Alcohol Alert Podcast Institute of Alcohol Studies

In this month's podcast we spoke to Dr Katherine Severi about the rise in alcohol deaths, and Dr Nason Maani, about his latest research paper that looked at correspondence between Public Health England (PHE), The Portman Group, and Drinkaware, in the run up to and launching of the Drink Free Days campaign, which ran in 2018-2019.
The paper, which was featured in Private Eye, highlights the collegial relationship between senior figures at PHE, The Portman Group, and Drinkaware, and also show how The Portman Group attempted to paint members of PHE’s alcohol advisory group as having a conflict of interest.


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In this month’s podcast we spoke to John Holmes, Professor of Alcohol Policy at the University of Sheffield, about no and low alcohol products. We discussed the project the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group is running on the topic, why these products are gaining attention, who consumes them, the concerns among public health groups, and what the market for such products will look like in the coming years.


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In February's podcast we spoke to Dr James Morris, Research Fellow at London South Bank University, about how the model of ‘alcoholism’ evolved and led to beliefs about alcohol problems being heavily focused on the severe end of the spectrum.
Dr Morris discusses how Alcoholics Anonymous, despite helping a great many people in their recovery, reinforces this model and leads to people failing to recognise their own issues with alcohol. Discussing why this model can cause harm, Dr Morris stated:
“I think the main way it prevents progress is through ‘othering’, essentially the process of classifying alcohol problems as belonging to an ‘other’. The alcoholic stereotype is drawn on heavily for that. We see lots of heavy drinking groups point to the ‘alcoholic other’ to distance their own drinking and protect their own drinking identify."


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In our first podcast of 2024, we spoke to Nicola Merrin, Alcohol Focus Scotland's (AFS) Policy & Research Manager, about the Scottish Government's consideration of reintroducing a Public Health Supplement (or levy).
We discussed what the previous levy raised and why it was implemented, AFS's support for a new levy, and why it's so important to introduce one now, when alcohol deaths are at record highs.
Listen to the end to hear from Dr Alastair Macgilchrist, who explains next steps for minimum unit pricing in Scotland.


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In this month's podcast, we spoke to Dr Aalaa Jawad about a new report by the AHA, OHA and ASH that found that alcohol, tobacco, and junk food industries make £53 billion a year from harmful consumption.
We also spoke to Susan Taylor of Balance North East, about their hard-hitting new campaign, which aims to raise awareness in the region of alcohol as a cause of cancer.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit instalcstud.substack.com

In this month's podcast we spoke to a number of the attendees at the 7th Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Cape Town, including Prof David Jernigan of Boston University, Prof Charles Parry of the SAMRC, Alison Douglas and Nicola Merrin of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Chris Smith of Open Philanthropy, and Juan Tello of the World Health Organization.
We asked them what they had found most enlightening during the three days, as well as what they hoped people would take away from the conference.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit instalcstud.substack.com