Alcohol Problems Policy & Practice Masters Module | Kings College London | 4 – 8th Feb 2019

“It was FANTASTIC and I would strongly recommend others to attend”

Leading academics from King’s and across the 13 universities in the UKCTAS will present and discuss the latest evidence. Speakers include Sir Ian Gilmore (Alcohol Health Alliance), Professor Colin Drummond, Professor Mark Petticrew (LSHTM), Katherine Brown (Institute of Alcohol Studies) and Dr. James Nicholls (Alcohol Research UK). Many of the inputs have broader public health relevance beyond alcohol, to other health issues such as tobacco, obesity and inequalities.

After successfully running the module for three years, we are delighted to announce the module will return again in 2019 to King’s College London. In 2019 we will welcome 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.

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 14th December 2018.

Applications will not be taken after 1st February 2019.

If you are unsure about its suitability for your needs please contact Dr. Sadie Boniface (sadie.boniface@kcl.ac.uk).

More information: ukctas.net/alcoholmasters

Advertising for alcohol is prevalent in UK Television| Research Report

A recent study in the Journal of Public Health indicates that advertising for alcohol is common in British television, and is therefore a potential driver of alcohol use in young people.

It is estimated that the rate of alcohol consumption in those over 15 in the UK is the eighth highest in Europe. Alcohol use was responsible for at least 6813 deaths in the country in 2015, and cost the NHS £3.5 billion in 2013–14.

There is strong evidence that exposure to advertising or other alcohol imagery in the media increases subsequent use in adolescents. An estimated 28 million British households have at least one television and in 2015 the average viewing was 3 hours and 47 minutes a day. Previous studies have found that alcohol imagery appeared frequently in studies of UK television; some 40 per cent of programmes contained alcohol content.

In 2015, researchers quantified the content of all programmes and advertisements broadcast on the five, free access, national UK channels. The researchers here explored the differences in content between channels and genres, and compared these with the findings of a similar study in 2010.

A total of 611 programmes and 1140 commercials were recorded during the peak viewing hours, between 6 and 10 pm, from Monday to Sunday in three separate weeks. Alcohol imagery occurred most frequently in the news, current affairs programmes, and soap operas.

This study demonstrates that alcohol imagery is extremely common on UK television, occurring in over 50% of all programmes broadcast and almost 50% of all advertising periods between programmes. The majority of alcohol content occurred before 9 pm. Branding occurred in 18% of programmes and 11% of advertisement periods and involved 122 brands, though three brands (Heineken, Corona, and Fosters) accounted for almost half of all brand appearances.

Alcohol content shown on TV has an effect on the uptake of alcohol use in young people. This analysis shows that television remains a major source of alcohol exposure to young people in the UK and is likely to continue to be a contributor to alcohol uptake by young people, with levels of content slightly higher than the researchers observed in the earlier analysis of programme content from 2010.

“There is strong evidence that viewing alcohol advertising or imagery has an uptake on subsequent alcohol use in young people,” says Dr Alex Barker, a UKCTAS funded Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham.

“Our study shows that alcohol imagery, including branding, is regularly broadcast on prime-time TV, when children and adolescents are likely to be watching. Tighter scheduling rules from the Advertising Standards Agency and Ofcom (broadcast regulator), such as restricting alcohol advertisements and alcohol imagery in programmes, to after the 9 p.m. watershed, could prevent children and adolescents being exposed to this content.”

Direct correct questions about the study to:
Alexander B. Barker
UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies
Division of Epidemiology and Public Health
University of Nottingham
Clinical Sciences Building
City Hospital, Nottingham
NG5 1PB, UK
alexander.barker@nottingham.ac.uk

To request a copy of the study, please contact:
Cassie Jane Buckley
CassieJane.Buckley@oup.com

Sharing on social media? Find Oxford Journals online at @OxfordJournals
Please acknowledge the Journal of Public Health as a source in any articles.
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy142

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

Introducing a new International Workshop: The Ubiquity of Alcohol – 20/09/2017

We are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new international workshop focusing on the ubiquity of alcohol.

Addressing Marketing, Availability and Industry Influence:

Alcohol is no ordinary commodity but its presence and marketing seem ubiquitous. In this workshop, we will explore how policymakers, public health experts and researchers are responding to industry efforts to expand the presence and normality of alcohol in our lives. With inputs from leading international researchers and advocates we will explore alcohol marketing and availability in a digital age; industry manoeuvres, and potential countermeasures.

This years workshop will feature sessions from a variety of speakers including a session on Alcohol Marketing and the loi Évin, which is a French alcohol and tobacco policy that was passed in 1991. In this session Nathan Critchlow from the University of Stirling and Prof Karine Gallopel-Morvan from the EHESP School of Public Health, France will look at consumer marketing of alcohol brands in a digital age, controlling alcohol advertising and lessons learnt from the loi Évin.

We also have inputs from a variety of speakers from a number of organisations that focus on alcohol harm, including Jon Foster from the Institute of Alcohol Studies and Alison Douglas & Laura Mahon from Alcohol Focus Scotland.

We are also pleased to announce that Prof. Mike Daube from Curtin University, Australia will be joining us to discuss advocacy on alcohol advertising and the influence of the alcohol industry. To discuss the alcohol industry in more detail we also welcome Prof. Jeff Collin from the University of Edinburgh. Jeff is a regular speaker at the Alcohol Policy in Practice CPD and provides a deep insight into the alcohol industry actions.

The Ubiquity of Alcohol

Location: University of Stirling

Date: Wednesday 20th September

Cost: Standalone workshop cost: £150.00

More information: www.ukctas.net/ubiquity

This workshop is included in our 4 day Alcohol Policy in Practice CPD course we run every September, to find out more information about this course and it’s content please click here.

 

Research Report | Foul Play? Report highlights how Alcohol industry bent the rules on advertising during UEFA Euro 2016

A new report highlights how alcohol producers worked to circumvent legislation designed to protect children during the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament. Researchers at the Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling, found over 100 alcohol marketing references per televised match programme in three countries – France, the UK and Ireland. Most marketing appeared in highly visible places, such as pitch-side advertising during the matches. This was the case, despite the fact that the tournament was held in France, where alcohol TV advertising and sports sponsorship is banned under the ‘Loi Évin’.

The report, Foul Play? Alcohol marketing during UEFA Euro 2016, will be launched at the European Healthy Stadia conference at Emirates Stadium on Thursday 27^th April.

An analysis of broadcast footage found that alcohol marketing appeared, on average, once every other minute. The majority took the form of ‘alibi’ marketing, whereby indirect brand references are used to promote a product, rather than a conventional logo or brand name. Carlsberg was the most featured brand, accounting for almost all references in each of the three countries, using their slogan ‘Probably the best in the world’ while avoiding the mentioning the product name. ‘Alibi’ marketing was a common practice of tobacco companies in sporting events when advertising restrictions were introduced.

Dr. Richard Purves, Principal Investigator, Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling said:

“Beamed to audiences across the world, major sporting events such as the UEFA EURO tournament, present a prime opportunity for alcohol companies to market directly to a global audience.  In order to continue to protect children and young people from exposure to alcohol marketing, laws such as those in France need to be upheld and respected by all parties involved and not seen as something to be negotiated.”

Katherine Brown, Director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies said:

‘There is strong evidence that exposure to alcohol marketing encourages children to drink earlier and in greater quantities. The findings of this report show that alcohol companies are following in the footsteps of their tobacco colleagues by bending the rules on marketing restrictions putting children’s health at risk.’

Eric Carlin, Director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), said:

‘Sport should be an alcohol-free space. The presence of alcohol marketing during UEFA EURO 2016 highlights that organisers of sporting events need to hold out against tactics of big alcohol companies to flout legal regulations designed to protect children.’

Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/alcfoulplay

The research was carried out by the Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling, and funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), and Alcohol Action Ireland.