Public Health England publish review of evidence on alcohol

Today, Public Health England has published a review of international evidence on alcohol policy and harm reduction. The new report, based on almost two years of research and analysis, addresses a number of key policy areas. These include: The price of alcohol and its effect on consumption The impact of both the number of alcohol outlets in a given area, and the times at which they operate, on a range of potential harms The effectiveness of existing controls on marketing, sponsorship and promotion The role of ‘brief interventions’ in preventing harmful drinking The effectiveness of schools-based education programmes The evidence on alcohol treatment in tackling harmful and dependent drinking We welcome this important contribution to the literature on alcohol harm prevention. It provides both a resource for identifying key evidence and an evaluation of the relative effectiveness of policy interventions based on an extensive process of reflection and review. Today’s report also provides a new analysis of drinking trends and their economic effects. It confirms that average consumption has been falling in the UK for over ten years, especially among young people. However, it also shows that trends vary between social groups, reminding us that average consumption provides only a rough guide to where harms are concentrated, and that harms can rise even when overall consumption falls. Importantly, the report confirms previous studies showing that around one third of al...
Source: Alcohol Research UK - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: News Source Type: news