New Coalition Calls For Tougher Measures On Alcohol, UK
Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal DrugsArticle Date: 13 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT
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A new coalition launched today is calling on the Government to do more to prevent the rise in alcohol-related diseases. The Alcohol Health Alliance UK is a ground-breaking coalition of 24 organisations whose mission is to reduce the damage caused to health by alcohol misuse and who will work together to:
- Highlight the rising levels of alcohol-related health harm
- Propose evidence-based solutions to reduce this harm
- Influence decision makers to take positive action to address the damage caused by alcohol misuse
While loose coalitions have previously been formed on specific topics in the medical field, notably tobacco control, this is the first time that a group has existed specifically to co-ordinate campaigning on alcohol, bringing together medical bodies, patient representatives and alcohol health campaigners. The formation of the Alliance comes at a time when:
- 13 children a day are hospitalised as a result of alcohol misuse
- Alcoholic liver cirrhosis has increased by 95% since 2000, and by 36% over the last two years to 2006 and is still increasing
- Overall alcohol related deaths have increased by 18% from 2002-2005
- More people die from alcohol related causes than from breast cancer, cervical cancer and MRSA combined
- The 'passive effects' of alcohol misuse are catastrophic - rape, sexual assault, domestic and other violence, drunk driving and street disorder - alcohol affects thousands more innocent victims than passive smoking
The Alcohol Health Alliance UK will campaign for:
- Dedicated funding for alcohol treatment and prevention strategies
- Increased taxation on alcohol
- A ban on alcohol advertising before 9.00 pm and in cinemas apart from 18 rated films
- Promotional material to carry information on health related harm
- The drink driving limit to be reduced to the EU standard of 0.5g/l and a near zero limit for new drivers
Membership of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Action on Addiction, Alcohol and Health Research Trust, Alcohol Concern, Alcohol Education and Research Council, British Association for the Study of the Liver, British Liver Trust, British Society of Gastroenterology, College of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Dental Surgery, Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Institute of Alcohol Studies, Medical Council on Alcohol, National Addiction Centre, National Organisation on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - UK, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of Surgeons of England, Scottish Intercollegiate Group on Alcohol/SHAAP.
Royal College of Physicians
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14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/88566.php>
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/88566.php.
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (3)
What Is Missing From The Alcohol Health Allaince?
posted by Peter O'Loughlin on 14 Nov 2007 at 1:48 pmAnyone who is concerned about the health and social problems we are currently experiencing through excessive alcohol consumption will give a warm welcome to this illustrious body of prestigious organisations, who are intent on reducing the harm that alcohol is imposing on us.
One would like to think that our Government will accord the collective, carefully considered, evidence based views of the alliance, as much hearing as it currently gives, to what Professor Gilmore accurately describes as the most powerful lobby in the country. Realistically, this writer fees that is highly unlikely..
The Government's views on alcohol, are clearly exposed in what they described as a 'proposed strategy''. Starting with the 'Executive Introductions, from Caroline Flint, and Vernon Coaker, and repeated on almost every subsequent page, were messages such as: 'More needs to be done to encourage sensible drinking', or 'More needs to be done to promote sensible drinking'. A first year psychology student would be aware of the subliminal message such statements contain; that they were repeated so frequently is alarming, and a clear indication that the Government is less than keen to retrict advertising.
The Government's professed concern in respect of the damge alchol causes appear shallow, when it emerges that 'health warnings on alcohol will be left to the industry, making it highly unlikely that we will see explict warnings, such as those that exist for smoking. Nor are we likely to see a sustained 'health campaign' about the dangers of alcohol similar to that mounted against smoking.
The 'strategy' document seeks to relegate the health and social problems caused by alcohol to a minority who 'binge drink'. In doing so they make no reference to the the clinical evidence and research from Sweden and Finland that establishes the stark truth, which clearly proves that it is moderate drinkers who occassionally drink too much, who are more likely to present with alcohol related injuries than chronic heavy drinkers. (1&2)
Whether or not such a glaring omission is deliberate or an oversight is unclear; if only because a letter from this writer,in July last, inviting Caroline Flint and Vernon Coaker to explain why this important evidence was not mentioned, and seeking reassurance that the delegates from the alcohol drinks industry, who contributed extensively to the 'strategy' contents, did not have any influence over its omission remains unacknowledged.
Such inexplicable omissions are as difficult to understand as the apparent lack of support for the Alcohol Health Alliance from ''the leading harm reduction agency' , the International Harm Reduction Agency, (IHRA)who are not included in the list of names forming the alliance. Given their declared policy of seeking to reduce the harm caused by all psycho active drugs, including alcohol, this writer feels it is implausible, that the not insignificatn streams of income they receive by way of 'unrestricted grants' from the alcohol drinks industry, could have raised any conflicts of interest preventing this influential and prominenct organisation, who are normally so vociferous in support of harm reduction methods, from publicly expressing their support for the alliance. No doubt their reasons for withholding their support will eventually emerge, but of far more value would be their unqualified support.
Response From IHRA
posted by Jamie Bridge on 16 Nov 2007 at 1:28 amLike Peter O'Loughlin above, the International Harm Reduction ASSOCIATION (the IHRA that I assume he is referring to) are fully supportive of the new 'Alcohol Health Alliance'. Our "inexplicable omission" from the alliance itself is not a political or ideological one on our part - it is merely that we were not invited to join the group. Since hearing about the group a few days ago, I have been making enquiries as to how IHRA can engage with them more closely and support their work.
We will soon be posting a news item on our new alcohol harm reduction website (http://www.ihra.net/alcohol) in order to promote this excellent intiative (just as soon as I have gathered enough information). Interestingly, this new initiative is not dissimilar to another alliance which IHRA has fully engaged with - the Drugs Health Alliance (http://drugshealthalliance.net/), which also aims to drag the Government's agenda back towards public health where it belongs.
I hope that this clarifies IHRA's current position and I would appreciate it if this author checked the facts before serving his own agenda with articles such as this.
Jamie Bridge
International Ham Reduction Association
What Is Missing From The Alcohol Health Alliance.
posted by Peter O'Loughlin on 17 Nov 2007 at 5:57 amI am grateful to Jamie Bridge of the IHRA fo his explanation of why his organisation are not part of the above. I am also delighted to learn that the IHRA are seeking to lend their valuable support to the alliance.
I am however puzzled by Jamie's concluding remarks re 'checking the facts'. It is a fact that at the time of writing, the IHRA was not a member of the Alliance, an absence that in itself was perplexing. I exrcised my free and democratic right, to comment on such a fact, Is Jamie suggesting that the writer has some undisclosed obligation to check with him before he comments on what is a clear, indisputable fact?
I am equally puzzled by Jamie's comments to what he refers to as my 'agenda'., together with the relevance of such a remark. Perhaps he would be kind enough to clarify what he believes my 'agenda' to be.
It is questionable whether this site is a suitable medium for Jamie's irrelevant, unecessary, and inaccurate comments, or any response to my seeking of clarification of Jamie's concluding remarks; that is a decision for the site owners to make.
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