‘It’s Everywhere’: Alcohol’s Public Face And Private Harm

 This Commission was set up by alcohol health experts and Parliamentarians to examine the full extent of alcohol harm across the UK. In this, their final report, the Commission outlines recommendations for reducing harm and calls for a national strategy for alcohol.

Click here to access links from King's Fund blog

Alcohol and drug misuse and treatment statistics

Statistics to support improvements in decision making when planning alcohol and drug misuse treatment services. Access government statistics here

Alcohol and drug misuse and treatment statistics

Statistics to support improvements in decision making when planning alcohol and drug misuse treatment services. Click here for latest government statistics

Alcohol and drug misuse prevention and treatment guidance

Information and other resources to support commissioners, service providers and others providing alcohol and drug interventions. Click here to access collection

Alcohol: applying All Our Health

Evidence and guidance to help healthcare professionals reduce alcohol-related harm. Click here to access guidance

Marijuana Can Boost Risks of Drinking Alcohol

A new study has discovered that people who use alcohol and marijuana simultaneously were more likely to drink heavier and more often.Click here to read PsychCentral

Funding awarded to 23 projects to help those affected by alcohol

Local authorities across the country will use £6 million funding to increase access to alcohol treatments, with a focus on helping parents and rough sleepers. Read government press release here

Problem Parental Drug And Alcohol Use: A Toolkit For Local Authorities

This toolkit has been developed for commissioners of alcohol and drug services and will also be useful to commissioners of children and family services. It helps commissioners to understand the extent of problem parental alcohol and drug use in their area and how this can impact on children aged between 0 and 18 in the same household. Click here to see King's Fund blog

Alcohol and mental health: policy and practice in England

People who have difficulties with alcohol and mental health are still not getting the help and support they need, according to a report published today by the Institute of Alcohol Studies and Centre for Mental Health.  Click here for further details.

Largest study of its kind finds alcohol use biggest risk factor for dementia

Alcohol use disorders are the most important preventable risk factors for the onset of all types of dementia, especially early-onset dementia. This according to a nationwide observational study of over one million adults diagnosed with dementia in France. Click here for ScienceDaily article

Surviving stigma: an interview with a recovering addict

In this podcast, Diane Goslar, a recovering alcoholic, talks with brutal honesty about the stigma she faced among family, friends and work colleagues as she battled alcohol addiction. To view podcast from RCPsych click here

NHS to consider routine use of ‘drunk tanks’ to ease pressure on A&Es

NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has announced that the NHS will decide this year whether “drunk tanks” should routinely be used take pressure off hard-pressed A&E departments and 999 ambulance services during the seasonal holiday period.

Supervised areas where revellers who have over-indulged can be checked and even sleep it off if necessary, rather than being taken to casualty, are already used in some areas such as Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester and Cardiff.

New materials on prevention and diagnosis of FASD

The National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome-UK (NOFAS-UK) has launched new materials designed to increase awareness about the risk of prenatal exposure to alcohol. The new materials include posters and a pre-release version of a booklet, which explains how to identify possible cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Noncommunicable Diseases Progress Monitor 2017

This WHO report outlines progress made by WHO member states against globally agreed targets to control long-term conditions and chronic diseases. It finds that whilst the United Kingdom has fully achieved on many targets in relation to smoking and unhealthy diets, there is still progress to be made on reduction measures on harmful use of alcohol.

People with co-occurring conditions: commission and provide services

This guidance from Public Health England supports local areas to commission timely and effective responses for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol or drug use conditions.

Government funds school resource for drug and alcohol prevention

Public Health England announces new funding to expand Mentor UK’s ADEPIS resource into more schools and community settings.

The programme helps equip young people with the life skills and resilience to deal with the challenges they face with alcohol and drugs.

Local Alcohol Profiles for England

Public Health England (PHE) has published an update to Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE).

The LAPE interactive tool presents a range of alcohol-related indicators and allows users to view and analyse data in a user-friendly format. The LAPE website also provides links to further supporting and relevant information to aid understanding of alcohol-related harm in a local population.
View the Local Alcohol Profiles for England data tool

This latest data release includes new data on alcohol consumption and alcohol sales.

Aggression Disorder May Up Risk of Substance Abuse

A new study finds that people with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) are at five times greater risk of abusing substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana than those who don’t display frequent aggressive behavior.

IED is described as a condition marked by frequent physical or verbal outbursts.

Researchers from the University of Chicago analyzed data from more than 9,200 subjects in the National Comorbidity Survey, a national survey of mental health in the United States. They found that as the severity of aggressive behavior increased, so did levels of daily and weekly substance use.

Reward-Based Therapy Can Be Helpful for Alcohol Abuse

New research suggests that offering rewards can be an effective, low-cost treatment for alcohol abuse. The findings are important as alcohol abuse is the nation’s third leading preventable cause of death.

Researchers at Washington State University studied Seattle-area participants with serious mental illness — a population whose lifespan is estimated to be 20-25 years shorter than the average person’s.

The reward-based intervention provided simple prizes for addiction treatment attendance and negative urine test results for alcohol use.

A surprise benefit of the treatment was that it also decreased study participants’ tobacco and drug use.

Government response to Five Year Forward View for Mental Health

The Government has published its response to the recommendations outlined in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and has announced that it will accept all of them in full.

The report focuses on the recommendations made to Government, which includes some for which responsibility is shared with NHS England and Arm’s Length Bodies. The recommendations and responses in brief are as follows: