The Alcohol Education and Research Council website http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html On 26th July, as part of its review of ‘Arms Lengths Bodies’ the Department of Health announced that the AERC was one of a number of organisations that are to be abolished as Arms Length Bodies. The announcement only confirms that the AERC is to lose its status as an Arms Length Body; no decision has been made to abolish the organisation completely. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The AERC has identified three areas of particular current interest, but would also like to receive high quality proposals in other areas of alcohol research. All proposals will be considered on their merits. http://www.aerc.org.uk/homePriorities.html The Alcohol Education and Research Council is currently undertaking a survey to help inform our future work. It would be really helpful if you were able to spend a few minutes of your valuable time in completing it. If you do, you can choose to be entered into a draw to win a £100 book token. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html New AERC Alcohol Insight and Final Report investigates the alcohol industry's internal marketing documents from both producers and advertising agencies, revealing major shortcomings in the current self regulatory codes covering alcohol advertising. The result is a regulatory system that is impossible to police and vulnerable to exploitation. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0071.html New AERC Alcohol Insight and Final Report describes the findings from an exploratory evaluation of a new school-based alcohol misuse prevention programme – Kids, Adults Together (KAT), which engaged with parents as well as children. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0070.html Two categories: A limited number of Studentships are available on a competitive basis to students who are working in the alcohol field and who wish to acquire appropriate professional qualifications by following a Taught Course. Also up to three PHDs will be joint funded. http://www.aerc.org.uk/grantsStudents.html New AERC Alcohol Insight and Final Report follow up a World Health Organisation study in 1999. The aim of this study was to assess the current knowledge, attitudes and practices of GPs concerning brief alcohol intervention and to examine whether these had changed over the last ten years and in light of recent health policy initiatives. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0069.html The AERC will be dealing with applications for this project that will establish alcohol – related social norms of students in Welsh Universities. The project aims to explore attitudes and perceptions towards alcohol and to identify suitable interventions to address any misconceptions. The Welsh Assembly has commissioned Drinkaware to carry out a Wales specific study in Welsh universities, which could, in future, be used as a pilot for a national study. The NUSW (National Union of Students in Wales) would like to be involved and will assist where possible. A small number of universities have been proposed for the study to provide a picture of both urban and rural campuses. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html We are currently seeking 5 board members who should have an interest in alcohol research, treatment and educational services. All candidates must be an active participant in the affairs of the Council, be able to act as an ambassador for the Council, have a willingness to contribute towards strategic development and have the ability to make a constructive contribution in regard to assessing grant applications and funding priorities. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html In partnership with Comic Relief, the Alcohol Education and Research Council invite submissions of research proposals to address gender differences in drinking patterns, how these may have changed over time, why such a change has occurred and what strategies stand a chance of protecting young men and young women from the harmful consequences of alcohol misuse. http://www.aerc.org.uk/newsPages/homeNewsArticle0007.html If Drinkaware and others want to change the national drinking culture for the better, it is vital that there is an understanding of the culture (or cultures) that currently exist. http://www.aerc.org.uk/newsPages/homeNewsArticle0006.html New AERC Alcohol Insight and Final Report reveals marked patterns in the way alcohol is represented in the news, as well as the degree of scepticism young people have towards news reporting of these issues. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0067.html New AERC Alcohol Insight and Final Report examines the extent to which these alcohol or aggression scripts are known and understood by young people approaching legal drinking age, and how they are related to broader beliefs, attitudes and values concerning alcohol use and aggression. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0066.html New AERC funded research - Key findings from Professor Martin Plant, Alcohol Health and Research Unit, Faculty of Health and Sciences, University of the West of England and Alcohol Concern, the national agency on alcohol misuse. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html New Alcohol Insight and Final Report - An analysis of the raft of powers the current Labour Government has made available to local practitioners to enable greater control and enforcement over the sale and consumption of alcohol and associated problematic behaviours and harms. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0065.html Identifying Promising Approaches to be included in Community Interventions. There is increasing evidence that multi-component programmes (MCPs) can be an effective way of impacting on local drinking trends and alcohol-related harms. MCPs have consisted of different groups of projects, targeting different outcomes and there is a need to identify which projects might be most suited and most effective within an MCP. The Alcohol Education & Research Council in collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation wish to fund a study to identify the most promising projects for inclusion in such a programme. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Psychological Evidence-Based Approaches to Addiction: Provided by Robin Davidson, John B Davies and Richard Velleman. To be held in London (Russell Hotel, Russell Square, WC1B 5BE), on Monday, 23rd November 2009. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html With the Chief Medical Officer and the Scottish Government laying out plans for a revised approach to alcohol policy, and with the Home Office beginning a consultation on changing the law regarding alcohol sales, this timely seminar will look at the effectiveness of alcohol strategies and media campaigns in England and Wales in combating alcohol misuse, and whether it is time to reconsider minimum pricing and constraints on alcohol availability. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Alcohol and the adolescent: addressing the binge society. We are being bombarded by reports in the media about young people having trouble as a result of binge drinking. We know that there is evidence of a real problem, not just a media campaign. So how should we understand this problem? How should we respond to it? This meeting aims to examine the current evidence regarding alcohol and the adolescent, and to consider our responses to the problem. Organised by the Royal Society of Medicine in association with Sections of General Practice with Primary Health Care, Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Child Health and Emergency Medicine. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Lists detailing all current AERC grant holders have been added to the 'Current Grant Holders' section of the AERC website. http://www.aerc.org.uk/grantsCrntResearch.html Dave Roberts joins the AERC after ten years as Chief Executive of the Community Foundation for Merseyside, one of the most significant in a UK network of community foundations that is the largest independent funder of the voluntary sector in the UK. In that capacity, he has been responsible for developing partnerships and drawing in funds from a range of public, private and charitable sources and developing award-winning grant making processes. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html A new project to tackle alcohol misuse among young people has been welcomed by a women's charity. YWCA has called the the Alcohol Arrest Referral programme a step in the right direction. The Home Office scheme will be tested in six local authorities around the country and will target people arrested under the influence of drink or drugs, who will be referred directly to a youth worker. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html WARC are aiming to appoint five lay expert members and a Chair to constitute the WARC Lay Expert Panel, and contribute to the research process giving advice from the perspective of people who have (personal or professional) experience of alcohol use disorders. Download a PDF detailing WARCs aims and details of the specifications for Members and Chairperson from the AERC site. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Alcohol Education and Research Council, Eliot House (EH 1.4), 10 – 12 Allington Street, LONDON SW1E 5EH. Tel: 020 7808 7150 Fax: 020 7808 7151 http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The website findings.org.uk has the following document - effects of beverage alcohol price and tax levels on drinking: a meta-analysis of 1003 estimates from 112 studies. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The BBC website reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has given a lukewarm response to proposals for minimum prices for alcohol. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The BBC website reports that the government's top medical adviser has drawn up plans for a minimum price for alcohol which would double the cost of some drinks in England. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Drinks Business reports - Plans to set minimum price laws for the sale of alcoholic drinks in Scotland have been labelled illegal and ineffective by industry leaders. The Scottish government wants to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol in order to combat below-cost selling and alcohol misuse in the country, but key players in the sector have slammed the strategy. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html New Alcohol Insight and Final Report entitled “You don’t even wash your face, let alone anything else”. Exploring Understandings of the Relationship between Alcohol Misuse, Sexual Health Risk and General Health Outcomes among Scottish Women Offenders. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0064.html New Alcohol Insight and Final reports detailing a feasibility study of screening and brief interventions for hazardous drinkers have been added to the AERC Alcohol Library. http://www.aerc.org.uk/insightPages/libraryIns0063.html Phil Hadfield, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Criminal Justice Studies was funded by the AERC to investigate alcohol policy. His new book Nightlife and Crime: Social Order and Governance in International Perspective is a collection of scholarly reports on crime and disorder in the Night Time Economies of 17 countries. We've also added a link to a PDF which explains how to get a discount when buying the book. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Weve added links to the new Scottish National Statistics Report and the Scottish Government's press release about it's findings. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The BMA website reports that alcohol consumption represents an integral part of modern culture in the UK and internationally. The production of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits occurs on a vast scale as part of a multi-billion pound global industry. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behaviour in young people: systematic review of prospective cohort studies. http://www.aerc.org.uk/newsPages/homeNewsArticle0003.html A new web page detailing information about how the AERC works, some of its many successful funding projects and ongoing areas of interest. http://www.aerc.org.uk/about.html Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written evidence to the Parliamentary Health Committee into Alcohol. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Drinks Business website reports that an inquiry has been set up to examine how recent duty hikes have affected the UK wine market. The All Party Parliamentary Group will also consider the potential impact of further alcohol tax increases, which are due to escalate by 2% above inflation for the next four years. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Two hundred people attended a conference on Addiction and the Family in Bristol on November 21st, 2008. This meeting was one of series that Moira Plant and Martin Plant and their colleagues have arranged over the past 30 years. This event, like many of the previous meetings, was supported by the Alcohol Education and Research Council (AERC). http://www.aerc.org.uk/newsPages/homeNewsArticle0002.html Over the last few years, the way that young people drink has been changing and we are beginning to learn more about the risks associated with children, young people and alcohol – that it impairs their well-being, puts them at a number of immediate risks, and can impact on their health and future prospects. http://www.aerc.org.uk/newsPages/homeNewsArticle0001.html A new section of the website has been launched to feature stories about topics of interest to the Council. http://www.aerc.org.uk/homeSpecialNews.html The Times reports that a UK winemaker has fallen founl of EU rules whilst bringing a low-alcohol wine to market. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.htm New final report detailing a study about the deleterious effects of alcohol on retrospective remembering – remembering to do something in the future. Forty healthy volunteers were administered 0.6g/kg ethanol or a matched placebo in a double-blind fashion and completed the two versions of Virtual Week along with prose recall (to tap retrospective memory) and an executive function task. http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryReports.html A PhD studentship will be based within the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR). Applicants may propose work on any topic relevant to health inequalities. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html A summary and further useful information about this important new consultation document from the Department for Children Schools and Families. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html New link added to this organisation who's aim is to gain some perspective on the nature and scope of intoxicants and intoxication as enduring and ubiquitous social and cultural phenomena, by bringing together scholars whose interests and expertise range across disciplines, geographies and time periods. http://www.aerc.org.uk/linksUK.html A University of Sheffield report, commissioned by the Department of Health to help Government Ministers decide future alcohol policy, shows that policies which lead to price increases reduce alcohol consumption and can have significant effects on reducing alcohol-related harm. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Alcohol Learning Centre aims to provide online support and resources to commissioners, service managers and practitioners with a responsibility for, or an interest, in the prevention and treatment of alcohol misuse or alcohol-related ill health. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Read the AERC's response to the Government's consultation. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The scheme, which would bring alcohol sales into line with those of cigarettes, is part of the Government's campaign to tackle binge-drinking. It would see alcohol-only checkouts added which would be operated by specially-trained staff. It is hoped it would put shoppers off from buying excessive amounts of alcohol under the scrutiny of fellow customers and help catch those buying underage. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Plans to ban bargain booze have been shelved – because of the credit crunch. Ministers wanted to impose minimum alcohol prices to end below-cost deals on beer, wine and spirits in supermarkets and stores. It was feared the deals were fuelling the binge-drinking culture and the hope was that a price limit – expected to be about 35p per unit of alcohol – would also make it too expensivefor youngsters. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Pubs in Britain could soon offer two-thirds of a pint following proposals put forward by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory. The new system would follow the European system of drink sizes, and is being touted as female-friendly and an addition to consumer choice http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html An article in the Daily Telegraph states - "When compared to women who don't drink alcohol, it is estimated that: those who drink three units a day increase their risk by a fifth, two large glasses increases the risk by a third and nine units a day raise the risk by half". http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html As part of a wider demand for the reform of medical services provided to people in custody, a report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland says: "We feel there is a strong ethical and practical case for regarding drunk and incapable people as something other than merely a criminal justice problem". http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html 2 OCTOBER 2008 | GENEVA -- Each year, more than two million people die from alcohol-related causes. WHO was asked by its Member States in May at the World Health Assembly to develop a global strategy to combat the harmful use of alcohol. All parties with an interest in reducing the harmful use of alcohol are now invited to share their views in a public hearing being organized by WHO. The one-month web-based hearing will run between 3 and 31 October. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html This recently published supplement covers a wide range of alcohol issues. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The French wine industry has written an open letter to the French Government to demand it do more to protect the industry from moves by the anti-alcohol lobby to tighten legislation. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html New South Wales Office of Liquor and Gaming has drawn up a list which was then distributed to club and pub managers. Staff are supposed to use them in determining when to refuse alcohol to patrons. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Stanford University Research: Key enzyme for regulating heart attack damage found in biochemical response to alcohol. The culprit molecules are oxygen byproducts called free radicals. These highly unstable molecules start chain reactions of cellular damage—an escalating storm that ravages healthy tissue. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Brief summary of the newly completed Final Report "Researching the effects of Digital Storytelling as a brief alcohol intervention for young people delivered in non-medical settings". http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryInsights.html Researching the effects of Digital Storytelling as a brief alcohol intervention for young people delivered in non-medical settings. http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryReports.html Amid social unease about Britain's harmful relationship with alcohol, the government is under pressure to adopt price controls and stricter regulation. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html U.S. Voices for Recovery: The following PowerPoint presentation can help to promote the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in your local community http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html British Medical Journal: Lowering the price of alcohol is associated with an increase in alcohol related mortality, a study of the effects of substantial price cuts in Finland indicates. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html BBC News reports that a generation of young binge drinkers are increasing their risk of developing dementia in middle age, experts have warned. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Nurses help prevent future hazardous consumption while caring for injured drinkers - A PDF Report from Drug and Alcohol Findings http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Due to the success of the AERC web news section, the archive has now got it's own page. http://www.aerc.org.uk/webNewsArchive.html An exploratory study of problem drinkers in Finland has tested a practical method of identifying in advance those therapists most likely to retain clients. A PDF Report from Drug and Alcohol Findings. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html MEN accused of assaulting their partners face being banned from drinking alcohol, under a radical plan to tackle the rising tide of domestic abuse. In an attempt to sever the link between drinking and violence in the home, police and prosecutors are set to seek alcohol consumption bail orders, which would mean accused individuals having to turn up at police stations for regular alcohol tests. Reported in The Scotsman. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Manifesto Club is launching a campaign Against the Booze Bans and the Hyperregulation of Public Space. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Drug and Alcohol Findings update: We already have strategies that can promote responsible service of alcohol. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Two-thirds of Scots believe ministers are acting unfairly by pushing up the price of alcohol for everyone. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The AERC Annual Report for the years 2007/2008 is now available as a PDF. http://www.aerc.org.uk/aboutReports.html Latest AERC Studentship grant holders have been added to the site. http://www.aerc.org.uk/grantsCrntStud.html Findings Effectiveness Bank Bulletin: Universal screening for alcohol problems in primary care fails in Denmark and is no longer on UK agenda. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Pubs are in trouble for cheap drinks. But ever more is being sunk at home. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Alcohol Concern has just published a new report into the limitations of the alcohol regulatory regime. In the report Alcohol Concern says that the long standing agreement between the government and the alcohol trade associations is failing to safeguard the public. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html This study is a PDF document which provides a comprehensive analysis of the cost- effectiveness of interventions to reduce the burden of harm associated with alcohol misuse in Australia. The key findings suggest that all the prevention interventions modelled are more cost-effective in reducing alcohol-related harm than those that treat alcohol dependence. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html A wild mammal closely resembling the earliest primates is drinking palm beer on a daily basis since maybe millions of years. Nevertheless, this Malaysian treeshrew is never drunk. This suggests a beneficial effect, and sheds a whole new light on the evolution of human alcoholism. In the renowned scientific journal PNAS an international team led by German biologists Frank Wiens and Annette Zitzmann from the University of Bayreuth explains the details of the first recorded chronic alcohol intake in the wild. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html In the 2003 Licensing Act, the Government severed the link between pubs and the criminal justice system by transferring licensing powers from magistrates to councils, and now wonders why public houses do not keep better order. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html In Safe. Sensible. Social: next steps in the national alcohol strategy, the Department of Health committed to commission an independent review of the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm. This Phase 1 report is a comprehensive summary of international evidence. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Alcohol is openly for sale once more in Baghdad. All over the Iraqi capital, drink stores, which closed their doors in early 2006 when sectarian strife was raging, have slowly begun to reopen. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Beer and wine bottles should carry graphic images of diseased livers similar to campaigns featured on cigarette boxes in an effort to curb the country's alcohol abuse, the British Medical Association (BMA) will propose this week. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The first meeting of the Science Group of the European Alcohol and Health Forum was held in Brussels on June 30th. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html More than 100 people in the east end of Glasgow are to be given one-to-one help to beat alcohol addiction. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey has challenged the Drinks Industry to work with his Department and other agencies to tackle the growing problem of young people’s drinking. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Motorists in Britain are among the worst offenders in Europe for drink-driving, a new study suggests. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Cancer Research UK have created an online Alcohol Tracker widget for iGoogle users. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html The Government’s attempt to reduce alcohol-related disorder by introducing 24-hour drinking has failed dismally, according to a survey. http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html We've integrated five major alcohol article search tools into one. http://www.aerc.org.uk/librarySearch.html We've had a major site re-design, why not take a look? http://www.aerc.org.uk/index.html Not In Front Of The Children – Child Protection And Advertising. http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryInsights.html Awareness of unit content of self poured drinks by UK adults: a useful intervention tool? http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryInsights.html Not In Front Of The Children – Child Protection And Advertising. An investigation by Alcohol Concern. http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryReports.html Practical Demonstration of Personal Daily Consumption Limits: A Useful Intervention Tool to Promote Responsible Drinking Among UK Adults? http://www.aerc.org.uk/libraryReports.html This years priorities for applications http://www.southerns.net/clients/aerc/index.html