1 Introduction
The inquiry
1. Alcohol has been produced and consumed by humans
for thousands of years and is an accepted part of our society
today. Although it has applications in medicine and industrial
processes, its most popular use is as an intoxicant. Drunk in
moderation, alcohol can provide enjoyment and encourage social
cohesion. Excessive drinking, on the other hand, is viewed as
a serious problem with a range of health, social and economic
consequences.
2. Despite the long history of alcohol consumption
and misuse in the UK, Government guidance on individual drinking
was not developed until the 1980s. Since then, successive governments
have produced various alcohol strategies and policies aimed at
reducing alcohol misuse and its consequences. After the Coalition
Government was formed in May 2010, it outlined its plans for alcohol
policy in the document The Coalition: Our Plan for Government,
focusing on pricing, taxation and availability of alcohol.[1]
In March 2011, the Government produced the Public Health Responsibility
Deal, in which its core commitment on alcohol was described:
to "foster a culture of responsible drinking, which will
help people to drink within guidelines".[2]
We were interested in the robustness of the guidelines, particularly
as they are a foundation for alcohol policies yet have not been
the subject of recent Parliamentary scrutiny. We were also interested
in the differences in approaches among the devolved administrations.
We decided to explore how evidence-based the Government's guidelines
on alcohol consumption are and how well they are communicated
to and understood by the public. In July 2011, we issued a call
for evidence, seeking written submissions on the following questions:
a) What evidence are Government's guidelines
on alcohol intake based on, and how regularly is the evidence
base reviewed?
b) Could the evidence base and sources of scientific
advice to Government on alcohol be improved?
c) How well does the Government communicate its
guidelines and the risks of alcohol intake to the public?
d) How do the UK Government's guidelines compare
to those provided in other countries?[3]
3. We received 29 written submissions. On 12 October
2011 we took oral evidence from Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal
College of Physicians; Dr Richard Harding, Member of the 1995
Interdepartmental Working Group on Sensible Drinking; Professor
Nick Heather, Alcohol Research UK; Dr Marsha Morgan, Institute
of Alcohol Studies; Jeremy Beadles, Chief Executive, Wine and
Spirit Trade Association; Professor Averil Mansfield, British
Medical Association; and Chris Sorek, Chief Executive, Drinkaware.
On 26 October 2011 we took oral evidence from Anne Milton MP,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health; Dr Mark
Prunty, Senior Medical Officer for Substance Misuse Policy, Department
of Health; and Chris Heffer, Deputy Director, Alcohol and Drugs,
Department of Health. We would like to thank everyone who provided
oral and written evidence to our inquiry.
Structure of the report
4. The risks posed by alcohol consumption range from
health to social harms. While we recognise the importance of strategies
to deal with social harms, in this inquiry we have focused primarily
on health harms as these are the basis of the Department of Health's
alcohol guidelines. Chapter 2 of this report provides background
information and chapter 3 looks at the evidence base underpinning
the current guidelines and at scientific evidence that has emerged
since the guidelines were last reviewed. Chapter 4 examines public
understanding and communication of the guidelines and of the health
risks posed by drinking.[4]
1 Cabinet Office, The Coalition: Our Plan for Government,
May 2010, p 13 Back
2
Department of Health, The Public Health Responsibility Deal,
March 2011, p 10 Back
3
"Committee announces new inquiry into the evidence base for
alcohol guidelines", Science and Technology Committee press
notice, 19 July 2011 Back
4
Throughout this report, "drinking" refers specifically
to drinking alcohol. Back
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