The UK government’s recent open consultation on advancing health via prevention states that it will enforce stricter guidelines on alcohol labeling. In addition, policymakers will work with the industry to deliver a significant increase in the availability of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products by 2025. The news comes in light of a Public Health England (PHE) review which found that over ten million people are drinking at levels above the official government guidelines. Moreover, the heaviest drinkers make up 4 percent of the overall population, yet account for 30 percent of all units of alcohol consumed. The new guidelines seek to encourage people to consume less alcoholic beverages and opt for healthier drinking options.

“Making alcohol-free and low-alcohol products more available would help to nudge the general drinking population towards lower strength alternatives. This is already the direction of travel, but we want to go further and faster,” says a government statement. 

The government review also states that in England, drinking to a level that increases the risk of harm is twice as common among men (28 percent) than women (14 percent). The impact of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence for a given level of consumption is also much greater for those in the lowest income bracket.

The wine and spirits industry in the UK reaches up to £50 billion (US$60bn) annually in economic activity, according to the UK Wine and Spirits Trade Association. 

“In order to support further innovation in the sector and encourage people to move towards alcohol-free products, we will review the evidence to consider increasing the alcohol-free descriptor threshold from 0.05 percent alcohol by volume (abv) up to 0.5 percent abv in line with some other countries in Europe,” the government says. 

The government has been working to reduce the harm from problem drinking by:

Ensuring people are aware of the health risks through the One You campaign;
Including an alcohol risk assessment in the NHS Health Check;
A £6 million (US$7.2 million) investment to support children with alcohol-dependent parents.

As part of the preventative measures that government plans to take, over the next five years, alcohol care teams will be fully established in specific hospitals with the highest rates of alcohol dependence-related admissions. 

Most people who drink alcohol do so responsibly, the government report says. “Looking at the data, we also know that overall consumption in England is falling, particularly among younger people. Despite this good news, the harm caused by problem drinking is rising.”

Commenting on the government consultation on preventative health, John Timothy, Chief Executive of the Portman Group – a trade group composed of alcoholic beverage producers and brewers in the UK – said that the company welcomes and supports the focus on targeted measures for the 4 percent of adults who drink at the most harmful levels, while also recognizing that the vast majority of people who choose to drink, do so responsibly.

“We are pleased that the government has recognized the potential of low- and no-alcohol products in helping people drink responsibly and welcome the commitment to look again at increasing the alcohol-free descriptor threshold from 0.05 percent abv up to 0.5 percent abv. We look forward to working with the government to support the growth of low- and no-products in the UK,” Timothy adds. 

Affected by proxy?
According to a PHE estimate, 200,000 children in England are growing up living with a parent who is dependent on alcohol. These children are at greater risk of harm, including neglect and maltreatment.

The government previously launched the One You campaign in April 2018, a three-year program to improve outcomes for these very vulnerable children. This includes PHE working with nine areas to explore ways to reduce harm. This involves testing innovative methods of finding and supporting children of parents dependent on alcohol. Funding of £4.5 million (US$5.4 million) – provided by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Work and Pensions – is allowing these areas to test new ideas and improve services to better meet the needs of children and parents wher there is an alcohol problem in the family. 

The services include:
Making sure schools and other services are aware of alcohol dependency and the problems it can cause;
Closer working between alcohol treatment and children’s services;
Working with families to reduce conflict between parents and to help families deal with challenges more easily, and providing support for children and young people.
An independent evaluation is set to be released, to identify what government can learn from the program, which will be published in 2021 to 2022.