SARG research on drinking guidelines presented in Brussels

Professor John Holmes, Director of the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), recently spoke at a European Alcohol Harm Reduction Symposium.
Professor Holmes presented SARG's evaluation of the UK's low-risk drinking guidelines which concluded that announcing new drinking guidelines did not lead to a substantial or sustained reduction in drinking or a downturn in the long-term trend in alcohol consumption, though there was evidence of a temporary reduction in consumption.
He also participated in a panel discussion on the implications of the decline in youth drinking over the last 20 years and how to communicate evidence on alcohol and cancer.
The symposium, Reducing the burden of alcohol: Focus on scientific and policy challenges, took place on 3 December 2024 and brought together leading researchers, policymakers, and public health professionals from across Europe. Organised by Santé publique France, a leading scientific agency dedicated to preventing addictive behaviours, and EuroHealthNet, a European network of public health organisations, the symposium aimed to address key challenges in alcohol harm prevention.
Sessions from the symposium are available to watch on YouTube – look out for John's presentation 'Evaluation of the impact of (not) promoting revised low-risk drinking guidelines, UK' and his participation in Roundtable 1.
SARG showcases research at School of Medicine and Population Health event
Researchers from SARG are set to showcase their work at the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health Research and Innovation Meeting 2025.
New project aims to embed youth voices in local tobacco and vape policymaking
A collaborative project emphasising the crucial role of young people's voices in shaping public health policy has been awarded funding from the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR).
SARG Heads to Glasgow for 50th Anniversary KBS Symposium
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.
New project will use machine learning to help improve engagement in gambling addiction treatment
A new project led by Professor Matt Field at the University of Sheffield aims to significantly improve how people engage with treatment for gambling addiction, thanks to funding from the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling.
You might also be interested in…
The effectiveness of promotional campaigns associated with revised UK drinking guidelines: A prospective evaluation
This project evaluated whether promoting the revised 2016 drinking guidelines had any impact on the alcohol consumption of adults in England.
Youth Drinking in Decline
The Youth Drinking In Decline (Y-DID) project aimed to provide the most detailed analysis to date of the nature and drivers of recent reductions in alcohol use among 11-24 year-olds in England.
ODHIN
Optimising Delivery of Healthcare Interventions (ODHIN) was an EU-wide project focusing on understanding how best to translate the results of clinical research into everyday primary health care.