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NACM supports plan to inform MPs over alcohol issues

October 23 2008



Fenella Tyler, chair of the NACM welcomes the Harpers initiative

The NACM is lending its support to a campaign by drinks publication Harpers Wine & Spirit and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association to get MPs fully engaged in the debate about possible legislative changes that might be brought in by the Government.

Harpers is inviting its readers to join in by writing an open letter to their MP to coincide with final submissions to the cross-government initiative to be considered as part of its Safe, Sensible, Social: the next steps in the alcohol strategy review (see here)

In the letter they say is vital to understand the facts if the correct solutions are to be found. They list these as follows:

1. Average alcohol consumption in the UK is falling
  • Per capita alcohol consumption has been falling since 2004
  • The UK ranks 13th out of 27 in the EU league table of per capita alcohol consumption
  • On average, Britons drink 17 % less than the French, and 19% less than the Germans

2. The majority of people drink responsibly
  • The numbers drinking over the recommended weekly guidelines fell between 2000 and 2006
  • Men - down from 29% to 23%
  • Women - down from 17% to 12%
  • In the UK 7% of the population drink 33% of the alcohol

3. Underage drinking is declining but those who drink consume more
  • Underage drinking is down from 26% of 11-15 year olds in 2001 to 21% in 2006
  • The numbers of 11-15 year olds who have never drunk alcohol are increasing:
  • 2000 - 40% 2006 - 46%
  • Weekly alcohol consumption among those 11-15 year olds who drink is up from an average of 10 units in the last decade to 11.4 units in 2006

4. Binge drinking is in decline but is more common among 16-24 year olds
  • Number of people reporting binge drinking (over eight units) on at least one day in previous week is down:
  • Men - 2003/4 - 23% 2006 - 18%
  • Women - 2003/4 - 9% 2006 - 8%
  • Among 16-24 year-olds, 27% of men and 21% of women reported binge drinking in 2006, down from 36% and 26% in 2001

5. Laws to tackle alcohol misuse are not being enforced
  • Just two people have been prosecuted and one found guilty of selling alcohol to a drunken person since the 2003 Licensing Act was introduced
  • Only six people in England and Wales were found guilty of supplying alcohol to under-18s in 2006
  • No-one since 2004 has been given the maximum fine for refusing to surrender alcohol in a public place or refusing a police officer’s instruction to stop drinking

 

 

http://www.talkingdrinks.com/images/stories/download/open_ltr_mp.pdf

 

In her letter of support Fenella Tyler, chair of the NACM said she welcomed and applauded the Harpers initiative as it was vital that the debate on alcohol misuse is based on hard evidence. 
  
She went on: ‘As the trade body for the UK cider industry we regularly engage with government and other agencies to seek effective solutions to the harm caused by the misuse of alcohol by a small minority of people. 
  
We are struck by the genuine willingness to address serious issues and the determination of all parties, whatever constituency they represent, to work together to tackle the issues that exist. 

However, if the scale, nature and/or profile of alcohol misuse is misunderstood and we have no clarity or agreement on what is really happening then we have no foundation on which to build solutions that will work. 
  
Quite simply, this is wrong and it must be corrected as the issues are too important and the stakes too high: 

  • The issues are too important for the people who have their lives blighted by alcohol misuse 
  • The issues are too important if we conspire to produce poor regulation and flawed public policy that will not only fail but set us back a generation before we might effectively tackle the subject again, and 
  • The issues are too important to the businesses and people that operate legitimately in the drinks industry (as producers and retailers) and that are being unfairly maligned and face inappropriate and ineffective sanction without just cause 
  
We need to tackle the harm caused by alcohol, there is no debate necessary as we stand together on this with all other trade bodies and involved organisations, including Alcohol Concern and the Alcohol Health Alliance. 
  
The debate needs to focus on the empirical evidence and the solutions that can be developed. This campaign deserves our support for reminding us of this.’

 

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