The Government has announced new measures to address alcohol related crime.  The pilot scheme communicated by Justice Minister Nick Herbert last week will target irresponsible drinkers by monitoring their sobriety using alcohol tags or by ordering daily breathalyser tests at a police station.

The “sobriety bracelets” can store blood alcohol levels every 30 minutes by measuring the level of ethanol secreted through sweat and air from the skin. They can also provide the police with the option to use GPS technology to track the whereabouts of the offender. The cities targeted to pilot the scheme will be announced by the Government in the coming weeks.

New figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that people over 45 are more likely drink alcohol more than 5 days a week than their younger counterparts.  Research showed that 16 per cent of people aged 45 to 64 consumed alcohol almost every day. In comparison only 3% of young people drank alcohol on a daily basis.  Young people however are still more likely to binge drink.

Commenting on the report, Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern said “Whilst drinking is decreasing amongst younger age groups, the middle-aged middle classes are taking unnoticed risks with their health, increasing their likelihood of suffering illnesses such as liver disease, stroke and cancer.”

At present the government daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men and 2-3 units of alcohol for women.  Binge drinking for men is classed as men consuming more than 8 units of alcohol and for  women it is 6 units.

The new government strategy aimed at tackling alcohol consumption in the UK will be released later this year.

New research from Newcastle University claims a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price will have limited impact as they believe little alcohol is sold at such low prices.

The study headed up by Dr Jean Adams focused on price promotions on in 29 stores in the North East city.  The researchers found that of the 2000 promotions offered only 2% were being sold at below-cost price.  In Dr Adams opinion ““Setting the minimum alcohol price at below cost price will not deter binge drinkers, as very little alcohol on sale will actually have to increase in price.”

The findings are sure to make interesting reading to the government after PM David Cameron visited the city last week and described excessive alcohol consumption “one of the scandals of our society.”

It must be taken into consideration that the study was only based on Newcastle and the result may have changed in other areas of the UK where supermarkets often sell alcohol  at a low price to stimulate other profitable sales.

The government has pledged to address excessive alcohol consumption which Prime Minister David Cameron has referred to as “one of the scandals of our society.”  With the new alcohol strategy for England and Wales being published later this year the PM has called for radical solutions such as “drunk tanks” which are widely used in Europe and the US.

One of  big changes in recent years is the rise of drinking at home. In 1970, 90% of all pints were poured in a pub. Nowadays that figure stands at 50%. The rest are still being purchased however are being  bought more cheaply in supermarkets and off-licences therefore there is nobody to tell the drinker when they have consumed enough, traditionally the role of the pub landlord. So how does the government get more people back into the pub where the drinks are measured?  One possible solution offered by the drinks industry is to reduce VAT on food and alcohol in pubs to 5%.  Supermarkets do not add VAT to food sold whereas pubs charge 20%. This policy has been successful in both Ireland and France.

At present the government daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men and 2-3 units of alcohol for women.  Binge drinking for men is classed as men consuming more than 8 units of alcohol and for  women it is 6 units.

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.