If you are applying for a PhD studentship or fellowship through the SSA, watch our webinars on 'How to get shortlisted': www.youtube.com/@Societyfort... | Featuring @robcalder.bsky.social @melissaoldham.bsky.social @ptoner.bsky.social

Feelings of Guilt and Remorse After Alcohol Consumption Among People Who Drink at Increasing and Higher-Risk Levels @sharoncox.bsky.social, @melissaoldham.bsky.social, @tattanbirch.bsky.social, ... @clairevgarnett.bsky.social, @drsarahejackson.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/dar....

Another new @addictionjournal.bsky.social paper out today looking at trends in alcohol consumption in England and trying to answer the important question as to whether this has returned to pre-pandemic levels after rising during the first lockdown. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The SSA is now accepting applications for full-time PhD studentships. Funding will include a stipend (living allowance), tuition fees, and research and training costs. Find out how to apply: tinyurl.com/y3n5dvk2

Today is our annual PhD Symposium – a welcoming space for early career researchers to share work. Thanks to organisers @melissaoldham.bsky.social, @sophieorton.bsky.social, Tsen Vei Lim, and Elle Wadsworth. Read more about the Early Career Research Network: www.addiction-ssa.org/early-career...

The @addiction-ssa.org will soon begin advertising new PhD and Fellowship opportunities. The SSA’s Early Career Research Network has organised two webinars to support and provide tips for potential applicants... www.addiction-ssa.org/news/webinar...

The UK Government has announced £10 million in funding to support the next generation of leaders in addiction research. Find out more about the Addiction Healthcare Goals Research Leadership Programme: tinyurl.com/2sveeum8

We want the media and politicians to recognise that there is a large number of women who are supportive of the trans+ community 🏳️‍⚧️ We call on them to report truthfully about the sources of violence against women and to address the systems that perpetuate harm. notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

If you are a current #PhD student or have recently submitted your thesis, apply to attend the SSA's annual PhD Symposium in Newcastle upon Tyne on Wednesday 5 November tinyurl.com/355ersv2

Nice to have this out in popNAD. It summarises key ideas around declines in youth drinking that we explore in our book. Worth a read for overview of this body of work! @amypennay.bsky.social @soc-researcher.bsky.social @jholmessheff.bsky.social @capraustralia.bsky.social tinyurl.com/bdzajx8c

In this article UCL IEHC expert Dr Melissa Oldham, who tracks drinking trends in the UK, talks about why younger generations are avoiding alcohol consumption 🍺 🍷 www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...

Nice coverage of @ucl-targ.bsky.social's Alcohol Toolkit Study in this article.. www.alcoholinengland.info/graphs/month... I would (and did!) say though that any population declines we are seeing are being driven by declining consumption among younger people.. www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...

Gen Z seem to be drinking less alcohol than older generations. Why is this—and could it be a public health opportunity? @emahase.bsky.social reports www.bmj.com/content/390/...

New paper! We used focus groups and arts-based methods to explore whether people ‘other’ when making judgements about harmful drinking and the drinking contexts and features of drinking contexts perceived as being indicative of harmful drinking. bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Pleased to be featured in this interesting article by @emahase.bsky.social looking at declines in alcohol consumption among young people, discussing some of the work led by @jholmessheff.bsky.social and @sarg-scharr.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Do we know if the decline in youth drinking follows through into people's 20s? Learn all you need to know about the decline in youth drinking in our latest podcast with Prof @jholmessheff.bsky.social and Dr @amypennay.bsky.social Listen here: www.ias.org.uk/podcast/why-...

New inflation figures yesterday and I haven't posted this graph for a while, so here we go - average changes in price of food and drink categories since Jan 2021 relative to overall inflation. Wine, spirits and beer have all risen below inflation and less than most other food and drink.

Book your place at a free science communication webinar, featuring talks on writing press releases, preparing for televised news interviews, and capitalising on the influence of blogs and podcasts tinyurl.com/3bcw8juu | @tattanbirch.bsky.social @melissaoldham.bsky.social

Big news. @leverhulme.ac.uk are investing £100m in blue skies research and doctoral scholarships, as set out here in @timeshighered.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ps100-m...

The UK alcohol industry says it's “part of the solution” - but a new report says otherwise. In our latest blog, Emma Thompson explores findings from 'Spin the Bottle', revealing how industry groups mislead on health, the environment, and the economy. www.ias.org.uk/2025/07/07/b...

Discover how to share your #research across traditional and contemporary media platforms with our free lunchtime webinar tinyurl.com/3bcw8juu | Featuring @melissaoldham.bsky.social, Mark Greaves, @tattanbirch.bsky.social, and Suzi Gage

Join us 15 July, 12–1pm for a free webinar. Whether you're curious about starting a podcast, pitching your work to journalists, or responding when they come to you.. this event will offer practical insight on sharing your research with integrity, impact, and confidence. Sign up: tinyurl.com/3bcw8juu

Ever so pleased and surprised to have been promoted to Principal Research Fellow at UCL. Feeling very grateful for my incredibly supportive mentors and colleagues @ucl-targ.bsky.social and the referees who generously gave up their time to review my application.

Great story here in @nature.com from @helenpearson.bsky.social on the state of health in the US and what happens when RFK's Make America Healthy Again rhetoric meets the evidence on what actually needs to change. Ft. this shocking graph on US health exceptionalism: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🚨📄 The final synopsis from our evaluation of the effectiveness of the Drink Less app has now been published on the NIHR Journals Library website, available here: www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/phr/LNNB8060 - this draws together all seven of the published scientific papers relating to the award...

DHSC have released the latest health trends in England including life expectancy, smoking rates and alcohol harms. Alarmingly, deaths from alcoholic liver disease for people aged<75 jumped from 7.5 per 100,000 in 2001 to 12.0 per 100,000 in 2023. fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-repor...

Converting a protocol into a manuscript quickly for a conference deadline and thought it would be worth seeing if AI could check for and correct any instances of not updating the tense to past, but apparently forgot to tell it to stop acting as Cletus.

Great piece on the importance of narratives about alcohol not being determined by industry. 🤞 we might see a comprehensive plan for alcohol harm reduction in July, particularly in the context of record numbers of alcohol deaths. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Abstract submission for the SSA PhD symposium closes on 28th May, so only one week left to get your submissions in. You can do so here... www.addiction-ssa.org/events/phd-s...

Dr @sophieorton.bsky.social writes about why the SSA’s PhD Symposium is a ‘must-attend event’ for PhD students in the field of addiction, and shares the opportunity to present at this year’s symposium tinyurl.com/59vwaete | Closing date for applications: 28 May 2025

Island of Strangers - by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social m.facebook.com/story.php?st...

Join UCL's Tobacco and Alcohol research group on Tuesday 20 May to celebrate 10 years of the Alcohol Toolkit Study! The in-person event will be held at IAS's office 2-4pm and online. The event will introduce the data, how it can be used, and reflect on past, present, and future findings.

BSMS's Dept of Primary Care & Public Health @bsmspcph.bsky.social are recruiting a Senior Research Fellow! This will involve working with @profcdllewellyn.bsky.social and the Dept to support sustainable primary and community care provision. More detail/to apply 👇 jobs.sussex.ac.uk/job/d5e1eb0d...

We are holding an online/in-person event to celebrate 10 years of the Alcohol Toolkit Study! ATS is a nationally representative survey measuring alcohol consumption in GB alongside demographic information and other health behaviours. Please register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ten-years-...

Interested in smoking and vaping? I will be giving a UCL Lunch Hour Lecture covering lots of our recent research findings in this area. The lecture will take place online on 29 May, 1-2pm. It’s free and all are welcome to attend. You can register here: www.ucl.ac.uk/events/event...

New in @addictionjournal.bsky.social - may be of interest to @ucl-targ.bsky.social colleagues onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

We've got a new paper out today in @thelancetph.bsky.social, led by @melissaoldham.bsky.social, looking at the sharp increase in alcohol-specific deaths in England since the start of the pandemic and digging into which groups in the population have been worst affected 🧵

This thoughtful commentary on our recent paper calls for a comprehensive approach to reduce alcohol harm, including; better liver disease screening and treatment, stronger alcohol control policies, and broader efforts to address coexisting risk factors. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Not every health issue is in crisis🚨 But alcohol harm is. While other diseases decline, alcohol-related liver disease is skyrocketing. Just look at the @britishlivertrust.bsky.social chart.

"The sharp increase in alcohol deaths during the pandemic was no flash in the pan. The higher rate has persisted and is getting worse each year." - @melissaoldham.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Great to see coverage of our new paper over the weekend. Sincerest apologies to listeners of BBC Sheffield, Heart and Capital who had to listen to me every hour on the news bulletin and to the commenters on GB News for being 'a sanctimonious lecturing bore'. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....

Great to see this out from @ssa-addiction.bsky.social fellow @melissaoldham.bsky.social. So important to keep tracking changes from COVID and the implications for policy.

New research published this week in @thelancetph.bsky.social looks at trends in alcohol-specific deaths in England, which increased sharply during the pandemic and have continued to rise. Led by @melissaoldham.bsky.social and the team included @victimofmaths.bsky.social & @jholmessheff.bsky.social

The persistent higher rate of alcohol deaths in England since the pandemic in 2020 is an “acute crisis” requiring urgent action from government, according to a new study led by Dr @melissaoldham.bsky.social @ucliehc.bsky.social @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ap...

🚨 We are in the middle of an 'acute crisis' of alcohol harm, researchers say. A new study shows a persistent rise in alcohol-specific deaths since 2020—3,911 more deaths than expected in just 2 years. Men and our most deprived communities are the hardest hit. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Rise in alcohol deaths in England is an "acute crisis", finds new study in @thelancet.bsky.social Almost 4,000 additional deaths occurred than was expected since the pandemic. Lead author @melissaoldham.bsky.social said: “The sharp increase in alcohol deaths... www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

We have a new paper out today in Lancet Public Health looking at increases in alcohol-specific deaths in England. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Important short article explaining why the NAS report on alcohol consumption and health uses a flawed approach to understanding the risks of low levels alcohol consumption. In short, claims that low levels of drinking are associated with reduced health risks are not robust.

So far it seems no and low alcohol drinks can be a useful tool for some people trying to drink less alcohol, but this kind of marketing feels quite different to me.. secretldn.com/corona-cero-...

If you're currently working on a PhD in the field of Addiction, you should consider signing up for the SSA PhD symposium, a fun, friendly one day event before the main conference, where you can present your research and meet your peers working across Addiction research.