Act Now To Reduce Drink-related Harm, Says Faculty Of Public Health And Association Of Directors Of Public Health, UK

A range of measures are needed to get to grips with the UK's ever-worsening problem with alcohol misuse, says the Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public Health. Both are calling for firm action at both national and local level to address the devastating impact of Britain's drinking habits on the nation's health and economy in its new Alcohol Position Statement launched at its annual conference in Cardiff today.


Britons are drinking twice as much as they did 40 years ago, a period which has seen the death rate from liver cirrhosis more than quadruple. Alcohol is also a significant contributory factor in many other health conditions including coronary heart disease, obesity and depression as well as several cancers. It is also a factor in around half of all domestic violence and violent crime incidents as well as up to 70 per cent of peak time admissions to hospital A&E departments. The financial costs to both the health service and the wider economy are immense and growing all the time.


Evidence from around the world shows that the most effective efforts to tackle alcohol misuse are those that combine measures aimed at the whole population - increasing price, reducing availability and targeting those vulnerable and disadvantage groups who may be at increased risk.


Therefore the Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public Health are calling on the government to take decisive action to tighten regulation on the marketing and promotion of alcohol - particularly the enormous discounts offered by supermarket chains, which can often see alcohol sold below cost price - and address the clearly ineffective industry self regulation around promoting alcohol as a glamorous and exciting product, particularly to the young.


They want to see tax levers used to increase price, the introduction of a clear and consistent labelling policy for alcohol content, better screening for alcohol-related problems and more consideration of public health issues by local licensing authorities, particularly in areas with high levels of alcohol-related disorder and ill health. They also want to see better education on alcohol issues, both in schools and for the public as a whole, and a reduction of the legal blood alcohol limit to cut the number of drink driving incidents.


'Every week we seem to be hit with yet another shocking statistic about the damage done by alcohol misuse to individuals and society,' said Faculty President Professor Alan Maryon Davis. 'All of us, especially government, have to stop tiptoeing around this problem and really get to grips with it. We need firm action now.'















'Despite a number of governmental strategies, problems related to alcohol are getting worse, not better,' said ADPH President Dr Tim Crayford. 'It's time to turn this tide and help people back to safer levels of drinking.'


Notes:


1. The UK Faculty of Public Health annual conference attracts over 400 public health professionals from across the UK and internationally. This year it is being held in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government and will be an opportunity to look at public health practice in Wales, the rest of the UK and internationally.


For more information on the programme please visit our website

publichealthconferences/annual/programme.php


2. The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is the leading professional body for public health specialists in the UK. It aims to promote and protect the health of the population, and improve health services, by maintaining professional and educational standards, advocating on key public health issues, and providing practical information and guidance for public health professionals. fph


3. The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) is the representative body for directors of public health (DPH) in the UK. It seeks to improve and protect the health of the population through DPH development, sharing good practice, and policy and advocacy programmes. adph


4. Public health is about improving and protecting the health of groups of people, rather than about treating individual patients. Public health professionals must look at the bigger picture and then take action to promote health lifestyles, prevent disease, protect and improve general health, and improve healthcare services. The 'population' they are working for could be a rural community, an entire city, or the global population, but the principles remain the same.

Association of Directors of Public Health