Alcohol Policy in Practice | Continuing Professional Development Course | 11th-13th September 2018

Following the successful Alcohol CPD courses held in 2014-2017; we are delighted to announce the line-up for our 2018 course, featuring some exciting new inputs!

This year’s course will feature inputs from Prof. Anna Gilmore and colleagues from the University of Bath, Dr Carol Emslie from Glasgow Caledonian University, Dr James Nicholls from Alcohol Research UK, and Professor Karine Gallopel-Morvan from the EHESP School of Public Health, France. We also welcome the return of highly-rated inputs from leading experts such as Katherine Brown from the Institute of Alcohol Studies and Colin Shevills of Balance North East.

What previous participants said:

“Great range of content and world-class speakers. Organisers did an amazing job including looking after us all while we were here. The mix of lectures / Q & As / panel discussions was great. Really worth taking time away from work/home to attend this.”
“Extremely informative course and relevant to current alcohol policy challenges. Good venue, convenient location and lovely setting. Module well organised and brilliant range of speakers.”
“Thank you very much. It was a great privilege to listen and attend this course. Lectures and lecturers were outstanding.”
“Very informative useful training, well worth my time and travel.”
“Wonderful networking opportunity.”
“Thank you for such a brilliant training event – the content was spot on, all the presentations and sessions were really, really good and I came away feeling that I had learned masses: a rich diet of fact and opinion. I can honestly say that I have rarely – if ever – enjoyed such an event quite as much as this one.”

Anyone wishing to gain an in-depth understanding and up to date insight into evidence and innovative practice in alcohol policy in the UK and internationally.

Previous participants have included people working in public health, local and national alcohol policy, or alcohol research; from Iceland to New Zealand.

Places are filling up fast and the early-bird rate applies until Friday 15th June 2018! 

Apply Here!

Upcoming Tobacco & Alcohol courses now taking applications: limited places available!

“Tobacco Control Interventions”
29th Jan – 2nd Feb 2018
University of Nottingham

Closing date for applications: 16th January 2018

This year we will be discussing important factors in tobacco control including; youth smoking, the role of the tobacco industry, use of mass media for smoking prevention and cessation, smokefree legislation, harm reduction and the neurobiology of nicotine addiction.

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“Alcohol, Problems, Policy & Practice” 
5th – 9th February 2018
Kings College London

Early bird deadline: 21st December 2017

The course is a mixture of blended learning, with face-to-face lectures being held in February 2018. It is open to all UKCTAS researchers as well as students of the MSc in Addiction Studies.

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“Nicotine and Tobacco CPD”
21st – 24th May 2018
University of Stirling

Early bird deadline: 28th February 2018

In addition to the topics covered on our previous tobacco control CPD, we will also be examining in detail the current evidence on tobacco harm reduction, electronic cigarettes and other nicotine-containing devices.

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More information about these courses can be found on our website @ UKCTAS.net

New evidence finds standardised cigarette packaging may reduce the number of people who smoke as UK legislation bans the use of branding on all cigarette packets from May 2017.

A Cochrane Review published today finds standardised tobacco packaging may lead to a reduction in smoking prevalence and reduces the appeal of tobacco.

According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco use kills more people worldwide than any other preventable cause of death. Global health experts believe the best way to reduce tobacco use is by stopping people starting to use tobacco and encouraging and helping existing users to stop.

The introduction of standardised (or ‘plain’) packaging was recommended by the World Health Organisation, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) guidelines. This recommendation was based on evidence around tobacco promotion in general and studies which examined the impact of changes in packaging on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Standardised tobacco packaging places restrictions on the appearance of tobacco packs so that there is a uniform colour (and in some cases shape) with no logos or branding apart from health warnings and other government-mandated information, and the brand name appears in a prescribed uniform font, colour and size.

From next month, UK legislation on standardised packaging for all tobacco packs comes into full effect.

Australia was the first country in the world to implement standardised packaging of tobacco products.  The laws, which took full effect there in December 2012, also required enlarged pictorial health warnings.

A team of Cochrane researchers from the UK and Canada have summarised results from studies that examine the impact of standardised packaging on tobacco attitudes and behaviour. They have today published their findings in the Cochrane Library.

Experts say WHO needs better understanding of the evidence on e-cigs to inform its international tobacco control treaty.

A new WHO report fails to properly evaluate the evidence on e-cigarettes and could even undermine international efforts to reduce smoking, says a group of UK based academics.

UK academics are calling for better understanding of the potential benefits of e-cigarettes to reducing the smoking pandemic ahead of an international gathering of countries that have signed the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control.

The 7th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global public health treaty, will be held in Delhi, India from 7th-12th November 2016. At this meeting, Parties to the treaty (countries and other jurisdictions) will discuss whether similar policy measures recommended to reduce tobacco use should be applied to e-cigarettes.

In advance of the COP the World Health Organisation published a report about Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDDS), also known as e-cigarettes. This aimed to summarise the evidence about these devices.

Academics from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence, have today published a robust critique of the WHO report setting out a series of concerns about the content of the document which, in their view, does not fairly represent existing evidence on e-cigarettes. Their critique examines each element of the WHO report and identifies flaws in the way the evidence is presented and problems with how the report could be interpreted, potentially encouraging countries to adopt excessive restrictions on e-cigarettes which could undermine efforts to reduce smoking.

The UKCTAS critique points to evidence set out in the recent Royal College of Physician’s’ report ‘Nicotine without Smoke’ and subsequent research which recognise that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking and that smokers who find it difficult to stop should be encouraged to use them.

The WHO report fails to accurately present what is already known about e-cigarettes. In particular, it: positions e-cigarettes as a threat rather than an opportunity to reduce smoking; fails to accurately quantify any risks of e-cigarettes compared with smoking; misrepresents existing evidence about any harms to bystanders; discounts the fact that e-cigarettes are helping smokers to quit; does not recognise the place of some promotion of e-cigarettes to encourage smokers to switch to these less harmful products; fails to understand that the flavours in e-cigarettes are useful for people trying to stop smoking; mischaracterises the current e-cigarette market and appears to support very restrictive policies on e-cigarettes without including any good policy analysis. In addition, the WHO report does not acknowledge that significant restrictions on e-cigarettes could lead to unintended consequences, including increases in smoking.

Finally, the researchers point out that the WHO briefing is based on four unpublished papers which are still undergoing peer review, which does not allow for open, transparent scrutiny of the evidence. This does not, therefore, provide a good basis for policy making and risks undermining rather than promoting the aims of the FCTC, which is a treaty that was designed to help countries reduce smoking rates and save lives.

To read the full report click here.

Alcohol, Problems, Policy and Practice Course returns to King’s College London in February 2017

After a successful launch of the module in February 2016 we are delighted to announce the Alcohol, Problems, Policy and Practice module will return in 2017 to King’s College London. In 2017 we have confirmed a large number of top class speakers to discuss important areas of this public health issue. With topics ranging from alcohol and pregnancy, alcohol marketing and brief interventions, we can guarantee this course is invaluable to anyone working in this area.

 

MAIN AIMS OF THE MODULE:

• Enhance students’ understanding of research methods by focusing on current research in alcohol policy and interventions.
• Enable critical appraisal of evidence in alcohol policy interventions.
• Explore the role and perspectives of key stakeholders including the alcohol industry and the role of media and marketing in alcohol use.

WHO IS ORGANISING THE COURSE?

This module is coordinated by the Addictions Department at King’s College London jointly with the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS) and has been facilitated by Prof. Ann Mcneill, Dr. Niamh Fitzgerald and Dr. Sadie Boniface.

WHO IS PRESENTING?

Leading academics from King’s College London and across the 13 universities in the UKCTAS will present and discuss the latest evidence. Speakers will also include Dr. Matt Egan (LSHTM), Dr. Zarnie Khadjesari (KCL), Prof. Gerard Hastings (Stirling), Prof. Ann McNeill (KCL), Dr. Niamh Fitzgerald (Stirling), Dr. Ben Hawkins (LSHTM) and many others. Many of the inputs have broader public health relevance beyond alcohol, to other health issues such as tobacco, obesity and inequalities. An updated programme will be available later in 2016.

HOW WILL THE COURSE BE STRUCTURED?

The module will be delivered via blended learning with online materials available from January 2017, followed by a week of classroom sessions the week commencing 6th February 2017.

WHO CAN ATTEND?

In 2017 we will be opening the course to UKCTAS affiliated organisations and those working in public health, community safety or a related field. If you are unsure about its suitability for your needs or for information about fees, please contact Dr. Sadie Boniface (sadie.boniface@kcl.ac.uk)

PLACES ARE LIMITED!

Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Student numbers are capped at 40 to ensure an effective learning experience and teacher-student ratio.
Early bird discounts apply until 17th November 2016.
Applications will not be taken after 6th January 2017.

More information is available on our website!

Research Worker Position | West Midlands | King’s College London

Location:	London/West Midlands
Salary:	£27,328 to £31,656
Hours:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Contract / Temporary – Until Sept 2018

Closes:	31st July 2016
Job Ref:	R6/PCA/1280/16-PB
This post will be Fixed Term Contract for 25 months to 30th September 2018

We are looking to appoint a self-motivated Research Worker in the West Midlands for the NIHR funded ADAM trial (Alcohol Dependence and Adherence to Medications), led by Professor Colin Drummond. ADAM is a 3-arm, multi-centre, randomised controlled clinical trial of the efficacy of medication management and contingency management interventions to support adherence to acamprosate for alcohol relapse prevention. Further details of the ADAM trial can be found here.

The successful applicant will join a team of Research Workers based across the sites where recruitment is taking place. The post holder will work alongside the Trial Manager and the Post-doctoral Research Worker on all aspects of the ADAM trial, primarily including participant recruitment across the West Midlands, data collection, data analyses, dissemination, assisting with literature reviewing and preparation of ethics and governance documents.

The successful applicant will hold good degree in a relevant health and/or psychology based subject. They will be enthusiastic with excellent organisational and interpersonal skills.

Previous experience working with those with problem drug or alcohol use would be desirable.

The selection process will include a panel interview.

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role please contact Dr Sadie Boniface on 020 7848 5097 or by email sadie.boniface@kcl.ac.uk

To apply for this role, please go to the King’s College London HireWire Job Board and register to download and submit the specified application form.

The deadline for applications is midnight on 31 July 2016.

“All evidence shows that e-cigarettes have potential to reduce the harms caused by smoking”

A landmark review led by King’s College London finds that all evidence shows that e-cigarettes have the potential to reduce smoking. The report shows that almost all of the 2.6 million adults using e-cigarettes in Great Britain – one in 20 of the population – are current or ex-smokers, most of whom are using the devices to help them quit smoking or to prevent them going back to cigarettes. 80% of smokers believe e-cigarettes are a good way of quitting smoking.

Dr Leonie Brose
 ‘Smokers who have tried other methods of quitting without success could be encouraged to try e-cigarettes to stop smoking and stop smoking services should support smokers using e-cigarettes to quit by offering them behavioral support. Encouraging smokers who cannot or do not want to stop smoking to switch to e-cigarettes could help reduce smoking related disease, death and health inequalities.’