Alcohol marketing references appear every 15 seconds in some live sports broadcasts
New research shows the high levels of exposure to alcohol sport sponsorship in professional football and rugby union in Scotland.
Alcohol marketing references featured once every 15 seconds in a live Six Nations rugby match and once every 98 seconds in a live Scottish Premier League match, according to research from Alcohol Focus Scotland and SHAAP.
Two-thirds of alcohol labels fail to display CMO guidelines
New research from the Alcohol Health Alliance has found that updated CMO guidelines are absent from 71 per cent of alcohol containers across the UK – four years after they were introduced. In addition, nearly a quarter of labels contained misleading, out-of-date health information.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “The alcohol industry has been dragging its heels for four years in updating product labelling to display current drinking guidelines. It is simply outrageous that the vast majority of products still fail to include up-to-date guidelines. The message is clear: the alcohol industry is not taking the nation’s health seriously and cannot be trusted to regulate itself.”
Alcohol screening and brief interventions for 276,000 members of Armed Forces
Based on their series of randomised trials, implementation of Cardiff University’s Violence Research Group’s Have a Word! training programme has resulted in the alcohol screening of 276,000 armed services personnel and brief advice delivery accordingly.
Research suggests that alcohol-related harm within the UK Armed Forces is higher than in the general population.
Professor Jonathan Shepherd, researcher at the Crime and Security Research Institute, said: “I’m delighted that the results of our randomised trials of brief advice have, through our accredited Have a Word! training programme, been translated into clinical practice so effectively.”
Minimum unit pricing in force in Wales
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol came into force in Wales on 2 March, set at 50p per unit as in Scotland. The measure has been broadly welcomed by agencies in Wales working to reduce alcohol harm, although there have been some expressions of concern about the possible impacts on low-income dependent drinkers.
Alcohol Change UK is working with the Welsh Government to ensure that the front-line services understand the measure and its implications and that support services are available for those who need them.
Read Alcohol Change UK’s Q&A on the implications of the measure in Wales.
New episode of The Scottish Recovery Show available
In the latest episode of The Scottish Recovery Show, guest Beverly talks about the differences between the support available to families affected by addiction today compared to support available 20 years ago.