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GAMBLING ON HEALTH
There is a ‘great deal in common’ between
alcohol and gambling problems, as well as
the way they can be treated and prevented,
according to a report from Alcohol Concern
Cymru and the Royal College of
Psychiatrists (RCPysch) in Wales. ‘Whilst
fewer people suffer gambling problems
than they do with alcohol, such problems
can destroy their lives and their families,’
said chair of RCPysch’s Faculty of
Addictions, Dr Raman Sahkuja. ‘It is vital
that access to appropriate advice and
treatment is available and well-funded,
especially when considering that often
people with alcohol problems participate in
unhealthy gambling, and vice versa.’
A losing bet at www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICALITIES
A new briefing on the imminent public
health reforms and the implications for
treatment services has been produced by
DrugScope, including suggestions on how to
engage with the new public health
structures and decision makers.
Available at www.drugscope.org.uk
MATERNAL RECOGNITION
Phoenix Futures has launched a Mother’s
Day campaign highlighting the role mothers
can play in a person’s recovery, with almost
half of the organisation’s service users
citing their mother as their main support.
‘We know from evidence and experience
that mums play a vital role in the recovery
process,’ said chief executive Karen Biggs.
‘The personal cost to those mums is
considerable and the reality of the world is
that mums for various reasons often don’t
ask for help.’
SAMS SUPPORT
Treatment charity Foundation66 is launching
a new volunteer peer mentoring service in
Essex next month. The Support Advice and
Mentoring Service (SAMS) has been
commissioned by Essex County Council’s
DAAT. ‘Matching people with a mentor who
can identify with their particular situations
and long-term goals can have an
extraordinary effect on lives,’ said interim
chief executive Jakki Moxham.
CLINICAL CLAIMS
A guide to the contribution of clinical
psychologists to ‘effective recovery-
orientated drug and alcohol treatment
systems’ has been issued by the British
Psychological Society, aimed at service
commissioners.
Available at www.nta.nhs.uk
A minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol should be
introduced for ‘all alcohol sales’ along with prohibition
of ‘all alcohol advertising and sponsorship’, according
to a report from the Alcohol Health Alliance, British
Liver Trust and University of Stirling.
Health first – an evidence based alcohol strategy for the
UK
also wants to see ‘at least’ one third of every alcohol
label given over to ‘an evidence based health warning’ and
for the sale of alcohol in shops to be restricted to specific
times of the day and designated areas.
The document is supported by organisations including
Alcohol Concern, Cancer Research UK and ten royal
colleges, and among its other recommendations are for the
tax on every alcohol product to be ‘proportionate to the
volume of alcohol it contains’, a tightening of the drink
driving limit and the development of guidelines for ‘the
portrayal of alcohol in television and film’. Public health and
community safety should be given priority in all alcohol
policy making, it states, with no involvement by drinks
companies in policy development or health promotion.
‘The impact of drinking on public health and community
safety is so great that radical steps are needed to change
our relationship with alcohol,’ says the report. ‘We need to
imagine a society where low or no alcohol consumption is
the norm, drunkenness is socially unacceptable and town
centres are safe and welcoming places for everyone to use.
Our vision is for a safer, healthier and happier world where
the harm caused by alcohol is minimised.’
A 50p minimum price would be ‘excellent news for
everyone – except those who profit from the excessive
drinking which causes so many of the health and social
problems this country faces’, said the Faculty of Public
Health, while the British Medical Association (BMA) called
the government’s plans for a 45p minimum ‘too timid’ in its
response to the Home Office alcohol strategy consultation.
‘Our members witness first hand the damaging effects of
alcohol, and have repeatedly called for stronger action to
reduce affordability and availability,’ said BMA director of
professional activities Vivienne Nathanson.
Meanwhile a report from the Boston University School
of Public Health and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and
Youth (CAMY) found that youth alcohol consumption in the
US is dominated by a ‘relatively small number’ of brands,
and called for more research into the link between
advertising and young people’s drinking behaviour. While
the top 25 US brands – including Budweiser, Smirnoff and
Jack Daniel’s – accounted for almost half of youth alcohol
consumption, adult consumption was ‘nearly twice as
widely spread among different brands’.
A report from the UCL Department of Epidemiology
and Public Health has also found that alcohol consump-
tion in England could be higher than previously thought,
with self-reported consumption accounting for far less
than the amount of alcohol actually sold.
‘We don’t know who consumes almost half of all the
alcohol sold in England,’ said lead author Sadie Boniface.
With under-reporting taken into account, approximately
half of men and women could be classed as ‘binge
drinkers’, according to the study, published in the
European Journal of Public Health
. ‘What’s needed now
is a detailed understanding of whether some people
under-report their consumption more than others,’
Boniface stated. A recent survey for the Department of
Health also found that people could be underestimating
their alcohol intake by as much as 40 per cent.
Health first at www.stir.ac.uk/management/about/social-
marketing
Brand-specific consumption of alcohol among underage
youth in the United States at onlinelibrary.wiley.com
How is alcohol consumption affected if we account for
under-reporting? A hypothetical scenario at
www.oxfordjournals.org
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drinkanddrugsnews
| March 2013
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Health groups demand
‘radical steps’ on alcohol
News |
Round-up
NEWS IN
BRIEF
Fewer heroin and crack users, says NTA
The number of heroin and crack cocaine users in England
has fallen below 300,000 for the first time, according to
figures issued by the NTA.
The figure stood at 298,752 in 2010-11, according to
Estimates of the prevalence of opiate use and/or crack
cocaine use
, down from a peak of more than 332,000 in
2005-06. The number of people injecting has also fallen to
just over 93,400 from nearly 130,000 over the same
period, it says.
The estimates ‘support the continuing shift away from
the most harmful drugs, particularly among younger
people,’ the agency states. However, while the number of
under-35s using heroin and crack is falling, the number of
‘entrenched users’ aged over 35 continues to increase.
The number of people starting a new treatment
programme for addiction to heroin and/or crack has fallen
to 47,210 in 2011-12 from 64,288 in 2005-6, as local
authorities take over lead responsibility for commissioning
substance misuse services from next month.
‘The NTA is handing over to Public Health England and
local authorities a world class drug treatment system, with
rapid access to evidence-based interventions and
increasing rates of recovery,’ said chief executive Paul
Hayes. ‘The new public health landscape presents both
opportunities and challenges. Local authorities are well
placed to bring together all the support people need to
help them recover from addiction, including access to
housing, employment and social networks. However the
strong recovery ambition called for in the government’s
2010 drug strategy, and the investment in treatment, must
be maintained if we are to consolidate and build on the
gains we have made.’
Estimates of the prevalence of opiate use and/or crack
cocaine use, 2010/11 at www.nta.nhs.uk