THE PROBLEM
‘Intoxicating liquor creates lawlessness, makes criminals, wrecks homes and brings trouble to innocent women and children.’ This quote from Thomas Jordan Jarvis (1836–1915) is as true now as it was in the 19th century. While our consumption per capita in the UK has not quite reached Victorian levels, it has more than doubled since World War II and alcohol-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths are now at an all-time high. Representatives of the drinks industry are quick to point out that data from national surveys have shown a fall over the past few years (during the financial downturn) in consumption figures. However, this has coincided with increasing ethnic diversity and more abstainers in the UK population, and those that are drinking are doing so in a more harmful way. It is also well known that there is a marked disparity between alcohol consumption figures from self-reported national surveys and from alcohol sales data. It has been estimated by Bellis et al1 from the volume of pure alcohol taxed in 2007/2008 that the average consumption of a drinking adult in England is 26 units per week, higher than surveys suggest and well above recommended limits of 14 units per week for women and 21 for men.
WHAT WORKS IN REDUCING ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM AND WHAT BARRIERS EXIST?
The evidence for …