alcohol

The heaviest drinking households bought 17 times more alcohol than the lightest drinking ones at the start of the covid pandemic, a study says, helping to explain record high levels of alcohol-induced death.

The polarisation of alcohol consumption found between the top and bottom fifth of households in the UK is likely one reason why there was a 19% rise in alcohol-specific deaths in 2020, reaching the highest level for 20 years.

The US saw an even bigger alcohol-induced death surge in 2020 Alcohol Review revealed last month (see chart). The CDC has since confirmed the 26% rise that year and now also estimates a similarly high level for last year.

The increase in US deaths has so far attracted scant public attention or research. But it is likely the lifestyle changes and stress of the covid crisis saw heavier drinkers in both sides of the Atlantic increase their intake to deadly levels, just as this research suggests they did in the opening phase of the covid crisis in the UK.

Late last year around 30% more people in England said they drank more than the official low risk guidelines of 14 units (140ml) a week compared to before the covid crisis, said a Office for Health Improvement and Disparities survey.

“It is also likely that reduced access to care and treatment during covid contributed to an increase in alcohol-related deaths,” said lead author Professor Peter Anderson of Newcastle University when asked if other factors played a part in the UK. 

Households in the more socially disadvantaged locations of northern England bought more alcohol. The pattern in Scotland and Wales was “less pronounced”, possibly because they have minimum alcohol pricing policies, the study says. 

 “This suggests that a focus on policies to reduce high levels of drinking are even more important in extraordinary times, such as those we’ve seen since March 2020,” said Professor Anderson from Newcastle University.

“By failing to implement minimum unit pricing as part of its plans for public health, England is now falling further behind the rest of the UK in the race to tackle alcohol harm,” said Professor Sir Ian Gilmore of the Alcohol Health Alliance.

The research is a joint project between Newcastle University and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria. 

The study used retail data from Kantar WorldPanel for 30,000 UK homes for six years to 2020. ■

Updated 28.8.2024 to include response from Men’s Sheds.

The UK Men’s Sheds Association acknowledged concerns from health experts and shed users about its partnership with alcohol giant Diageo, while highlighting the benefits of the controversial deal.

“It is genuinely a response to harmful drinking especially in the 50-70 age group,” Men’s Shed chief executive Charlie Bethel told Alcohol Review. The 18-month pilot of the DrinkIQ-branded co-created product will allow the charity to assess its impact. One shed which closed now meets at a Wetherspoons, Bethel noted.

Bethel said some shed users have objected to the deal, but he said it is comparable to other charities taking money from National Lottery scratch cards. He said he could not speak for Diageo’s motives, but noted the success of its alcohol free beers. There is currently no evidence alcohol-free beer cuts harm.

“It’s prob too late but worth having a read of the evidence on partnerships with harmful product industries They don’t have men’s health–or women’s, for that matter–as a strategic aim,” said Greg Fell, President of the The Association Of Directors of Public Health (UK), on X at the time of the announcement in late July.

“There are other places to get your information about alcohol harm to help with recovery, addiction and mental health regarding alcohol than those that make it profit from it,” commented alcohol harm reduction campaigner Mick Unwin.

“This is a very unfortunate move by UK Men’s Sheds,” said Sheila Gilheany head of Alcohol Action Ireland, echoing the similar concerns about the expertise an alcohol company might have in offering information on alcohol harm.

“Very sad to see this corporate capture of Men’s Sheds,” said another commenter who sits on the board of a harm reduction charity. ■

Tweaking Google, Facebook and Twitter’s ad settings can make it easier to change unwelcome habits. Here’s how.

Advertising reinforces products’ attractive associations, so making their consumption seem more desirable.

Google said last month it will make alcohol and gambling ad filtering easier, with a roll out already begun in the US.

But there are already steps we can take. All three big online ad networks already offer significant control.

• Google’s ad personalisation page allows users to turn off ads from individual companies, ads by category, and turn off ad personalisation entirely.
• Facebook’s equivalent (pictured) allows us to disable ads by company, by topic and stop it using other targeting criteria too. The three areas we can control are on the left.
• And Twitter has a similar page. This allows us to turn off personalised ads at the top level or untick whatever categories we wish to filter in the list of interests.

We can only reduce our exposure to ads we don’t want to see not eliminate it. We have no control over broadcast media or in-content promotion.

An event last year explored how alcohol promotions, in particular, find their way into media. ◼

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. ■