Balance response to NHS Long Term Plan – missed opportunities to reduce alcohol harm
Balance has joined health campaigners and medics nationally in their disappointment at the lack of evidence-based policy measures to reduce alcohol harm within the NHS 10 year plan published today. Like tobacco, alcohol is a class one carcinogen, causing at least 7 types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancer, and needs to be taken more seriously.
With alcohol deaths at a record high, liver disease rising and nearly 1m hospital admissions a year from alcohol, Balance says addressing alcohol harms would have benefitted less affluent regions, including the North East, the most. Alcohol harm is also costing the North East economy at least £1.5B year.
Alcohol-specific deaths figures published in Dec by ONS show there were 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes in the UK in 2023, the highest number on record with the worst rate in the North East. Alcohol deaths nationally have risen by 42% compared to 2019, before the pandemic. Deaths are also rising faster among women.
The policies in the NHS 10 Year Plan on alcohol are:
- Introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages
- Expanding no low alcohol options
- Support innovative community level innovations
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “The NHS 10-Year Plan was a huge opportunity to save lives, protect communities and ease pressure on our overstretched health services. Action is needed and wanted – 8/10 people here in the North East think alcohol is a big problem regionally and nationally. If you are vulnerable and struggling with alcohol you are surrounded by adverts and offers to buy and drink more.
“All indications had been that the Government was taking alcohol harm seriously, and it is a huge disappointment that appeasing the alcohol industry has apparently been judged as more important than preventing alcohol harm and reducing the burden on society. Achieving the vision of a Smokefree UK also requires action on alcohol, since the two often go hand in hand, and it is time that alcohol was taken more seriously.
“Policies such as Minimum Unit Pricing, ensuring that health concerns are considered in the licensing process and protecting children from aggressive alcohol advertising must be urgently considered. “Community-level innovations” need to be backed up by effective national regulation. The Government has promised us a shift towards prevention, but the changes outlined in the NHS 10-Year Plan simply don’t go far enough.
“We will welcome robust mandatory health labelling, and if done following the international evidence base, this will help to increase the awareness of the health harms from alcohol. But the industry alcohol must not be allowed to dictate the terms of this.
“The evidence is still not clear around the role of no/low alcohol and there are risks this further allows the alcohol industry to set the agenda. We are in the midst of an alcohol crisis when it comes to illness, deaths, crime and disorder and we can no longer just bury our heads in the sand. It is time for a comprehensive national alcohol strategy.
“We will support any Government to address alcohol harms and the North East has a wealth of experience to share”.
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Newcastle, added: “While we have seen positive action on smoking over many years, there also needs to be a recognition of how alcohol use is costing communities dearly – especially here in the North East where poorest communities are hit the hardest.
“Successive governments have ignored the robust evidence on alcohol and given alcohol companies free rein to keep people drinking and buying more. This lack of action has fuelled the emergency we now face. Questions must be asked as to how much influence health-harming industries now have here in the UK.
“Health is one of the top priorities of most people. Without serious policies that address alcohol’s price, availability and marketing, alcohol harms will continue to spiral and the NHS, emergency services, local authorities and communities will pay the price, with tens of thousands more avoidable deaths.
We also know that addressing the harms of alcohol will have a positive impact on the wider economy, and the fact that currently alcohol is costing the North East £1.5 billion each year. Action on alcohol will reduce pressure on the NHS and we know the public would support this.”
Karen Slater is a Newcastle mum of four. She was a victim of child abuse and domestic violence and sought solace in alcohol, drugs, and self-harm. Karen blames alcohol advertising for a relapse, which put her health at risk. At her worst point, she was told either she stopped drinking or she would die.
“It feels like the government has missed an opportunity to act on alcohol harm and instead we’re being dictated to by billion-pound alcohol brands. The NHS 10 Year Plan should prioritise public health and change the narrative around alcohol. I’m saddened that the Government appears to be sending a message that the alcohol industry profits are more important than people’s health.
“For someone living with alcohol addiction, seeing an alcohol advert after a bad day or a bad moment, can trigger a relapse. I’ve been in a situation when I saw an ad for pink gin and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Within minutes I was at the shop – and there was my relapse.
“Thousands of people are trying desperately hard every day not to drink. Being in recovery takes huge effort and time, and our homes should be our sanctuary. It’s not right that we are bombarded by adverts for alcohol, coming into our homes. Alcohol causes huge problems in society, but the impression advertising gives is that alcohol brings success and glamour – it never shows the darker side.
“My experience is that alcohol is a toxin that changes how I think and act. It has caused me and others immense harm. We should never minimise the harms alcohol can and does cause, so we need a major re-think on our approach to alcohol policy in this country.”