more and more popular as a chance to examine our relationship with alcohol and rebalance after the excesses of Christmas. For some of us – me included – the reason for having a break from alcohol at this time of year is part of a healthier lifestyle. For others, it’s about saving money or proving to themselves and others that they have the willpower to succeed.
Although some of us may view the challenge as a one-off or go on a binge as a ‘reward’ for finishing, research findings actually suggest that very few people report increased alcohol consumption following a period of voluntary abstinence.
An independent evaluation of 2015’s Dry January by Public Health England showed that two thirds of participants said they had had a sustained drop in their drinking six months on. Half of participants said they lost weight and two thirds said they were sleeping better and had more energy.
Scotland’s problems with alcohol are well known but most of us don’t think the way we personally drink is a problem. But having a few beers after work or a few glasses of wine at home too often can slip into a habit that affects our wellbeing now and stores up problems for the future.
Benefits of drinking less
There are lots of benefits to drinking less, and even small changes can make a big difference. The short term paybacks include improved mood, better sleep, more energy and more time to make the most of evenings and weekends rather than suffering the fuzzy head and nausea of a hangover. There’s also our waistlines to think about. Alcohol is full of calories, with one large glass of wine containing up to 200 calories - the same as a sugar doughnut.
In the longer term, alcohol is linked with many health conditions including breast, bowel and oral cancers, heart disease, stroke, liver damage and depression. Drinking any amount of alcohol increases the risk of damage to health and that risk generally increases in line with how much is consumed.
The good news is that these health risks are low if we drink within the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of 14 units a week, spread over three days or more during the week. Fourteen units is about a bottle and a half of wine, six pints of beer or 14 single measures of vodka. It’s a good idea to check the strength of your drink as brands can vary dramatically - one large glass of wine can contain 3 units of alcohol.
And watch your measure too since we’re more likely to pour larger measures at home. Since understanding of units is low – half of Scots don’t know how many units are in a pint of beer, measure of spirits or glass of wine – many of us under-estimate our alcohol intake so are inadvertently putting our health at risk.
The expert group involved in developing the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines recommended a mass media information campaign to raise awareness among the public and health professionals. It’s really disappointing that, more than a year on, nothing has been done by government to communicate and explain the guidelines.
Independent health advice needed
The government has a duty to inform us about the health risks associated with alcohol, particularly when it is so cheap, widely available and aggressively marketed. The millions of pounds producers spend on glamorous marketing campaigns which place alcohol at the centre of a successful life need to be offset with the truth – that alcohol is a toxic substance that can create dependence and causes serious health and social problems.
We’re certainly not going to hear about liver damage or cancer from manufacturers or retailers, whose weak messages reminding consumers to "drink responsibly" or "enjoy in moderation" fail to convey even basic public health information. The government and NHS should be taking the lead in sharing scientific evidence and providing independent health advice, not leaving it to the companies which profit from us drinking more.
Currently, EU legislation requires more consumer information to be printed on a pint of milk than on a bottle of vodka. This is unacceptable. Consumers have the right to know what they’re drinking and the risks associated with alcohol consumption. Manufacturers should be compelled to display prominent health warnings, along with information on ingredients, nutrition and calories on alcohol labels. Polls show 8 out of 10 Scots support alcohol health labelling.
Ultimately – assuming we are not harming anyone else – each of us needs to make up our own mind whether and how much we want to drink. What’s important is that the health risks are made clear and accessible so we can make a genuinely informed choice.
Alison Douglas
Chief Executive, Alcohol Focus Scotland