philcain

On the eve of Brexit and the Budget I talked with Scott Corfe, research director of the Social Market Foundation think-tank about his proposals for a more rational form of alcohol tax. "If an increase in alcohol tax has a regressive impact, you can mitigate that elsewhere, through more generous … [Read more...] about Video/podcast: A more rational alcohol tax

The effort to control the covid-19 outbreak shows the public welcomes government action to protect life. Politicians might take note when formulating policies on alcohol, responsible for one in twenty deaths. Billions of us have overnight willingly complied with often stringent laws curtailing … [Read more...] about Covid-19 shows life-saving policies are popular

Limiting alcohol advertising spend could boost industry profits while testing the premise underlying our current approach. Policy is often based on the assumption alcohol advertising is about battling for a share of a market of fixed size. Cynics, of which I am one, doubt we are unmoved by the … [Read more...] about The case for an alcohol advertising cap

One book on alcohol is enough, surely? Well, not quite, which is the reason I recently put out Alcohol for Nerds, a slim compilation of self-contained pieces on alcohol. Here’s why. The alcohol science presented in Alcohol Companion produced many useful answers, at least for me. But it also … [Read more...] about Why I wrote a second alcohol book

by Simon Bratt, Staffordshire University Sam Wordley In the UK it’s estimated that 86% of people who access treatment for alcohol use experience mental health problems. Similarly, 70% of people in treatment for drug dependency also have a mental illness. For those people that report coexisting … [Read more...] about Mental illness and substance use: the two often go hand in hand so why is it so difficult to get help?