ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK 3RD JULY - 9TH JULY
Alcohol Harm Paradox:
On average people on low incomes drink less than people on higher incomes. However, people living in a deprived areas are many times more likely to experience an alcohol-related hospital or die of alcohol-related cause. Deprivation was measured, moderate drinkers of low socioeconomic status and risk than people who drank heavily. There is a higher concentration of shops selling alcohol in the poorest neighbourhoods. The role of social inequalities drive alcohol harms of critical importance. Targeting policies and interventions will impact the social group and ability to reduce harm levels.
The Government Alcohol Strategy:
Tackle the availability of cheap alcohol through introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol and consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in the off-trade.
Give local communities the tools to restrict alcohol sales late at night. Extended powers to introduce Early Morning Restriction Orders.
Develop alcohol interventions pathway and outcome framework in four prisons, inform commissioning of range of effective interventions in all types of prison.
Review alcohol guidelines for adults so people can make responsible and informed choices about drinking.
Responsibility deal to support the alcohol industry to market, advertise and sell their products in a responsible way and deliver the core commitment to foster a culture of responsible drinking, which will help people to drink within guidelines.
In 2010-2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government had published an alcohol strategy. The strategy sets out proposals to cut binge drinking, alcohol-fuelled violence, and number of people drinking to damaging levels. Consult on a minimum unit price for alcohol, consul on a ban on the sale of multi-buy alcohol discounting and pilot innovative sobriety schemes to challenge alcohol-related offending. Introduce stronger powers for local areas to control the density of licensed premises including making the impact on health a consideration for this.
Alcohol Industry Strategy:
Alcohol industry policy agenda is responsibility for reducing alcohol-related harm lies with individual drinker. Need for personal responsibility, drinkers consume alcohol in moderation.
Tactics included use of contract lobbyists, campaign contributions to legislators and political parties, provision of gifts.
UK government continuing failure to take effective action to address the worrying rates of alcohol harm in the country. Effective measures to reduce alcohol-related harms including regulation of price through minimum unit pricing, increasing alcohol duty and regulation of alcohol marketing.
Until the next Legal Thought,
Elicia Maxwell
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