The government’s long-awaited alcohol strategy
contains a commitment to introduce a minimum
price per unit of alcohol, something widely
considered unlikely until David Cameron’s recent
speech about alcohol harm, delivered at a
Newcastle hospital (
DDN
, March, page 6).
The government’s alcohol strategy
also includes pro-
visions to pilot ‘sobriety schemes’ to tackle drink-related
offending and to give stronger powers to local authorities
to control the density of licensed premises. There will also
be a consultation on banning ‘multi-buy’ discounting.
The government will consult on what the actual
minimum price will be, although the document quotes 40p,
which would mean a 70cl bottle of 37.5% vodka could not
be sold for less than £10.52 or a 2l bottle of 5.3% cider for
less than £4.24. Home secretary Theresa May, however,
told the BBC on the day of publication that the price could
eventually be higher. The strategy also urges greater use of
brief interventions by health professionals and encourages
all hospitals to employ alcohol liaison nurses.
Local health bodies will now have the status of
‘responsible authorities’ under the Licensing Act, giving
them the power to intervene in licensing decisions for the
first time. They will be allowed to limit the total number of
licensed premises in their area and make impact on health a
consideration in granting new licences.
The strategy was released slightly earlier than planned,
which led to accusations from Labour that the
government was attempting to divert attention from
unfavourable media coverage of the Budget. Alcohol
Concern welcomed the strategy but stated that the
government would need to show its commitment by
allocating more money to alcohol treatment and
counselling if the measures were to have any real effect.
The average annual PCT spend on alcohol services was
around 0.1 per cent of budget, the charity pointed out,
meaning that alcohol remained a ‘Cinderella service’
compared to drugs or mental health.
‘It’s great that the government is tackling cheap booze
in supermarkets – and a raft of other alcohol issues – but
current health spending priorities really need to be
rebalanced if these excellent objectives are to be
translated into real progress on the ground,’ said chief
executive Eric Appleby. ‘Clearly there is now a very real
desire to push alcohol misuse much higher up the health
policy agenda – but this desire must be matched by real
resources, especially in areas such as treatment and
advice services.’ The British Liver Trust also welcomed the
strategy – as ‘the beginning of a process’ to tackle alcohol
harm – but stated that the minimum price should be 50p.
The government has also announced a new initiative to
remove ‘one billion units’ of alcohol from the market by
2015 by improving the availability of lower-strength
products. The ‘alcohol unit reduction pledge’ is part of the
controversial alcohol responsibility deal (
DDN
, April 2011,
page 4) and has been signed by more than 30 major
retailers and drinks producers. Sainsbury’s have pledged
to reduce the average alcohol content of own brand wine
and beer ‘by 2020’, while Accolade Wines will ‘gradually’
remove 25m units from products including Echo Falls Rosé
and Echo Falls White Zinfandel. Tesco, meanwhile, will
reduce the alcohol content of own label beer and cider and
expand its range of lower-alcohol wines and beers.
‘While initially the headline appears impressive, in
reality this pledge is going to have minimum impact with a
very small reduction in consumption,’ said British Liver
Trust chief executive Andrew Langford, adding that it
demonstrated the ‘incredible lack of ambition’ on the part
of the alcohol responsibility deal group.
Meanwhile, the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland)
Bill has passed its first stage in the Scottish Parliament
with no votes against, although Labour abstained.
Alcohol strategy available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/alcohol-drugs/alcohol/alcohol-strategy
Alcohol pricing table at
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/alcohol/alcohol-pricing/
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| April 2012
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Government commits to
alcohol minimum pricing
News |
Round-up
‘Mexxy’ banned under temporary drug order
The ‘legal high’ methoxetamine – also known as MXE or
mexxy – has become the first substance to be banned under a
temporary class drug order (TCDO).
TCDOs, which came into effect late last year (
DDN
,
December 2011, page 4), give the home secretary power to
ban any substance considered potentially harmful for a period
of 12 months, pending advice from the Advisory Council on
the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on a permanent ban.
Methoxetamine has been advertised on the internet since
late 2010 as a ‘safe’ and legal alternative to ketamine, the
effects of which it is said to mimic. According to advice from
ACMD submitted to the home secretary, the chemical
structure of methoxetamine closely resembles that of both
ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP).
The ACMD said that while there was very little information
on the prevalence of methoxetamine use in the UK, there had
been at least nine cases of analytically-confirmed acute
methoxetamine toxicity in UK hospitals in the last six months.
Although the drug is marketed as a ‘bladder-friendly’ version
of ketamine – long-term use of which is associated with
chronic bladder pathology – the chronic harms associated
with the substance remained unknown, said ACMD.
People caught supplying, manufacturing or importing the
drug will now face up to 14 years in prison. Crime minister
Lord Henley said the ban showed that the UK was ‘leading the
way in cracking down on new psychoactive substances’.
The home secretary has also informed the ACMD that a
review of the latest evidence on ketamine itself is ‘now
warranted’, as part of a letter setting out priorities for
inclusion in the council’s 2012-13 work programme. ACMD
last reviewed ketamine in 2004, which led to the drug’s
classification as class C under Labour.
SCOPE FOR A MERGER
DrugScope and eATA have announced
plans to merge, subject to approval
from eATA membership. eATA will cease
trading as a separate charity, with its
membership and support roles
incorporated into DrugScope. ‘At a time
of significant change and uncertainty for
the sector as a whole, particularly with
the introduction next year of the new
public health service, a united
membership voice is as vital as ever,’
said chair of DrugScope board of
trustees Edwin Richards.
WELSH WINDFALL
An additional £1.3m will be allocated to
roll out integrated family support
services across Wales to help children
and families overcome the problems of
parental substance misuse, the Welsh
government has announced. ‘The
service supports families by empower-
ing them to take positive steps to
improve their lives,’ said deputy
minister for children and social services
Gwenda Thomas.
RECOVERY ROADMAP
A new document, Putting full recovery
first, has been launched by the Home
Office. It outlines the government’s
‘roadmap for building a new treatment
system based on our commitments
made in the drug strategy: to restrict
the supply of drugs; to reduce the
demand for drugs; and to support
individuals to be free of dependence’.
The document
is available at
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
METHADONE FIRST
India’s first methadone treatment
centre has been opened in Kapurthala,
Punjab state, by UNODC in partnership
with the National Drug Dependence
Treatment Centre of India. The pilot
project will see centres launch in Delhi,
Mumbai, Imphal and Bathinda later
this year.
LEAP LANDMARK
Dawn Fee has become the 250th client
to graduate from LEAP (Lothians and
Edinburgh Abstinence Programme)
(DDN, 14 January 2008, page 6). ‘Since
the programme began in 2007 I’ve seen
the life-changing impact recovery has on
our patients and their families,’ said
clinical lead for LEAD, NHS Lothian, Dr
David McCartney.
News in Brief