Alcohol Review

Alcohol understanding for all

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Alcohol Review – Issue 119, December 27th 2025

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In this issue: Heart NGO calls for prevention; Nigeria u-turn; Polish tax veto; England deaths high; Alcohol’s injury toll; Minimum age rise benefits; Breast cancer contradiction; 0.0 rules: New highlights from AR2025

Join AR2026. Register now to participate in a unique event to underpin global efforts to reduce alcohol harm. Live online sessions on March 26th will look at Alcohol and artificial intelligence, while impactful video sessions spotlight all kins of cutting-edge research, advocacy, ideas and innovations. Check out last year’s event, preview this year’s, and secure your place.

Sizing up the AI wave
The global effort to curb alcohol harm will see a wave of change from the rollout of artificial intelligence, but how big will it be?

Sizing up the AI wave: The global effort to curb alcohol harm will see a wave of change from the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI), but how big will it be? Will it be a ripple, crashing breaker, tidal surge or shattering tsunami? 

News

Heart NGO calls for prevention: The EU should “shift from harm reduction toward a clear alcohol prevention approach, combining awareness, regulation and fiscal action”, the European Heart Network this month. 

“Any level of alcohol consumption carries cardiovascular risk; there is no risk-free threshold,” said the Brussels not-for-profit, justifying the need for this prevention-centred approach in a new position paper.

The paper calls for: mandatory energy and health warnings on all alcohol products; establish minimum taxes; restrict alcohol marketing and sponsorship, especially when they reach young people; the elimination of EU alcohol product subsidies; and raise public awareness of the cardiovascular risks. [Comment]

Nigeria’s sachet u-turn: Nigeria’s federal government this month ordered the immediate suspension of all enforcement activities related to the ban on sachet alcohol, which the Senate last month ordered to be enforced from December 31st. The  Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project NGO took legal action to prevent the federal government from blocking enforcement. [Comment]

Polish veto: Poland’s right-wing populist president President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a government bill which would have raised taxes on alcoholic drinks. [Comment]

England’s deaths remain high: Alcohol deaths in England were 32% above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, despite a 7% fall from the post-pandemic peak the year before. Over 9,000 more people died from causes directly linked to alcohol since the pandemic than if deaths were at 2019 levels. [Comment]

Alcohol’s high injury toll: Alcohol caused nearly a third of the 460,000 injury deaths in Europe in 2019, says a new WHO Regional Office for Europe report. Alcohol attributable self-harm was the biggest contributor, at just under a third of cases, followed by road injuries with half that. [Comment] 

Minimum age rise benefits: Increasing the minimum legal drinking age in some European countries reduced the cohort’s alcohol consumption and increased their exam performance, a study found. [Comment]

Breast cancer contradiction: A new study did not find evidence that alcohol consumption increases breast cancer risk, contradicting previous research, but it did confirm increased cancer risk for body parts directly exposed to alcohol. [Comment] 

EU 0.0 rules: The European Parliament this month agreed the term “alcohol-free” can be used together with the shorthand “0.0%” if a product’s is less than 0.05% alcohol by volume. [Comment]


Feature

New highlights from AR2025

Before the AR2026 on March 26th we have assembled a few new highlights from this year’s debut annual event.

“Nanny is killing us right now. Government is subsidising alcohol,” said Grant Ennis, author of Dark PR, in a live plenary session at AR2025. Watch the full session.

Participants learned how Knowalcohol.ca enables users to better understand Canada’s guidance on alcohol and health. Watch the full session.

How will the future of alcohol delivery look and how do people feel about it? AR2035 offered some insights. Watch the full session.

Alcohol companies use “better for you claims” in their marketing to distract from alcohol’s health harms, participants learned. Watch the full session.

Are there potential loopholes in UK laws on the TV placement of alcohol products? It would seem there are. Watch the full session.

The alcohol industry intimidates alcohol researchers around the world, delegates heard. Watch the full session 

Join newsletter and events directly or on Substack ■

Sizing up the AI wave

The global effort to curb alcohol harm will see a wave of change from the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI), but how big will it be? Will it be a ripple, crashing breaker, tidal surge or shattering tsunami? Alcohol Review’s annual conference in March will try to find out, while showcasing many other key developments in the field. To read on, please, register for the event and newsletter, or the free event preview and log in.

Note: For more on joining these online sessions on AI and the wide-ranging participant presentations, please visit the conference homepage and check out the new preview. ■

AR2026: Alcohol harm and artificial intelligence
+ all the latest research, advocacy and innovation.
Thursday, March 26th 2026, everywhere. Registrations open

England alcohol deaths remain severely elevated

Alcohol deaths in England were 32% above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, despite a 7% fall from the post-pandemic peak the year before, according to new new figures. A total of 38,399 people in England died of causes directly linked to alcohol drinking in the five years to 2024, over 9,304 more than if alcohol-specific deaths had remained at 2019 levels.■

Alcohol Review – Issue 118, November 28th 2025

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In this issue: UK halts tax backsliding; Nigerian sachet deadline; Korean collaboration rules; Poland’s parliamentary bar closes; Recovery barriers identified and more. Plus Australia, harm reduction and artificial intelligence, with Professor Nicole Lee.

Join AR2026. You can register now to disseminate and learn about global efforts to reduce alcohol harm. Live online sessions on March 26th will look at Alcohol and artificial intelligence. But the event will look far beyond, showcasing cutting-edge research, advocacy, ideas and offerings of all kinds. Event participation is open to all paid newsletter subscribers, who also have full access to AR2025.

News

UK budget halts alcohol tax backsliding: The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week gave respite from years of real terms alcohol tax cuts in her Budget statement, but made little headway on delivering on a manifesto promise to prioritise the prevention of health problems. [Share or comment]

Nigeria sets sachet deadline: Nigeria’s Senate this month told the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to end production and sale by December 31st 2025. The long-delayed move promped outrage from the alcohol industry. [Share or comment] 

Korea to tighten collaboration rules: Korea’s health ministry said it plans to impose stricter regulations on promotional collaborations between alcohol products and well-known food brands, saying such marketing appears to encourage alcohol consumption. [Share or comment]

Poland closes parliamentary bar: A cut-price bar in the Polish parliament bar closed this week following a decision by the Speaker, following a number of unruly incidents. [Share or comment]

Recovery barriers identified: The alcohol’s presence “poses a challenge to those seeking alcohol recovery and potentially increases the risk of relapse”, said a report highlighting half-a-dozen barriers to recovery. [Share or comment]

Abstinence savings estimated: Introducing minimum unit pricing across the UK could save £2.5bn, according to a report from Muslim faith informed think-tank Equi, which puts NHS savings from abstinence among Muslims at £1.6bn. [Share or comment]

Dry Australia imagined: Eliminating alcohol consumption in Australia would prevent more than 25m cases of disease and injury and more than 200 thousand deaths over 25 years, a study found. The cost saving would be A$55bn (US$36bn). [Share or comment] 


Feature

Australia, harm reduction and artificial intelligence: Less drinking among younger Australians has not outweighed harm within older cohorts, explains Professor Nicole Lee of the NGO Hello Sunday Morning and 360 Edge consultancy, who goes on to outline some of the applications and limits of artificial intelligence.

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UK budget halts alcohol tax backsliding

UPDATED: The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week gave respite from years of real terms alcohol tax cuts in her Budget statement, but made little headway on delivering on a manifesto promise to prioritise the prevention of health problems.

“I will support the great British pub through our new national licensing framework, encouraging councils to back our pubs and back late night venues with greater freedoms,” Reeves said in her yearly financial statement on Wednesday.

Reeves was referring to a much-criticised plan to change local alcohol licensing law to allow councils to put economic growth over health criteria. The government seems to be rewriting its proposals following an outcry from public health.

Councils are still being asked to “view licensing as part of their economic development or regeneration functions” , but other controversial aspects of the proposals have been “watered down or dropped”, posted James Nicholls, a critic of the proposals.

Reeves also said alcohol tax would remain the same in real terms next year. Health advocates recommend that the tax would need to rise in real terms to reduce record levels of harm.

But health advocates see this year’s tax freeze as relatively good news after years of real-terms tax cuts. “It is a clear signal that ministers aren’t bowing to a barrage of misinformation and aggressive lobbying,” said Katherine Severi of the Institute Of Alcohol Studies.

The Alcohol Health Alliance UK also welcomed the freeze, but it also repeated its call for a sustained increase of 2% above inflation and to develop an alcohol strategy.

It is a “welcome step forward”, said Alcohol Change UK, but added that it “expected bolder action” while also raising concerns about licensing reform, especially on alcohol delivery. ■

Australia, harm reduction and artificial intelligence

Less drinking among younger Australians has not outweighed harm within older cohorts, explains Professor Nicole Lee of the NGO Hello Sunday Morning and 360 Edge consutancy, who goes on to outline some of the applications and limits of artificial intelligence.