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This case study details an impact relating to health and welfare in which educational practices regarding the dissemination of responsible drinking messages has been influenced, and on public policy and services where this evidence has stimulated policy debate. Specifically, research led to (i) the withdrawal of the Drinkaware Trust's 5-year flagship campaign, Why let the good times go bad? (WLGTGB), and (ii) a recommendation from an independent review to a) involve academics in future campaign development and evaluation, and b) implement changes to the current campaign based on our findings.
In 1997 the Home Office commissioned a study of underage test purchasing of alcohol. The study, designed by researchers at Swansea University, led directly to legislation in England and Wales, and later in Scotland and Northern Ireland, permitting underage test purchasing of alcohol under official supervision. Subsequent legislation required local authorities to use test purchasing to control the supply of alcohol to children. The method is now used routinely by every UK police force and local authority trading standards department (and internationally), and sales of alcohol to minors have fallen by over 60%.
Excessive alcohol consumption in the UK is recognised to cause widespread health, social and economic problems. Researchers at Lancaster sought to investigate related aspects of the problem: consumer and retailer perspectives. Piacentini's research on student alcohol culture has influenced medical practitioners' understandings of alcohol consumption, informed Portman Group research, was cited in the Guardian and discussed on BBC Radio 4. Hopkinson's research on underage alcohol sales identified the need for a new collaborative, community based action model, subsequently realised through the formation of Community Alcohol Partnerships. A successful pilot scheme resulted in over £1m being invested by major retailers and a further 54 CAPs being set up across the UK. The research also contributed to the transition from `Challenge 21' to `Challenge 25' and to staff training DVD on alcohol sales for SPAR employees.
Almost one in four deaths of young people in England and Wales are attributable to alcohol (Hastings and Sheron, 2011). Critical marketing research by the Institute for Social Marketing at The Open University (ISM-Open) has informed policy by: establishing the link between the marketing practices of drinks manufacturers and young people's attitudes to and consumption of alcohol; providing the material for the seminal report Under the Influence commissioned and published by the BMA Board of Science; guiding the Health Select Committee and underpinning a Private Members Bill on the regulation of alcohol marketing to children.
This research in ISM-Open is a collaboration between the Open University Business School (OUBS) and Stirling University.
In 2007, as part of a major update of the national alcohol strategy, the UK Government announced that it would commission an independent national review of the evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm. Subsequently, in 2008, researchers from the University of Sheffield (UoS) were commissioned by the UK Department of Health (DoH) for an `Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion'.
The UoS research has played a crucial role in informing the debate and deliberations on the available Government options for interventions on alcohol consumption in England and Wales, by providing a robust evidence base to underpin the debate. The UoS research findings have been used to inform policy by senior decision-making bodies e.g. the House of Commons Health Select Committee and the UK Chief Medical Officer to inform policy. The findings have also stimulated the potential for policy intervention beyond England and Wales, e.g. in Scotland and Australia.
This study demonstrates the impact of the Unit's research into the relationship between alcohol advertising/promotion, media representations of drinking, and the drinking habits of young people. Our research addressed the concerns of policy makers and health education bodies about the relationship between alcohol advertising/promotion and alcohol consumption habits of teenagers and young adults. Our findings mapped the extent of media alcohol/drinking representations and showed a change in advertising content and overall code-compliance following the introduction of a new code of practice in 2005. The research found no evidence of a relationship between the general reported exposure to alcohol advertising and levels of alcohol consumption among young people. The findings have informed on-going policy recommendations and initiatives regarding the regulation of alcohol advertising, promotion and consumption. Additionally they have informed the policies of government and other agencies, both nationally and internationally (UK, EU, Australia).
In 2007, consumption of alcohol by children and young people was made a priority in the Labour Government's National Alcohol Strategy, which acknowledged that whilst decreasing numbers of young people were drinking alcohol, those who were, consumed more alcohol more often. Given the association of high-risk behaviours with high-levels of alcohol consumption, this commitment was taken forward with the publication of the Youth Alcohol Action Plan in 2008.
This case study demonstrates the central role that the group's research has played in guiding and shaping coherent, evidence-based alcohol policy for children and young people, including the development of the first national guidance on alcohol consumption by children and young people in England.
Armed Forces personnel are twice as likely to die on the road as civilians, and around 2.5 times more likely to report alcohol misuse. Evidence from King's College London (KCL) has helped highlight these issues and led to the development of specific post-deployment interventions for service personnel in order to mitigate the impact of deployment on driving behaviour and alcohol use. Delivered during post-deployment decompression, as a result of KCL research these interventions have been mandatorily provided to up to 20,000 service personnel returning from deployment and have led to a significant reduction in road-traffic deaths.
This case study refers to research on British drinking cultures and alcohol policy carried out by James Nicholls, Reader in Media and Social Policy, Department of Film and Media Production/HCI (2004-September 2012). In this role, Nicholl's research and his public engagement contributed to shaping the UoA's research reference frame of cultural behaviour, cultural practice and public policy (see Ref5). Following the publication of his book, The Politics of Alcohol (2009) Nicholls developed as a specialist advisor involved in the analysis and planning of alcohol policy at national and regional levels. His work and influence has been cited in key policy documents (including the House of Commons Health Select Committee Report, Alcohol: First Report of Session 2009-10 HC151-1) in 2010. This work has subsequently helped to shape regional and national alcohol policy in both England and Scotland. This case study provides evidence of this impact in regard to the following areas: