The Alcohol Alert Podcast

Reduced consumption of supermarket alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and confectionery would be unequivocally good for the UK economy

On this month’s podcast we spoke to Dr Damon Morris, Research Fellow at the Sheffield Addictions Research Group, about his latest paper that looked at the economic impact of a reduction in spending on unhealthy products. The research [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/add.70336] has dealt a significant blow to the alcohol, tobacco, and gambling industries’ core economic argument against regulation, finding that the sector’s claims that reduced consumption would harm the economy and cost jobs do not stand up to scrutiny when the full picture of consumer spending is considered. The study, by the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), modelled how a 10% reduction in consumer spending on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and confectionery would flow to different sectors in the UK economy, finding significant benefits to the UK economy if spending moves to more productive industries. This was particularly the case for spending on off-trade alcohol, tobacco, and gambling, as money spent on these industries often leaves the country – to global supply chains and international headquarters. Therefore, any reallocation of spending to other industries will keep more money in the UK economy and be a net positive. For on-trade alcohol, reductions in spending negatively impacted the UK economy. The key findings were: - Tobacco: A 10% drop in spending would boost the economy by £1.86 billion and create over 31,000 full-time jobs. - Gambling: A 10% reduction would lead to a £1.25 billion boost and over 22,000 new jobs. - Confectionery: A 10% reduction would result in a £389 million boost and almost 7,000 new jobs. - Off-trade alcohol: A 10% reduction would boost the economy by £2.54 billion and almost 43,000 jobs. - On-trade alcohol: A 10% reduction would lose the economy £2.68 billion and lose over 72,000 jobs. So for alcohol, while spending less on alcohol in supermarkets was a significant net positive for the economy, spending less in pubs and restaurants had a negative impact, as hospitality is a major employer within the UK. The modelling assumes that all of the money is reallocated to other industries and not saved. However, it found that even if 99% of the money that was not spent on alcohol was actually saved, and only 1% reallocated to other industries, the economic impact would breakeven (measured by Gross Value Added), highlighting just how unproductive money spent on supermarket alcohol is for the UK economy. Similarly, 96% of the tobacco money would have to be saved and not reallocated to breakeven. For confectionery and gambling it was slightly lower, with 75% and 69% having to be saved to breakeven. Realistically, far less of the reduction in money spent would be saved, and far more would be spent on other products and services, showing an unequivocal net positive for the UK economy. Joining this month’s podcast, lead author Dr Damon Morris explained why these economic benefits are almost certainly underestimates: “by reducing consumption of these things we have a healthier population – so you’d expect fewer sick days from work, fewer people out of employment altogether because they’re too ill to work, or out of work because of premature mortality.” He went on to explain that if the productivity gains from improved health were also included, it would show an even greater benefit to the UK economy. The findings have clear implications for alcohol policy. Policies that target off-trade alcohol consumption – such as minimum unit pricing or increasing the duty differential between off- and on-trade products – would not only bring economic benefits by shifting spending to more productive sectors, but would also support the on-trade hospitality sector by making pub and restaurant drinking relatively more affordable by comparison. This matters for public health too: research consistently shows that the heaviest drinkers consume proportionally more in the off-trade, meaning policies targeting cheap supermarket alcohol are most likely to reach those whose drinking poses the greatest risk to their health. 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 [https://instalcstud.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Humanising Healthcare’s Conversation Café: transforming medical education

On this month’s podcast we spoke to Dr Hugo Jobst, Dr Seonaid Anderson, and Allan Houston from Humanising Healthcare about their Conversation Café programme, which brings medical students together with people who have lived experience of addiction and recovery to change the culture of addiction medicine. Through small, round-table discussions, students hear directly from people in recovery, explore the roots of addiction, and reflect on how healthcare professionals can better support harm reduction and long-term recovery. “Historically in medical education the roots of addiction have not really been discussed in any meaningful or effective way. You know they’ll say, ‘adverse childhood experiences increase your risk of addiction’, but you haven’t actually heard from anyone who’s actually had those adverse childhood experiences. So with this, students get a true experience by hearing a story and being able to connect with someone who has gone through that.” - Dr Hugo Jobst If you’re interested in setting up a Conversation Café at your institution, contact: humanisinghealthcare@gmail.com [humanisinghealthcare@gmail.com] You can also see how the Cafés run in the following short film: 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 [https://instalcstud.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Plans to reduce drink-drive limit in England and Wales

On this month’s podcast, we spoke to Luca Straker, Campaigns Manager at the road safety charity Brake. Luca welcomed the strategy, but highlighted that there needs to be more support for victims and families of those killed or injured in road collisions. 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 [https://instalcstud.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Government licensing reform sparks concerns over public health and local accountability

In our latest podcast we spoke to Professor Niamh Fitzgerald and Dr James Nicholls of the University of Stirling about the UK government’s recent alcohol licensing Taskforce and its proposed reforms. We discussed the implications of the proposals for public health, local accountability, and the hospitality industry, and explored why economic growth arguments are being prioritised over health considerations. On the episode Dr Nicholls explained that: “This is a pretty unique example of quite fundamental changes being made to the system on the basis of an incredibly short report that was produced in six weeks by a very, very small group of people, most of which was dominated by the alcohol industry themselves.” They highlighted that the six-week Taskforce, dominated by industry representatives, proposed measures including a national licensing policy framework, an “amnesty” on licensing conditions, and enhanced powers for licensing officers. These changes could undermine democratic oversight, weaken local control, and shift the licensing system’s focus from public safety to promoting economic growth. 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 [https://instalcstud.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Alcohol harm: A hidden productivity crisis in the UK workforce

On this month’s podcast we spoke to Dr Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at the influential progressive think tank IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research. We discussed their new report Taking Stock: Counting the economic costs of alcohol harm [https://www.ippr.org/articles/taking-stock-economic-costs-alcohol], which looks at the impact of alcohol harm on people’s productivity at work. We also spoke about why the public health economic arguments can be harder to make than the industry arguments, and what employers and the government can do to reduce alcohol harm and improve productivity. On the episode Dr O’Halloran explained that: What we’re trying to show in this paper is that alcohol-related productivity losses are holding us back. It’s going to lead to lower growth, lower output, and then reduced profit, reduced taxable profits for government. It should be in everyone’s interest to target alcohol harm, not just for health, but then also for the economic benefits too. 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 [https://instalcstud.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]