🏉 Scotland v England this weekend... ❤️ Passion! 🎉 Atmosphere! 🤔 Alcohol marketing? SHAAP Chair Dr Alastair MacGilchrist shares what 11-17 yr olds told us: they see alcohol advertising at almost every match, recognise the tactics, and one even said "it just feels wrong"

Jem Roberts and SHAAP's Dr Peter Rice explore what's really happening to British pubs in new @ias.org.uk analysis. The piece examines pub closure claims and separates fact from fiction in the ongoing debate 👇

How can recovery orientated services empower communities to thrive? Join @healthimprovescot.bsky.social, Harbour Ayrshire, Professor David Best & SHAAP's Dr David McCartney for insights on frameworks bridging harm reduction & recovery. 📅 3 March, 11am-1pm

ICYMI: New @StirUni research discovers the insidious impact of alcohol marketing on young people. @RickPurves explains more below More info 👉 brnw.ch/21wZG85

💡SHAAP's Chair, Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, talks about the findings of the new Stirling University research and how alcohol advertising influences young people. With a busy year of sport ahead, we must be aware of how this impacts children🧠

#AlcoholMarketing has no place in childhood. All children should play, learn and socialise in places that are healthy and safe, protected from exposure to alcohol marketing Join our #AlcoholFreeKids campaign 🔽 www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/Alcohol-Free...

New research with @stir.ac.uk: 11-17 year olds see alcohol branding almost every time they watch football or rugby. 👀They recognise alibi marketing and interpret no-low promotions as ads for full-strength alcohol. 📣We're calling for comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing in sport.

Significant findings on alcohol industry misinformation in pregnancy guidance 👇. Public health approaches must account for these misleading information sources.

📣 The deadline for abstract submissions for our 'Alcohol Occasionals' online seminar series has now been extended to Friday 13th February 2026. ➡️ For more details, please see here: bit.ly/3LSajY5

Same playbook in Scotland. Industry claimed Minimum Unit Pricing was unnecessary while cherry-picking data, yet deaths kept rising. Evidence-based policy works when we don't let industry write the rules ✍️

Critical reading ahead of the election💡. When England planned evidence-based alcohol marketing restrictions, coordinated industry lobbying blocked them in under a week. Incoming MSPs need to recognise these tactics - Scotland will face the same campaign

ICYMI: This report from Movendi reveals how the alcohol industry engages in political interference, market shaping, and narrative control by blocking evidence‑based policy and expanding digital promotion. movendi.ngo/news-stories...

Alcohol causes cancer - yet most people don’t know it. In our latest blog, Professor Simone Pettigrew sets out the evidence and explains why clear cancer warnings on alcohol are a simple, effective way to save lives. www.ias.org.uk/2026/01/27/w... @georgeinstitute.bsky.social

There is still a week left to submit an abstract for this year's Alcohol Occasionals! See further details below.

'Has England’s drinking returned to “normal”?' | @ias.org.uk www.ias.org.uk/2026/01/20/h...

SHAAP and @ias.org.uk commissioned report ‘Spin the Bottle: How the UK alcohol industry twists the facts on harm and responsibility’ can help to debunk some of the messages/ ideas in this article. Read the full report here: bit.ly/49yLOIs nen.press/tackling-har...

“It’s really interesting I think for people to learn, not only what research has already been published, but what’s coming next, what are people working on, what are the live issues and discussions around them. So I think it’s something that’s of interest to a really wide range of people.”

Maree Todd, Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, discusses alcohol availability at football matches: "Each year, we lose 1,200 people—far too many—to deaths that are directly related to alcohol. The public health advice would be to narrow access, not to increase access." bit.ly/4sEI13E

⬇️ SARN Co-chair Prof Carol Emslie (@carolemslie.bsky.social) discusses the SHAAP/ SARN Alcohol Occasionals seminar series. 💡 The call for abstracts is open for the 2026 series. For full details, please see here: bit.ly/49DaEad 📆 Deadline: Friday 30th January @shaapalcohol.bsky.social

'How should public health respond to rise of alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks?' | @jholmessheff.bsky.social @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/392/...

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee has reported on how to address substance inc alcohol use in prisons today (but the news agenda is busy so not v high profile!). Really do hope the recommendations on alcohol are acted on digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/R...

Listen to a brilliant explanation of how alcohol harms your health, by @maizie333.bsky.social on What’s Up Docs www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

"It’s not our culture to have billboards covered in glamourised alcohol products. It's not our culture to have bright pink alcohol that's 9% alcohol and appealing to young people." Dr @maizie333.bsky.social joins Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken on 'What's Up Docs?' www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

This paper highlights that increasing MUP can reduce harm and that MUP policies lose effectiveness if not increased over time - suggesting that governments who seek to introduce MUP should also consider automatic increases in the legislation. journals.plos.org/plosmedicine...

📊 New tools for change. Our latest Trouble Brewing report is here! And it offers the evidence and insights needed to advance effective alcohol policies worldwide. Ready to be part of the solution? Read Trouble Brewing and discover what works. ➡️ vitalstrat.org/48INCwM

How common is guilt after drinking? In our latest blog, Dr @sharoncox.bsky.social writes about new analysis of data from 40,000 adults, finding: • 1 in 8 report guilt or remorse • Higher consumption = higher guilt • Women & younger adults most affected www.ias.org.uk/2026/01/08/f...

📣 Abstract submission is open for our 2026 Alcohol Occasionals! 📄 We welcome proposals from all disciplines and from new and early career researchers and/or international researchers. 📆 The deadline for submissions is Friday 30th January 2026. ➡️ More information: bit.ly/4rd9Uz9

The landmark pre-watershed ban on unhealthy food and drink advertising has come into force. It bans television ads pre-9pm and all online ads, and is expected to reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000. The ban does not include alcohol ads. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The availability of alcohol further normalises its place in society & infringes the rights of those who do not wish to drink, including children. Instead of increasing availability of alcohol at matches, consideration should be given to restricting its availability. www.shaap.org.uk/calling-time/

Our alcohol and cancer guidance aims to inform health professionals on how to use opportunities in their work to intervene to reduce risks including raising awareness, offering guidance, and supporting patients to reduce drinking. View guidance: bit.ly/3XXpxgI www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

Alcohol was banned at football matches to curb disorder. Emergency services see a rise in demand and pressure after big matches. Instead of expanding availability of alcohol at matches, consideration should be given to restricting its availability at all sports events. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

SNP’s Paul McLennan (MSP, East Lothian) urges football authorities to reject alcohol sponsorship ahead of the World Cup, highlighting Scotland’s team as role models for children and young people and calling for partnerships with industries that cause less harm to society. youtu.be/56cIzmRVZjE?...

Since minimum unit pricing was introduced in Scotland in 2018, the alcohol death rate has risen massively more in England. While England's death rate is 29% higher than it was in 2018, Scotland's is essentially the same.

SHAAP, @scottishfamilies.bsky.social, & SRC hosted an event last month on cultivating culturally appropriate alcohol services for Black and Asian communities in Scotland. Keep an eye out for the event report which will include recommendations for policy and practice. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

📣 The call for abstracts is now live for our 2026 Alcohol Occasionals! 📄 We welcome proposals from all disciplines and from new and early career researchers and/or international researchers. 📆 The deadline for submissions is Friday 30th January 2026. ➡️ See more info here : bit.ly/4rd9Uz9

Scotland’s Conversation Café model is changing how future doctors understand addiction. 💬 Guided discussions with people in recovery 👂 Real stories, real impact 📚 89% of students rated it 10/10 for usefulness It’s time to scale this across all medical schools. www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1Go...

📢 New report alert 📢 Minimum Unit Pricing in the UK: Who's backing it and who's blocking it? We've analysed stakeholder positions on MUP to build a clearer picture of support and opposition, major reasons why, and whether MUP really is as polarising as portrayed. 📑 ahauk.org/resource/min...

89% of organisations support MUP in the UK, with only 8% opposed and 3% neutral or undecided, finds a new report by the AHA. Analysing hundreds of consultation responses, media reports, academic articles and more, it shows support even among many alcohol industry groups. ahauk.org/wp-content/u...

We welcome the publication of this guidance. SHAAP provided feedback to help shape the guidelines and urge the Scottish Government to use it as a basis to improve access to appropriate treatment for all who experience alcohol-related problems and seek support in Scotland www.gov.uk/guidance/cli...

Alcohol is everywhere - marketing, 24/7 availability, and social norms make recovery harder than it should be. Our new report 'Barriers to Recovery' outlines these obstacles and how we can change them. #LetsTalkAddiction www.ias.org.uk/report/barri...

Here's an alternative take: www.shaap.org.uk/news/shaap-c...

Dr Alastair MacGilchrist OBE, Chair of SHAAP, comments on the announcement of the UK Budget. You can read the full comment here: www.shaap.org.uk/news/shaap-c...

"Keeping alcohol duty in line with the Retail Prices Index is the long-established norm. It is only because successive governments have repeatedly cut or frozen duty that the industry has come to treat these tax giveaways as the default." - Prof Sir Ian Gilmore www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2025...

Ahead of today's UK Budget @aha-uk.bsky.social highlights that alcohol duty should rise with inflation each year, despite alcohol industry claims to the contrary. This is necessary to raise crucial funds to deal with the health and social harms caused by alcohol. www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2025...

💡 Exposure to alcohol marketing influences us to buy and drink more alcohol. ⚽️ We should be able to enjoy sports without the constant nudge to drink. ➡️ You can email your MSP to ask them to commit to bringing an end to alcohol sport sponsorship here: bit.ly/4pIyUgj

📣 The call for abstracts is now live for our 2026 Alcohol Occasionals! 📄 We welcome proposals from all disciplines and from new and early career researchers and/or international researchers. 📆 The deadline for submissions is Friday 30th January 2026. ➡️ See more info here : bit.ly/4rd9Uz9

We've got a new paper out in @addictionjournal.bsky.social led by @drsarahejackson.bsky.social looking at trends in cost as a motivating factor for people looking to reduce their alcohol consumption. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

What can we learn from different regional approaches to treating liver cancer? Join Jordi Bruix for a webinar exploring global strategies to to reverse the rise of liver cancer, hosted as part of London Global Cancer Week 2025. 👉 Register: hubs.li/Q03GK-q50 #oncology #hepatology #lgcw2025

⚽ More clippings of our campaign sponsoring the Scottish Masters Cup last week. 🔴 The ‘Calling Time’ campaign aims to encourage the Scottish Government to put an end to alcohol sponsorship and marketing in sport. ➡️ Learn more about our campaign here: bit.ly/3XwK3Vc