Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic - London

BMA Board of Science
“”
I dread working over weekend nights and public holiday periods. It has become
normal to deal with major trauma casualties. In our society the message has not
been completely received to “NEVER EVER DRINK AND DRIVE”.
BMA member
Education and health promotion
Education and health promotion strategies are widely used at an individual and population level.
Providing health advice and educating the general public on the dangers of alcohol misuse, however,
requires a clear understanding of the culture and environments associated with alcohol misuse.
Educational programmes
The use of public information and educational programmes is a common theme for alcohol control
policies in the UK and internationally. Such approaches are politically attractive but have been found to
4, 57, 114, 116, 187
be largely ineffective at reducing heavy drinking or alcohol-related problems in a population.
Mass media campaigns and public service messages aimed at countering the extensive promotion of
alcoholic beverages have only been found to raise awareness and not to encourage individuals to
114, 118
reduce their alcohol consumption or alter their drinking behaviour. There is some evidence,
however, that they may be effective in building or sustaining support for public health-oriented
alcohol policies. 188
In the UK, education on the use of alcohol is provided as a statutory requirement through
school-based programmes (see Appendix 4). Reviews of the efficacy of school-based alcohol
education programmes have consistently concluded that they may be effective at increasing
knowledge and modifying attitudes, but have limited effect on drinking behaviour in the long
4, 114, 115, 189-198
term. Research has further found that some educational programmes have even increased
alcohol consumption among young people. 199
Only a very small number of credible and well-designed
196, 200
educational programmes have been found to reduce young people’s drinking. There is some
evidence that comprehensive school-based programmes in the USA involving individual-level
education and family- or community-level interventions (eg reducing alcohol sales and provision of
alcohol to young people) have been effective in reducing drinking among young people, but these
reductions have been difficult to sustain. 114
The effect of alcohol educational programmes on raising awareness, increasing knowledge and
modifying attitudes provides justification for their use; however, given their ineffectiveness at
changing drinking behaviour, it is essential that the disproportionate focus on, and funding of, such
measures is redressed. Educational strategies are not effective as a key stand-alone alcohol control
policy, but can be used to supplement other policies that are effective at altering drinking behaviour,
and to promote public support for comprehensive alcohol control measures.
Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic 59