Invitation to tender open for research into Dry January participation barriers.


** Welcome to our August newsletter
------------------------------------------------------------
As August comes to an end, we’re getting closer to the start of Alcohol Awareness Week – find out more about the campaign and how to get involved below. We can’t wait to share with you what we’ve been working on to make this year’s campaign even better than last year’s.

We recently published the results of research we commissioned last year into the relationship between alcohol and self-harm, carried out by Amy Chandler from the University of Edinburgh and Annie Taylor at Edinburgh Napier University. Read on to download the full research report and to read our blog summarising the key findings.

Also in this newsletter, several exciting research funding opportunities, a chance to work with us as our new Director of Marketing and Communications, a piece showing the real-world impact of research we funded, the latest alcohol news, blogs and more.


** Get ready for Alcohol Awareness Week!
------------------------------------------------------------

This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week is taking place from 15-21 November, on the theme of ‘Alcohol and relationships’. We chose this theme because alcohol and relationships are closely linked. Lots of us associate alcohol with socialising, but when our own or a loved one’s drinking starts to negatively impact our relationships, it can have a detrimental effect on our life.

On top of this, research shows that many of us have found ourselves drinking more to deal with feelings of loneliness and isolation during the pandemic. As we leave lockdown and return to normal life there will be new pressures too – pressures to drink, 'sober shaming', and pressures we put on ourselves to get back to ‘normal’ socialising.

So, this Alcohol Awareness Week, we’ll be sharing stories, factsheets, tips and more to help us better understand the ways in which alcohol can affect us and our relationships with those around us, and the benefits of cutting down.

Want to get involved?
* Sign up to the mailing list ([link removed])
* Organise an event in your community or workplace ([link removed])
* Share a story ([link removed]) - if you have a perspective on the issues around alcohol and relationships, we would love to hear from you.
* Spread the word on social media ([link removed])


** New research highlights the links between alcohol use and self-harm
------------------------------------------------------------
This month we’re pleased to publish the results of new research we commissioned from Amy Chandler from the University of Edinburgh and Annie Taylor at Edinburgh Napier University, into the interface between drinking and self-harm.

Their report is based on interviews with eleven adults who have experience of both self-harm and alcohol use, and provides an in-depth picture of this complex topic. We hope that their research will spark conversations between alcohol services and self-harm services about how to improve the support for people facing these two challenges in life.

Read our blog ([link removed]) about the research, including some of the key findings, on our website.

Download the full research report ([link removed])


** Invitation to tender: Exploring the barriers to engaging with our behaviour change campaigns
------------------------------------------------------------
We are delighted to announce that we have a new invitation to tender open for a research project that will help us to better understand the barriers people face to taking up our Dry January offer and, more broadly, when trying to make positive changes to their drinking, and how such barriers might be overcome. The deadline is 11 October 2021.

Find out more ([link removed])


** Two alcohol-related funding calls from the National Institute for Health Research
------------------------------------------------------------
1. There is up to £1m available for a research project to monitor and evaluate the impact of Government policy to deliver a significant increase in the availability of alcohol-free and low alcohol products by 2025. The policy covers England only. The research will examine impacts on alcohol consumption, including trends in availability and consumption, behavioural effects, unintended effects and impact on health inequalities. Closing 14 September. Find out more. ([link removed])

2. There is a call for applications to generate robust national and international learning to strengthen the evidence base on the effectiveness and impact of Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs). Closing 24 September. Find out more. ([link removed])


** We’re recruiting!
------------------------------------------------------------

Are you passionate about ending the harm caused by alcohol? Are you looking for a strategic, creative job in marketing and communications? We’re recruiting a Director of Marketing and Communications!

In this role you’ll do so much more than tell the world about our work. This role is our work. Working within and leading a small, dynamic team, you’ll be leading on three of our eight work programmes – including our Dry January campaign. Deadline: 9am Friday 10 September 2021
Find out more and apply ([link removed])


** Rebuild and recover: Alcohol Change UK’s 2021 online conference
------------------------------------------------------------

Next month, 22-23 September, sees the return of our annual alcohol conference. The online event will provide an opportunity to reflect on the reasons people drink, and the many routes to harm reduction and recovery for a diverse population.

Across the two days of Rebuild and Recover, we’ll be seeking to learn the lessons of the lockdown and understand how best to respond to the challenges of the post-pandemic world.

Find out more and book your place ([link removed])


** Training and consultancy offer
------------------------------------------------------------
Alcohol Change UK's consultancy team provides impactful, affordable training programmes, courses, and webinars for practitioners and services providing support and treatment to those with alcohol problems, and those who commission them.

One of our newest training courses is a half-day session based on a soon-to-be-published guide we have developed around safeguarding vulnerable dependent drinkers. It aims to enable professionals in England and Wales to use legal frameworks to protect this group of people. Find out more. ([link removed])

We are also offering workplaces the chance to book an hour-long webinar for Alcohol Awareness Week on the theme of 'Alcohol and relationships'. Find out more. ([link removed])


Find out more about our other courses ([link removed])


** The real-world impact of research
------------------------------------------------------------

Over the years, Alcohol Change UK has funded several research projects at the University of Bedfordshire’s Substance Misuse and Ageing Research Team (SMART). In this blog, Moe Dutton, a researcher in the team, showcases some of that research and how it has changed the experiences of older people with alcohol problems.

Read the blog ([link removed])


** Alcohol news
------------------------------------------------------------


** Alcohol deaths “at highest levels for a decade”

------------------------------------------------------------
Deaths in Scotland caused by alcohol rose by 17% last year to the highest level for more than a decade, new figures from the National Records of Scotland show. During the last year there were 1,190 alcohol-specific deaths registered, 170 more than the previous year and the highest since 2008. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said the increase in deaths followed a similar pattern to elsewhere in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Read the report ([link removed])


** Guernsey considers minimum unit pricing
------------------------------------------------------------
A new five-year strategy on alcohol and other drug use in Guernsey and Alderney has been announced, aiming to combat the existing culture which "normalises regular alcohol consumption". A key priority is to consider the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP). MUP was implemented in Scotland at 50 pence per unit in May 2018 and then in Wales in March 2020. Preliminary studies into MUP impact in Scotland have shown a decrease in the volume of pure alcohol sold in the off-trade by 3.6% in the first 12 months since its implementation.


Read the strategy ([link removed])


** Alcohol delivery regulations criticised
------------------------------------------------------------

Australian alcohol harm groups are calling for alcohol deliveries to have stronger regulations, including better age-verification checks at the point of sale and restricting delivery to between 10am-10pm. Online sales of alcohol have surged during the pandemic, and there are concerns that minors may be easily bypassing online age checks and being handed over alcohol on the doorstep. Andrew Bruun, the chief executive of Youth Support + Advocacy Service, Australia’s largest provider of alcohol and other drug services for young people, said the current model was "putting young people at risk".

Read more ([link removed])


** Latest blogs
------------------------------------------------------------


** My alcohol-free hen do
------------------------------------------------------------

Despite feeling slightly anxious about how friends and family might react, Jenni decided to have an alcohol-free hen do – and it was a great success! Here, she shares her experience, plus some tips.

Read the blog ([link removed])


** Kafe Kweer
------------------------------------------------------------

Zak, co-owner of Kafe Kweer, an alcohol-free LGBTQ+ cafe and art space in Edinburgh, talks about the venue, and the importance of alcohol-free spaces for LGBTQ+ people and the wider community.

Read the blog ([link removed])

============================================================

** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 Alcohol Change UK, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive emails from the charity Alcohol Change UK.

Our mailing address is:
Alcohol Change UK
27 Swinton St
London, WC1X 9NW
United Kingdom
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.