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	AC News July/August 2009
A L C O H O L C O N C E R N N E W S

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HAVE YOUR SAY!

The Government's consultation on new regulations which will curb some of the most irresponsible alcohol sales and promotions closes on 5 August. Have your say now if you want to see better unit labelling, the option to have a small measure and an end to ‘all you can drink offers’ - please fill in our online survey which closes on 17 July.

The Home Office is running events across the UK to hear your views on how alcohol is sold. To register to attend: How can we change the way alcohol is sold in order to reduce crime and health harm?
Email: alcoholconsultation@ontrac360.com

Alcohol Concern’s report, The Price is Right, on how a minimum price for alcohol would curb irresponsible price promotions.

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ALL ABOUT ALCOHOL CONCERN To highlight the work of Alcohol Concern we have produced a new leaflet giving a detailed description of what we do. The leaflet highlights our policy and campaigns work, how we raise awareness around alcohol, the work of our Training and Consultancy Team and also provides information about our projects and our publications.

ALCOHOL ADVERTS SHOWING TO OVER 1 MILLION CHILDREN New data from Alcohol Concern shows millions of children are being exposed to alcohol advertising on both TV and in the cinema. As part of its response to the review of the Codes of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Committee of Broadcast Advertising Practice (BCAP), Alcohol Concern investigated alcohol advertising and audience profiles for the 12A rated Batman film, Dark Knight, released in 2008. Findings from the investigation can be viewed here. An addendum is included in the consultation on the review of codes of the CAP and BCAP. It seeks comments on the implications of the ScHARR report, produced by the University of Sheffield, which contains sections on advertising within its review of alcohol pricing and promotion. You can view the addendum and Alcohol Concerns response to the CAP and the Broadcast CAP.

WALK ON THE WILDSIDE A complaint made by Alcohol Concern against an advert for Wild African Cream Liquor has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Alcohol Concern objected that the advertisement, which showed scratches on a man's back and the words "Unleash your wild side", linked alcohol to seduction, sexual activity or sexual success.

FAMILY TRAINING 2009 Alcohol Concern, in association with Wendy Robinson Consultancy, will be running training designed to equip practitioners with the skills to work effectively with children and families affected by parental alcohol misuse. Four tailor-made training days will run in London, Exeter and Leeds during the summer and autumn.

EMBRACE NEWSLETTER The fifth Embrace newsletter and resource supplement have both now been published and are available to down load from the Embrace page of the Alcohol Concern website.

EMBRACE RECEIVES POSITIVE EVALUATION An external and independent evaluation of the first year of Embrace, Alcohol Concern’s Children, Families and Domestic Violence Project has concluded that much has been achieved in the first year and that what has been achieved by the pilot sites may not have happened, or happened so quickly, had it not been for the commitment, passion and support offered by the Embrace Team. Read the full evaluation report: Getting the Foundations Right – Improving the Response of Alcohol Services with Clients and Families where there is also Domestic Violence/Abuse

HUBCAPP UPDATE Jon Binstead and James McNicholas have recently joined the HubCAPP team. Jon, as the HubCAPP Research Assistant, will research alcohol initiatives across England while James will focus on capturing the work of the Early Implementer Primary Care Trusts. James will be visiting these PCTs to investigate and capture their work. Email info@hubcapp.org.uk for more. There are now 83 practice examples on HubCAPP and 17 local alcohol harm reduction strategies. Case study examples include identification and brief advice in pharmacies, alcohol health workers around the country; awareness campaigns; guerrilla video screenings for young people and treatment care pathways. These can accessed via www.hubcapp.org.uk

EMBRACE SOCIAL WORK SUBMISSION Embrace has submitted evidence to the Government’s Social Work Task Force, which was set up to reform the social work profession following the Laming Report. Based on experiences of front-line alcohol workers, Embrace is strongly recommending that all social workers receive training in alcohol issues, particularly their impact on parenting.

			ONE IN 25 DEATHS WORLDWIDE LINKED TO ALCOHOL Worldwide, 1 in 25 deaths and 5% of years lived with disability are linked to alcohol consumption. Disease burden is closely related to average volume of alcohol consumption, and, for every unit of exposure, is strongest in poor people. These are the conclusions of a paper on alcohol in The Lancet.

			YOUNG LONDONERS' BAD DRINKING HABITS London’s 11-15 year-olds now drink the equivalent of 180,000 bottles of lager every week – and the amount they drink is on the rise, a new report from the London Assembly warns. Too much too young? also reveals that almost 2,000 young people in the capital are receiving specialist treatment for alcohol dependence.

			FACTSHEET OF EUROPEAN DRINKING PATTERNS Reducing harm in drinking environments discusses alcohol-related harm in European drinking environments and how this can be prevented. Prepared as part of the Focus on Alcohol Safe Environments (FASE) project, and co-financed by the European Commission, the factsheet was written by the Centre for Public Health at the Liverpool John Moores University.

			YOUNG PEOPLE AND ALCOHOL FUNDING Comic Relief is funding organisations working with young people aged11-25, experiencing problems with their own alcohol use. Please check out the ‘Apply for a UK Grant’ section of their website to find out more.

			ONE IN 20 SCOTTISH DEATHS LINKED TO ALCOHOL One in every 20 deaths in Scotland could be linked to alcohol according to a new NHS study: Alcohol attributable mortality and morbidity: alcohol population attributable fractions for Scotland. The study’s researchers found that by using a new , more accurate method of calculating alcohol-related deaths, the number of deaths linked to alcohol in Scotland could be as high as 2,882 in 2003.

			REPORT QUESTIONS MINIMUM PRICING The Centre for Economics and Business Research (cebr), has released a report into the impact of minimum pricing of alcohol in the UK. Sponsored by SABMiller brewing company, the report claims that the University of Sheffield report on minimum pricing appears to over-estimate the impact minimum pricing will have on heavy and hazardous drinkers. In response the Sheffield researchers have said that the cebr report uses their results incorrectly when calculating the estimated price increases under minimum price policies, which affects their subsequent estimates of policy impacts.

			SUMMER DRINK-DRIVE CRACKDOWN Motorists are being warned that a drink in the sun could put them behind bars when the Government and police joined forces to tackle drink-driving over the summer. A £1.5 million THINK! campaign reminds motorists of the consequences of drink driving - while the Association of Chief Police Officers is co-ordinating a nationwide police operation to catch drink-drivers.

			TEENS TARGETED FOR SUMMER A nationwide government crackdown on teenage binge drinking during the summer holidays has been launched, with up to £1.4 million of new cash for 69 youth crime priority areas. This is in addition to the £350,000 that each area is receiving this year to tackle anti-social behaviour and youth crime.

NEW ALCOHOL LEARNING CENTRE RESOURCES

The Department of Health’s (DH) Alcohol Learning Centre has launched tools and documents to help commissioners predict the possible impact of increasing alcohol interventions and treatment:

	Ready Reckoner v1- shows the impact of increasing alcohol interventions and treatment for PCTs
	Purple Report- an example of a PCT data planning tool
	Intervening to Reduce Alcohol Related Admissions - a DH presentation on the alcohol strategy, data interventions and tools to support PCTs in reducing alcohol related hospital admissions.

HEALTH PROFILES 2009

Details of the nation's health are revealed in the fourth annual set of local Health Profiles.

Health Profiles provide a snapshot of health for each local authority area in England using key health measures, which enables comparison locally, regionally and in some cases over time. They are designed to help local councils and the NHS decide where to target action and resources in their area.

ALCOHOL CONCERN ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009

Future Proof? How does the UK become a social drinker?
Wednesday 4 November 2009, London

Is the tide finally turning for alcohol policy? As Alcohol Concern celebrates 25 years of campaigning to reduce alcohol harms, we look to the future; where we are going and what action is needed to get to grips with the nation’s alcohol problems.

Confirmed speakers include: Prof Martin Plant, Prof Mark Bellis, Norman Lamb MP, Anne Milton MP, Julia Unwin (Joseph Rowntree Foundation).

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Alcohol Concern, 64 Leman Street, London, E1 8EU; telephone: 020 7264 0510; fax: 020 7488 9213;
email: contact@alcoholconcern.org.uk