Prof John Holmes and Prof Niamh Fitzgerald will discuss the implications of no- and low-alcohol products for public health in a free online seminar on 24 April.
The seminar forms part of the ‘Alcohol Occasionals’ series organised by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN).
Drawing on work from the NIHR-funded project ‘Evaluating and responding to the public health impact of no and low alcohol drinks: A multi-method study of a complex intervention in a complex system‘, John and Niamh will speak about ‘No- and low-alcohol drinks: potentials and pitfalls for public health’.
About the seminar
No- and low-alcohol (no/lo) drinks have become increasingly popular with consumers in recent years and the UK Government is committed to growing the no/lo market. No/lo drinks may have substantial health benefits if used in place of standard alcoholic drinks, but public health actors are concerned about risks including surrogate marketing, policy substitution and harmful effects on vulnerable groups.
During the seminar John and Niamh will discuss the pathways to benefits or risks for public health arising from the rise in no/lo drinks in the UK; present new quantitative data on trends and social patterns in sales, purchasing and consumption of no/lo drinks; and argue for a unified public health response to no/lo drinks.
About the speakers
John Holmes (@JHolmesSheff) is Professor of Alcohol Policy at the University of Sheffield and Director of the Sheffield Addictions Research Group. He is also co-Director of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions.
Niamh Fitzgerald (@niamhcreate) is a Professor of Alcohol Policy and Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at University of Stirling. She is also Deputy Director of the SPECTRUM (Shaping public health policies to reduce inequalities and harm) research consortium (2019-2024), with responsibility for impact, knowledge exchange and public engagement.
Registration
The seminar will take place online on Wednesday 24 April 2024, 12:45pm – 2pm. Visit Eventbrite to register for free.