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A team of twenty researchers and PhD students from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) will be participating in the landmark 50th Anniversary KBS Symposium for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol next month.

Taking place in Glasgow from 9-13 June 2025, the KBS Symposium will provide a valuable opportunity for the SARG team to talk about their research, with presentations exploring the evolving landscape of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks, the impacts of alcohol tax reforms, and the application of advanced modelling techniques to inform alcohol policy.

This year's symposium is jointly hosted by the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling, and the University of Glasgow, and will bring together leading alcohol researchers from across the globe.

Presentations from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group will include:

• Colin Angus – 'How have reforms to alcohol duty in Great Britain changed alcohol purchasing behaviour?'
• Lucy Burke – 'Understanding socioeconomic differences in the consumption of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks: a path analysis of the mediating effects of alcohol drinking motives using a cross-sectional sample of adult alcohol drinkers in Great Britain.'
• Esther Chanakira – 'Synthetic population generation for alcohol policy modelling: Enhancing Local Authority-level decision-making.'
• Zoe Clarke – 'Exploring the acceptability in the increase of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks from the perspective of four population subgroups.'
• Anne Doyle – 'A systematic review of the association between alcohol-related deaths and area-level socioeconomic deprivation and other geographic characteristics.'
• Laura Fenton – 'A family affair? Exploring the place of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks in young people's day-to-day practices.'
• Maria Hanini – 'Modelling the potential impacts of a growing market for no- and low-alcohol drinks on alcohol consumption, health and health inequalities.'
• John Holmes – 'Are alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks more expensive than standard alcoholic drinks? A descriptive analysis of Great British sales data.'
• Inge Kersbergen – 'Cue reactivity to core branded and non-core branded no and low alcoholic drink cues compared to soft drink cues among hazardous and harmful drinkers.'
• Grace Leeming – 'Differences in prices paid for alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks by population subgroup: Evidence from a UK household purchasing panel.'
• Ellen McGrane – 'Developing a roadmap for expanding alcohol modelling infrastructure to include modelling of alcohol dependence.'
• Damon Morris – 'Validating the Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Model for Scotland.'
• Parvati Perman-Howe – 'Exploring how alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks fit into the lives of high-risk drinkers who are trying to cut down.'
• Oscar Rousham – 'Understanding purchasing patterns of alcoholic, alcohol-free, and low-alcohol drinks: a latent profile analysis.'
• Abi Stevely – 'Are increases in the prevalence of purchasing alcohol free and low-alcohol products associated with attempts to cut down alcohol consumption in England? A time series analysis.'
• Luke Wilson – 'How were different alcohol producers affected by alcohol tax reforms in Great Britain? A modelling study.'

SARG's contribution to the KBS Symposium will also include participation in key workshops, with John Holmes speaking on 'Evaluating Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol – lessons from the Scottish experience' and Laura Fenton involved in discussions for 'Reviving KBS's tradition of cross-national research on gender and alcohol'. Team members will also act as chair and discussant for a number of sessions.

The symposium has an extensive programme and delegates will have the opportunity to participate in workshops and discussions on a broad range of topics including policy, licensing, treatment, youth drinking, marketing, abstention and drinking practices, among others. 

About the KBS Symposium

The 2025 event will be held at the University of Glasgow and is the 50th Annual Alcohol Epidemiology Symposium of the Kettil Bruun Society (KBS). The principal aims of the Society are to investigate social, epidemiological and cross-cultural research on alcohol use, to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge and experiences among researchers from various disciplines and to encourage international collaboration. 

The Symposium provides a forum where researchers involved in studies on alcohol can exchange ideas about their ongoing research. This includes studies of the determinants and consequences of drinking, drinking cultures and patterns as well as social and institutional responses to drinking related harms, prevention and care. Researchers come from a variety of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, criminology, economics, history, and other sciences.