In November 2011 the Home Office Select Committee launched an enquiry into UK drug policy.  In particular the focus was on the Government’s 2010 drug policy, and how effective it has been.  It was also to examine the UK policy on reducing the supply and demand of illicit drugs worldwide.

As part of the review organisations and the general public were invited to submit written submissions voicing their opinion.  Due to the interest generated the Committee have extended the date for written submissions to 7th February 2012.

In a campaign running from December 1st to January 1st police officers in England and Wales breathalysed 157,000 drivers which lead to more than 7200 arrests.

The increase has lead to concern that drink and drug-driving campaigns are not effective enough.  In particular young drivers showed an increase with 5.7  giving positive results in comparison to 4% of over-25s.

In the UK, the alcohol limit for drivers is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, 35mg per 100ml of breath although police forces would encourage a “none for the road” attitude for drivers. Deputy Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police Suzette Davenport commented “Even just the one drink can significantly impair your judgement and for that reason I recommend drivers don’t drink alcohol and drive.”

The second of four meetings by the Scottish Health Committee is taking place today to further discuss the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill.  Members of the drinks industry both in support and opposition for the bill have been invited to Holyrood to debate minimum pricing and to determine its effectiveness in reducing the harm caused by alcohol.

The effects of alcohol are estimated to cost Scotland £3.5billion a year.

Scientists from the University of California have established a link between alcohol and laughter.  Their research found that drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward. The reason for this is that alcohol causes endorphins to be released in the nucleus accumbens, which is linked to addictive behaviour and orbitofrontal cortex regions, which deal with decision making.

Brain scans were carried on 25 people,  13 heavy drinkers and 12 social drinkers following consumption of the same amount of alcohol. Each person showed higher levels of endorphins in the nucleus accumbens however differed in how the orbitofrontal cortex reacted. In heavy drinkers there was a higher level of intoxication.

Dr Jennifer Mitchell, a neuroscientist at the University of California was in charge of the study and commented “This indicates that the brains of heavy or problem drinkers are changed in a way that makes them more likely to find alcohol pleasant, and may be a clue to how problem drinking develops in the first place.”  She further added “That greater feeling of reward might cause them to drink too much.”

By establishing the parts of the brain that release the endorphins it is hoped that scientists can develop treatments for alcohol addiction.

The Health Committee in Scotland met yesterday to discuss stage one of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill. The Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 1 November 2011. The main purpose is to introduce a minimum price below which alcohol cannot be sold.  The higher the amount of units the drink contains, the stronger it is and therefore the more expensive it will be. At present the proposal is 45p per unit.

Health and economics experts gave evidence both for and against the bill. There will be further meetings on 17, 24 and 31 January 2012 prior to a report being published at the end of February. The Bill will potentially not only affect Scottish drinkers.  The Prime Minister David Cameron has recently requested officials develop a minimum pricing scheme in England similar to that proposed in Scotland.