Alcohol Review

Alcohol understanding for all

philcain

Alcohol Review – issue 104, June 29th 2024

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In this issue: UK alcohol health policy door open; Annual alcohol deaths globally; Labels work; Indian widowhood often linked to alcohol; Ghana’s celeb ad ban upheld.
Opinion England’s absurd official beer ad brings home the need for regulation, argues Alcohol Review’s editor.
Alcohol messages
A few recent shareable posts highlighting some key alcohol information.

Invitation: Alcohol Review’s first annual conference will be online on Thursday November 14th. Early-bird discounts available

News
UK alcohol health policy door open: None of the UK election manifestos made specific mention of alcohol health policy but Labour, the likely winner of the July 4th election, leaves the door open to taking action. It pledges to take “preventative public health measures” to tackle the“biggest killers” when UK alcohol deaths remain at near record levels. 

Annual alcohol deaths globally: There are 2.6m deaths a year worldwide attributable to alcohol consumption, with three-quarters of the dead being men, says a new WHO report. Nearly two-thirds of these alcohol deaths are from noncommunicable diseases, with 18% of the total from cardiovascular disease and 15% from cancer. 

Labels work: Well designed labels carrying rotating messages on alcohol’s adverse health effects are likely to be “particularly effective” in changing consumption behaviour, found a new comprehensive research review.

Indian widowhood often linked to alcohol: Nearly 40% of widows in Tamil Nadu linked their widowhood to the alcohol addiction of their deceased spouse, said a report from the Indian state’s Widows and Destitute Women Welfare Association.

Ghana’s celeb ad ban upheld: Ghana’s Supreme Court this month dismissed a challenge to a law banning celebrities from advertising alcohol.

Feature
England’s absurd beer ad brings home need for regulation
The wisdom of making Euro 2024 a beer marketing bonanza should surely be questioned when alcohol deaths are still 30% above pre-pandemic levels in the UK and elsewhere, argues Alcohol Review’s editor Phil Cain.

Alcohol messages
A few recent shareable posts highlighting some key alcohol information
NEW: Less alcohol means fewer mistakes #2
NEW: QR codes hide alcohol information
NEW: Alcohol kills twice as many men as women
NEW: Drinking less alcohol means fewer mistakes #1
Archive: Full list of alcohol messages 

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Alcohol undermines our nerve

Our lives, world events and, yes, watching football can be roller coaster rides, exciting and, at times, seemingly unbearable. Alcohol can make us less able to deal with stress in the future. Facing stress alcohol-free is a useful rehearsal. ■

Lancet experts recommend alcohol price controls to combat dementia

Alcohol price controls should be among the steps used to reduce high alcohol consumption to prevent or delay two out of five dementia cases, says a new report from a Lancet commission.

The report also suggests “increased awareness of levels and risks of [alcohol] overconsumption” among 13 recommendations to reduce the risk or delay onset of dementia. A parallel study estimates £4bn ($5bn) annual savings in England.

“Healthy lifestyles that involve regular exercise, not smoking, cognitive activity in midlife… and avoiding excess alcohol can not only lower dementia risk but may also push back dementia onset,” said lead author Professor Gill Livingston of University College London.

“Overall, reduction of excessive alcohol or sustained light drinking is associated with a lower dementia risk than is excessive alcohol. A lack of clear evidence exists that not drinking alcohol increases the risk of dementia,” the report says.

Vision loss and high cholesterol were also added to 12 potentially modifiable risk factors identified in the previous iteration of the report in 2020. ■

Alcohol Review – issue 105, August 2nd 2024

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In this issue: Dementia experts back alcohol price control; Dismay at wellbeing charity alcohol deal; Spain drafts framework to protect minors; German beer market 8% alcohol-free; Indian surrogate ad rules near

Alcohol messages
A few recent shareable posts highlighting some key alcohol messages.

Invitation: Alcohol Review’s first annual conference will be online on Thursday November 14th. Early-bird discounts available

News
Lancet experts recommend alcohol price controls to combat dementia. Alcohol price controls should be among the steps used to reduce high alcohol consumption to prevent or delay two out of five dementia cases, says a new report from a Lancet commission. [Comment]

Men’s wellbeing charity’s alcohol partnership sparks dismay. Public health professionals have expressed disappointment at a partnership between the UK Men’s Sheds Association, which supports social and creative community spaces, and alcohol multinational Diageo.
[Comment]

Spain drafts framework to protect minors. Spain’s health minister presented a draft law to establish a framework to protect the health of minors and ‘promote responsible alcohol consumption in society’.

German beer market now 8% alcohol-free: Alcohol-free beer made up under 8% of total beer production in Germany, having doubled in volume over the last ten years. In the UK it is more like 1-2%. The impact on alcohol harm is unclear, but some researchers plan to learn more.

India finalising surrogate ad rules: India’s Department of Consumer Affairs within weeks of publishing draft rules on surrogate ads for alcohol and tobacco, according to local media.

Alcohol messages
A few recent shareable posts highlighting some key alcohol information:
NEW: Alcohol Review 0.0 – an alcohol-free sub-brand can be used to promote the main alcohol brand
NEW: Alcohol undermines our nerve
Archive: Full list of alcohol messages 

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Please join the Alcohol Review‘s supporters who make it possible

Alcohol-free beer in the EU*

At 8.1% France had the EU’s highest percentage of its beer production, exports and imports which is alcohol-free last year, according to Eurostat. Germany, which produced three times as much beer, came a close second. Hungary and the Czech Republic pushed Spain, the EU’s second largest beer producer, down to fifth place in terms of alcohol-free share but was comfortably above the EU average 5.6%. Belgium, the bloc’s third biggest beer producer, failed to qualify because there are no alcohol-free beer production figures, as was also the case with Italy. The numbers were also lacking for the Netherlands. ■

Note: The role alcohol-free beer might have in alcohol harm is unclear. It might help in some ways and might contribute to problems in others. More research is needed. There’s a discussion here.

Avoid pressuring others to drink alcohol

Labels don’t tell us to avoid pressuring other people to drink alcohol. But there are many good reasons to avoid alcohol, not least avoiding harm to our physical and mental health. ■