Alcohol Health Alliance UK
Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) | |
 | |
| Formation | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | - To highlight the rising levels of alcohol-related harm in the UK
- To propose evidence-based solutions to reduce the harm caused by alcohol - To influence decision-makers to take positive action to address alcohol harm |
| Website | https://ahauk.org/ |
The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) is a coalition of more than 60 non-governmental organisations which work together to promote evidence-based policies to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, a professor of hepatology at the University of Liverpool and the Royal College of Physician's Special Advisor on Alcohol has chaired the Alliance since it was established in November 2007.[1]
Policy
[edit]The AHA promotes policies for reducing the harm caused by alcohol as set out in Health First: An evidence-based alcohol strategy for the UK.[2]
The top policy recommendations to tackle alcohol harm from Health First are:
- A minimum price of at least 50p per unit of alcohol should be introduced for all alcohol sales, together with a mechanism to regularly review and revise this price.
- At least one third of every alcohol product label should be given over to an evidence-based health warning specified by an independent regulatory body.
- The sale of alcohol in shops should be restricted to specific times of the day and designated areas. No alcohol promotion should occur outside these areas.
- The tax on every alcohol product should be proportionate to the volume of alcohol it contains. In order to incentivise the development and sale of lower strength products, the rate of taxation should increase with product strength.
- Licensing legislation should be comprehensively reviewed. Licensing authorities must be empowered to tackle alcohol-related harm by controlling the total availability of alcohol in their jurisdiction.
- All alcohol advertising and sponsorship should be prohibited. In the short term, alcohol advertising should only be permitted in newspapers and other adult press. Its content should be limited to factual information about brand, provenance and product strength.
- An independent body should be established to regulate alcohol promotion, including product and packaging design, in the interests of public health and community safety.
- The legal limit for blood alcohol concentration for drivers should be reduced to 50 mg/100ml.
- All health and social care professionals should be trained to routinely provide early identification and brief alcohol advice to their clients.
- People who need support for alcohol problems should be routinely referred to specialist alcohol services for comprehensive assessment and appropriate treatment.
Members
[edit]The following organisations are members of the Alcohol Health Alliance:
- Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
- Action on Addiction
- Action on Sugar
- Addiction Professionals
- alcoHELP
- Alcohol Action Ireland
- Alcohol Change UK
- Alcohol Focus Scotland
- Alcohol Forum Ireland
- Aquarius
- Association of Anaesthetists
- Association of Directors of Public Health
- BAC-IN CIC
- Balance North East
- British Association for the Study of the Liver
- British Liver Trust
- British Medical Association
- British Society of Gastroenterology
- Cancer Research UK
- Centre for Mental Health
- Change, Grow, Live
- Changing Lives
- Doctors in Unite
- Druglink
- Faculty of Dental Surgery
- Faculty of Occupational Medicine
- Faculty of Public Health
- Forward Trust
- Foundation for Liver Research
- Healthier and Fairer Futures
- Humankind
- Institute of Alcohol Studies
- Look Around
- Medical Council on Alcohol
- Men's Health Forum
- Nacoa
- National Addiction Centre
- National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK
- Northern Ireland Alcohol and Drug Alliance
- Public Health Action
- Royal College of Anaesthetists
- Royal College of Emergency Medicine
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Royal College of Midwives
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Royal College of Physicians London
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Royal Society for Public Health
- Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
- SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems)
- Share Shrewsbury
- Society for the Study of Addiction
- SPECTRUM Research Consortium
- Spinal Injuries Association
- Tower Hamlets GP Care Group CIC
- Turning Point
- Violence and Society Research Group
- We Are With You
- Welsh Association for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (WAGE)
- World Cancer Research Fund
- Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Network