SHAAP call for further action on alcohol availability and marketing to reduce alcohol-related harm

11 Feb 2016

SHAAP’s Top Twenty: A Manifesto for Action on Alcohol from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol

SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) has written personally to all Members of the Scottish Parliament in advance of the 2016 Holyrood elections, laying out its ‘Top Twenty’ recommendations for action on alcohol. These recommendations mark SHAAP’s renewed commitment to work with partners to prevent and reduce alcohol- related harms.

Reducing alcohol-related harm in Scotland remains a priority for several reasons, including:

Scotland has one of the highest liver cirrhosis mortality rates (a marker for alcohol-related harm) in Western Europe.
Alcohol death rates in Scotland are almost twice the level they were in the early 1980s.
Twenty Scots die every week because of alcohol.
Hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease have more than quadrupled in the past 30 years.

Eric Carlin, Director of SHAAP, said:

“After several years of welcome reductions in alcohol-related hospitalisations and harms, these are both on the increase again. It is vital that alcohol policy in Scotland should be aligned to the WHO’s ten ‘Best Buy” recommendations, with a specific focus on increasing the price of the cheapest, most harmful products and taking action to restrict the availability and marketing of alcohol. SHAAP’s Top Twenty recommendations should be regarded as an entire package, including health interventions such as Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs).”

Dr. Peter Rice, Chair of SHAAP, said:

“We represent health professionals who are in the frontline, dealing with the problems that alcohol causes to individuals and communities on a daily basis. There has been much good work in Scotland in recent years in prevention and in helping individuals and families, but much remains to be done. Some of this work will be to progress existing policies, in particular Minimum Unit Price, which has been delayed by the actions of global alcohol producers. There are other new actions, for instance, on licensing and the way alcohol is sold, which we are keen to see introduced.”

Notes to Editors:

1. SHAAP’s Manifesto is available here: SHAAP’s Top Twenty: A Manifesto for Action on Alcohol from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol

2. About SHAAP

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) provides the authoritative medical and clinical voice on the need to reduce the impact of alcohol related harm on the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland and the evidence-based approaches to achieve this. SHAAP was set up in 2006 by the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges through their Scottish Intercollegiate Group (SIGA). As a partnership, it is governed by an Executive Committee made up of members of the Royal Colleges, including the Royal College of Nursing.

For further information and comment contact:

Eric Carlin (Director) SHAAP: 0750 5081784 and shaap.director@rcpe.ac.uk

Dr. Peter Rice (Chair) SHAAP: 07740 937732 and peter.rice@nhs.net