Measures to tackle drunkenness and alcohol-related violence in nightlife should expand beyond those targeted solely at nightlife environments. Continued disparities in pricing and policing of alcohol between on- and off-licensed premises may increase at-home drinking prior to nights out and alcohol-related problems in residential areas.

Background: While alcohol-related health and social problems amongst youths are increasing internationally, both consumption and associated harms are particularly high in British youth. Youth drinking patterns, including bingeing, frequent drinking and drinking in public spaces, are associated with increased risks of acute (e.g. violence) and long-term (e.g. alcohol-dependence) health problems. Here we examine economic, behavioural and demographic factors that predict these risky drinking behaviours among 15-16 year old schoolchildren who consume alcohol. A crosssectional survey was conducted among schoolchildren in North West England (n = 10,271) using an anonymous questionnaire delivered in school settings. Analysis utilised logistic regression to identify independent predictors of risky drinking behaviour.

Background: There is a lack of empirical analyses examining how alcohol consumption patterns in children relate to harms. Such intelligence is required to inform parents, children and policy relating to the provision and use of alcohol during childhood. Here, we examine drinking habits and associated harms in 15-16 year olds and explore how this can inform public health advice on child drinking.

BackgroundInternationally, 0.97 per 1,000 live births are affected by foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). However, prevalence intelligence has been limited in the UK, hindering the development of appropriate services. This analysis compares hospital admissions over time, between regions and with alcohol-related admissions for adult females to assess whether established patterns (such as the North experiencing elevated harms) can be identified.MethodsA retrospective analysis of hospital admissions data (April 2002 to March 2008) for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)-related conditions: foetal alcohol syndrome (dysmorphic) (n = 457); foetus and newborn affected by maternal use of alcohol (n = 157); maternal care for (suspected) damage to foetus from alcohol (n = 285); and 322,161 women admitted due to alcohol-related conditions.ResultsWhilst the rate of admission for alcohol-related conditions in women aged 15-44 years increased significantly by 41% between 2002/03 and 2007/08 (p < 0.0001), no such increases were seen in the numbers of FASD-related conditions (all p < 0.05). Established regional rates of admission for alcohol-related conditions in women aged 15-44 years old were not associated with admission for FASD-related conditions.ConclusionsIt would be expected that the North West and North East regions, known to have higher levels of alcohol harm would have higher levels of FASD-related conditions. However, this was not reflected in the incidence of such conditions, suggesting under-reporting. With incomplete datasets, intelligence systems are severely limited, hampering efforts to develop targeted interventions. Improvements to intelligence systems, practitioner awareness and screening are essential in tackling this.

BackgroundAccurate measures of alcohol consumption are critical in assessing health harms caused by alcohol. In many countries, there are large discrepancies between survey-based measures of consumption and those based on alcohol sales. In England, surveys measuring typical alcohol consumption account for only around 60% of alcohol sold. Here, using a national survey, we measure both typical drinking and atypical/special occasion drinking (i.e., feasting and fasting) in order to develop more complete measures of alcohol consumption.MethodsA national random probability telephone survey was implemented (May 2013 to April 2014). Inclusion criteria were resident in England and aged 16 years or over. Respondents (n = 6,085) provided information on typical drinking (amounts per day, drinking frequency) and changes in consumption associated with routine atypical days (e.g., Friday nights) and special dinking periods (e.g., holidays) and events (e.g., weddings). Generalized linear modelling was used to identify additional alcohol consumption associated with atypical/special occasion drinking by age, sex, and typical drinking level.ResultsAccounting for atypical/special occasion drinking added more than 120 million UK units of alcohol/week (~12 million bottles of wine) to population alcohol consumption in England. The greatest impact was seen among 25- to 34-year-olds with the highest typical consumption, where atypical/special occasions added approximately 18 units/week (144 g) for both sexes. Those reporting the lowest typical consumption (≤1 unit/week) showed large relative increases in consumption (209.3%) with most drinking associated with special occasions. In some demographics, adjusting for special occasions resulted in overall reductions in annual consumption (e.g., females, 65 to 74 years in the highest typical drinking category).ConclusionsTypical drinking alone can be a poor proxy for actual alcohol consumption. Accounting for atypical/special occasion drinking fills 41.6% of the gap between surveyed consumption and national sales in England. These additional units are inevitably linked to increases in lifetime risk of alcohol-related disease and injury, particularly as special occasions often constitute heavy drinking episodes. Better population measures of celebratory, festival, and holiday drinking are required in national surveys in order to adequately measure both alcohol consumption and the health harms associated with special occasion drinking.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0337-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.