The Alcohol Alert Podcast

Alcohol Alert, August 2019: Following on from NHS Health Scotland’s evaluation that minimum unit pricing legislation is being effectively enforced, this episode looks at the ways in which this is being done. Dr Peter Rice from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) describes how the Scottish legal enforcement framework operates, such as the role of Licensing Standards Officers in offer...

Alcohol Alert, July 2019: This episode features an interview with Dr Emmert Roberts, who led a study discovering the extent to which patients at UK hospitals use alcohol to a harmful extent, or are dependent on alcohol, compared with the general population – ten times, and eight times respectively. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to you...

Alcohol Alert, June 2019: This episode leads with a new IAS report exposing the extent of the ‘financial headache’ that being hungover at work causes the UK economy. Based on on survey findings, an estimated 75,000 to 89,000 workers are hungover or intoxicated on any given work day. Policy Analyst Aveek Bhattacharya explains what the research shows; how much of a concern it is, and why, and; how m...

Alcohol Alert, May 2019: This episode looks at the stark findings from the latest Global Drugs Survey, which finds that almost nine in every ten incidents of sexual assault involve alcohol. We invited researcher Alexandra Aldridge to explain the issues that the prevalence of alcohol in sexual relationships can raise. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and me...

Alcohol Alert, April 2019: This episode focuses on data released ahead of the first anniversary of the Scottish Government's flagship health policy of minimum unit pricing. You might be mistaken in thinking the issue is a simple one – has minimum unit pricing led to a rise or fall in consumption? However, interpretation of the figures available so far suggests the story is more complex. Alison Dou...

Alcohol Alert, March 2019: This episode looks at the sponsorship deal between Scottish Women’s Football and alcohol policy NGO Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP). Director Eric Carlin explains more about how this historic deal came about. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias.org...

Alcohol Alert, February 2019: In this episode, we spoke to researcher Alex Barker about his latest project studying the impact of alcohol content on the video-on-demand services Netflix and Amazon Prime, and we asked how far this form of exposure was a driver of young people’s consumption habits. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your...

Alcohol Alert, January 2019: In this episode, we caught up with the British Medical Association Board of Science Chair Dame Professor Parveen Kumar on the new long-term plan for the national health service and what the proposals to expand alcohol care teams could mean for its future. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please...

Alcohol Alert, November 2018: This episode brings you the speech from Scottish Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick devliered at the eighth Alcohol Policy Conference in Edinburgh, where he announced the Scottish government's new alcohol policy framework for preventing harm. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our webs...

Alcohol Alert, October 2018: In this episode, we focus on the fallout from the Autumn Budget, as the government freezes alcohol duties for beers, spirits and some ciders. Chief Executive John Jolly, of drug and alcohol charity Blenheim, explains why Chancellor Philip Hammond’s business-friendly approach will ultimately have a detrimental impact on public health and treatment services. By subscribi...

Alcohol Alert, August 2018: In this episode, actor Ally Murphy talks about the difficulties of dealing with the behaviour of intoxicated passengers in her former career as a cabin service supervisor, and what solutions could be implemented to protect airline staff during flights. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please vis...

Alcohol Alert, July 2018: This episode features MP for Don Valley Caroline Flint, who led calls for the government to introduce policies that protect children from alcohol-related harm at the parliamentary launch of the Families First report. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias.org.uk and clic...

Alcohol Alert, May 2018: In this edition, we interview Alcohol Policy UK editor James Morris, who speaks about the government’s new innovation fund to support the children of dependent drinkers. James begins by explaining the how much is being set aside and who is targeted to benefit from the initiative. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly...

Alcohol Alert, April 2018: In this edition, we interview Dr Katerina Lisenkova, head of economic modelling at the Fraser Allander Institute. She is the lead author of a new report looking into the economic impact of potential changes in UK alcohol consumption. We asked her about the methodology behind the study, the outcomes from various scenarios, and what modelling could tell us about how future...

Alcohol Alert, March 2018: This edition features Labour Party member Nona Buckley-Irvine discusses her experiences tackling the drinking culture at her constituency party meetings in Crawley, and how the presence of alcohol in general risks alienating women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds from participating in politics at grassroots level. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can rec...

Alcohol Alert, February 2018: This month, the All Party Parliamentary Group of the Children of Alcoholics held its inaugural David Stafford Memorial Lecture, focusing on the plight of Parental Alcohol Misuse. Ex-footballer and NACOA patron Tony Adams MBE was in attendance, and took a moment to briefly talk about his struggle with alcohol. Tony Adams's book about his relationship with alcohol, 'Sob...

Alcohol Alert, January 2018: An Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) commissioned survey has exposed a poor understanding of the alcohol guidelines amongst the British public. Newspapers focused on the fact that only 10% of people mentioned cancer when asked which disease and illnesses are linked to alcohol. We invited Colin Shevills – whose organisation, Balance North East is a member of the Alliance...

Alcohol Alert October 2017: This episode sees the launch of 'Like sugar for adults: The effect of non-dependent parental drinking on children and families', which finds low-level parental drinking can leave children feeling worried, embarrassed and facing more arguments. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit instal...

Alcohol Alert, September 2017: In this episode, our very own policy analyst, Aveek Bhattacharya, explains the findings behind his report, Pubs Quizzed ( bit.ly/pubsquizzed ), based on a survey of publicans which found that four-in-five of them think off-licences sell alcohol too cheaply, and that the majority support a reduction in the drink-drive limit for England and Wales. By subscribing to our...

Alcohol Alert, July 2017: Five years after Scotland legislated for Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP), judges at the UK Supreme Court in London have just concluded their latest deliberations over whether the legislation is incompatible with European Union law and therefore unlawful under the Scotland Act 1998. It has twice been ruled legal in Scottish courts during that period. So why hasn’t MUP been impl...

Alcohol Alert, June 2017: How do alcohol researchers promote their work in a policy environment fraught with tensions between policymakers, NGOs, and industry? This was a question four prominent research experts grappled with during a lunchtime seminar titled ‘Walking the advocacy tightrope: What role can researchers play in the alcohol policy process?’, a highlight of this year’s Kettil Bruun Soc...

Alcohol Alert, May 2017: This edition focuses on a new report (Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere – https://bit.ly/anytmplcwhr ), which compares the alcohol availability policies of Australian and UK licensing authorities. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias.org.uk and click on "Alcohol Alert" to rea...

Alcohol Alert, April 2017: This edition centres on the presentation of a study into alcohol marketing during the Euro 2016 football tournament, made to delegates at the 2017 Healthy Stadia Conference held at Arsenal FC Emirates Stadium. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias.org.uk and click on "...

Alcohol Alert, March 2017: In this edition, two experts in alcohol research from Edinburgh Napier University discuss the Treasury decision to launch a consultation on white cider duty in this year’s Spring Budget. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias.org.uk and click on "Alcohol Alert" to read...

Alcohol Alert, February 2017: This edition finds the Alcohol Health Alliance co-hosting a parliamentary event calling for increased taxes on cheap high-strength cider, with Thames Reach, a London-based charity working with those suffering from homelessness. By subscribing to our enewsletter, you can receive alcohol-related stories and media directly to your inbox; please visit our website www.ias....