The alcohol harm reduction strategy for England

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7445.905

BMJ 2004;328:905-906 (17 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7445.905

Editorial

The alcohol harm reduction strategy for England

Overdue final report omits much that was useful in interim report

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The United Kingdom as a whole has a serious problem in relationto the increasing levels of the adverse effects of drinkingacross gender and age groups.^1-4 The report from the prime minister'sstrategy unit has been awaited with great interest. It is yearsoverdue. Counterparts in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Waleshave been published for some time. The production of the strategywas undertaken by civil servants who consulted widely and producedan interim report that had much to commend it.⁵ A postgraduatethesis could be written to document and analyse the differencesbetween the interim report, the final report, and the inconsistenciesbetween different sections of the final document.⁶ The latterhas been neutered. Issues such as sex, children of problem drinkers,and pregnancy have virtually disappeared.

The harm minimisation strategy states that binge drinking andchronic drinking are the main targets of proposed action toreduce the . . . [Full text of this article]

Martin Plant, professor of addiction studies

Alcohol and Health Research Trust, Centre for Research in Public Health & Primary Care Development, University of the West of England, Blackberry Hill, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DD (Martin.Plant@uwe.ac.uk)

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