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 classifyi ..read more

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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with othe ..read more

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 ..read more

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 bonu ..read more

In this month's podcast we spoke to economist Nicholas Woolley about a new report by Frontier Economics, which found that 184,000 preventable cancers diagnosed in 2023 will cost the UK economy £78 billion. We also spoke to Robert Stebbings of Adfam, about their new report: State of the Family Support Sector. 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 ..read more

In this month's podcast we spoke to Lucy Bryant of IAS and Dr Carly Lightowlers of the University of Liverpool, about their new study that found that off-trade alcohol availability is a crucial driver of alcohol-related violence. 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 ..read more

In our latest podcast we spoke to Anu Rumm of the Alcohol Health Alliance, about new polling data which suggests there is significant public support for political action on reducing alcohol harm. We also spoke to Ailar Hashemzadeh of Alcohol Change UK about Alcohol Awareness Week 2023. 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 ..read more

In our latest podcast, we spoke to Professor John Holmes, Director of the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group, about Public Health Scotland's new report which concludes that minimum unit pricing has been effective in reducing health harms and should continue. Also on our podcast, IAS's head of research Dr Sadie Boniface explains the findings of a new IAS study which highlights the inconsistency of government messaging around changes to alcohol duty over the past 15 years. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit in ..read more

Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies. Joining our podcast this week is Susan Taylor, Head of Alcohol Policy for Fresh and Balance in the northeast. We discussed the burden of alcohol-related harm in the northeast of England, and how the region still experiences disproportionate harm compared to other English regions. Taylor explained that alcohol harm doesn’t need to be a political issue, and that whatever happens in the next General Election, any government should look at the evidence base and commit to policies to prevent further harm. Li ..read more

Hello and welcome to the Alcohol Alert, brought to you by The Institute of Alcohol Studies. On this month’s podcast, we spoke to Dr Peter Rice, an addiction psychiatrist and IAS's chair, about changes to alcohol duty made in the Spring Budget. Before that, we hear from Dr Sadie Boniface about a recent study that found minimum unit pricing reduced alcohol deaths in Scotland by 13.4%. 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 ..read more