Gov't must empower public to prevent alcohol abuse
3 min read
To mark Alcohol Awareness week, Chair of the APPG on Alcohol Harm, Fiona Bruce MP, calls upon the Government to couple alcohol policy with media campaigns.
It’s day five of Alcohol awareness week; the seven day period which aims to get people thinking about alcohol and how it affects us as individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. The theme this year is ‘know the risks’ and up and down the country, local authorities, NHS organisations, emergency services, schools, colleges and workplaces are taking part in order for people to learn a bit more about how alcohol affects health.
For me, it's always a time to reflect on alcohol policy progress in the past year, recognise the fantastic partnership working that is taking place and think about what more must be done, both locally and nationally, to help reduce the level of alcohol-related harm in Britain.
At the heart of our approach must be helping people to understand about the health risks associated with alcohol. We can’t expect the public to make informed choices about their drinking and wellbeing if they are not equipped with the right information to do so.
In January, I welcomed the release of the UK’s chief medical officers new low drinking guidelines, which advise both men and women to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol in a week; that’s the equivalent to half a bottle of whisky. It is clear that these guidelines are a tool to help drinkers make informed decisions about their consumption, not to stop people from enjoying drinking, but Government must seize the opportunity to better get this information out there to people. The Government needs to invest in media campaigns and legislate to make it mandatory for all alcohol products have clear, legible information that is easy to see and understand.
Some of my colleagues in the House of Lords were supportive of reducing of the current drink-drive limit earlier in the year. Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe had a Private Member’s Bill that aimed to reduce the legal limit from 0.8mg/100ml to 0.5mg. After passing all stages successfully in the House of Lords, it has sufficient time to come back to us in the Commons and for us to champion the case in the chamber, which I am committed to doing.
The Scot’s have been battling for Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for a number of years, but the Scottish Government’s efforts to implement this measure have been slowed down due to legal challenges. Last month saw the Court of Session rule MUP as both legal and the most effective tool to tackle alcohol-related harm. I support this evidence- based policy that will tackle the cheap alcohol, such as white cider, that is preferentially consumed by young people and dependent drinkers; 8 out of the 10 lives saved by this policy measure will be from the more vulnerable and lower income groups.
Whether it be alcohol policy at Government level, community based alcohol harm reduction initiatives or collaboration working between our vital emergency services who deal with alcohol related incidents on a daily basis, lots of incredible work is happening to reduce alcohol-related harm and that must be celebrated. We all need to play a part by enjoying drink responsibly – and encouraging others to do so too.
Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton and Chair of the APPG on Alcohol Harm
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