SHAAP

SHAAP calls for alcohol marketing restrictions in online safety plans - Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems 16/02/2026 Commenting on the UK government’s plans to protect children online, SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) are calling on the government to seize this opportunity to address the...

UK Gvt announced their online safety plans for children and they're missing a major piece of the puzzle...

🧩We need to protect u-18s from alcohol marketing via influencers and social media sponsors

👇SHAAP Chair, Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, comments on the proposal

www.shaap.org.uk/news/shaap-c...

Study reveals insidious impact of alcohol marketing on young people | About | University of Stirling Study reveals insidious impact of alcohol marketing on young people

💡To learn more about the new research with @stir.ac.uk, visit www.stir.ac.uk/news/2026/fe...

🏉 Scotland v England this weekend...

❤️ Passion!
🎉 Atmosphere!
🤔 Alcohol marketing?

SHAAP Chair Dr Alastair MacGilchrist shares what 11-17 yr olds told us: they see alcohol advertising at almost every match, recognise the tactics, and one even said "it just feels wrong"

Jem Roberts and SHAAP's Dr Peter Rice explore what's really happening to British pubs in new @ias.org.uk analysis. The piece examines pub closure claims and separates fact from fiction in the ongoing debate 👇

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

You can register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f6950c...

How can recovery orientated services empower communities to thrive?

Join @healthimprovescot.bsky.social, Harbour Ayrshire, Professor David Best & SHAAP's Dr David McCartney for insights on frameworks bridging harm reduction & recovery.

📅 3 March, 11am-1pm

ICYMI: New @StirUni research discovers the insidious impact of alcohol marketing on young people. @RickPurves explains more below

More info 👉 brnw.ch/21wZG85

💡SHAAP's Chair, Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, talks about the findings of the new Stirling University research and how alcohol advertising influences young people.

With a busy year of sport ahead, we must be aware of how this impacts children🧠

#AlcoholMarketing has no place in childhood.

All children should play, learn and socialise in places that are healthy and safe, protected from exposure to alcohol marketing

Join our #AlcoholFreeKids campaign 🔽

www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/Alcohol-Free...

New research with @stir.ac.uk: 11-17 year olds see alcohol branding almost every time they watch football or rugby.

👀They recognise alibi marketing and interpret no-low promotions as ads for full-strength alcohol.

📣We're calling for comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing in sport.

Significant findings on alcohol industry misinformation in pregnancy guidance 👇. Public health approaches must account for these misleading information sources.

📣 The deadline for abstract submissions for our 'Alcohol Occasionals' online seminar series has now been extended to Friday 13th February 2026.

➡️ For more details, please see here: bit.ly/3LSajY5

Same playbook in Scotland. Industry claimed Minimum Unit Pricing was unnecessary while cherry-picking data, yet deaths kept rising. Evidence-based policy works when we don't let industry write the rules ✍️

Critical reading ahead of the election💡. When England planned evidence-based alcohol marketing restrictions, coordinated industry lobbying blocked them in under a week.

Incoming MSPs need to recognise these tactics - Scotland will face the same campaign

Big Alcohol Exposed 2025: New Report Reveals Coordinated Interference Patterns Across Policy, Markets, and Public Debate - Movendi International The Big Alcohol Exposed Report 2025 reveals how alcohol corporations, their front groups, and lobbyists intensified coordinated political interference, market shaping, and narrative control throughout...

ICYMI: This report from Movendi reveals how the alcohol industry engages in political interference, market shaping, and narrative control by blocking evidence‑based policy and expanding digital promotion.

movendi.ngo/news-stories...

Why we should have cancer warnings on alcohol - Institute of Alcohol Studies With the UK Government planning on introducing health warnings on alcohol labels, Professor Simone Pettigrew looks at the evidence around informing people of the link between alcohol and cancer on-lab...

Alcohol causes cancer - yet most people don’t know it.

In our latest blog, Professor Simone Pettigrew sets out the evidence and explains why clear cancer warnings on alcohol are a simple, effective way to save lives.

www.ias.org.uk/2026/01/27/w... @georgeinstitute.bsky.social

There is still a week left to submit an abstract for this year's Alcohol Occasionals!

See further details below.

Has England’s drinking returned to “normal”? - Institute of Alcohol Studies Nearly five years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, England’s drinking patterns are only partly returning to pre-pandemic levels. New research shows that while average consumption is falling...

'Has England’s drinking returned to “normal”?' | @ias.org.uk www.ias.org.uk/2026/01/20/h...

‘Dark Apps’ uncovered: popular alcohol tracking apps backed by the alcohol industry mislead users - Institute of Alcohol Studies Apps to reduce drinking that are provided by alcohol industry-funded charities have been found to contain misinformation and may even increase drinking. Dr Roy-Highley and Professor Mark Petticrew exp...

The industry often shares messaging about ‘responsible’ drinking. However, research has shown that this individual-level framing is ineffective and that industry-backed tools (such as apps and school resources) can be misleading and deceptive.

www.ias.org.uk/2025/02/25/d...

The industry also often emphasises its role in community and heritage. For instance, the whisky industry aims to reinforce the idea that Scotch is “Scotland’s National Drink”. However, vodka, beer, and wine are favoured most often in Scotland.

Getting in the spirit? Alcohol and the Scottish economy - Social Market Foundation. The Scottish economy’s global reputation for producing alcohol has come with historically high levels of drinking and harm. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a range of regulations on...

The alcohol industry emphasises their contribution to the economy whilst underplaying costs to society. Alcohol harm costs the UK economy much more than alcohol sales bring in.

www.smf.co.uk/publications...

Tackling Harmful Drinking: Alcohol industry action showcased at Holyrood event Tackling harmful drinking was the focus of an event at Holyrood last week, sponsored by Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands. MSPs and other stakeholders, the third sector, Police Scotland a…

SHAAP and @ias.org.uk commissioned report ‘Spin the Bottle: How the UK alcohol industry twists the facts on harm and responsibility’ can help to debunk some of the messages/ ideas in this article.

Read the full report here: bit.ly/49yLOIs

nen.press/tackling-har...

“It’s really interesting I think for people to learn, not only what research has already been published, but what’s coming next, what are people working on, what are the live issues and discussions around them. So I think it’s something that’s of interest to a really wide range of people.”

YouTube video by The Scottish Parliament Members’ Business: The Importance of Football within Scotland - 14 January 2026

Maree Todd, Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, discusses alcohol availability at football matches:

"Each year, we lose 1,200
people—far too many—to deaths that are directly
related to alcohol. The public health advice would
be to narrow access, not to increase access."

bit.ly/4sEI13E

⬇️ SARN Co-chair Prof Carol Emslie (@carolemslie.bsky.social) discusses the SHAAP/ SARN Alcohol Occasionals seminar series.

💡 The call for abstracts is open for the 2026 series. For full details, please see here: bit.ly/49DaEad

📆 Deadline: Friday 30th January

@shaapalcohol.bsky.social

How should public health respond to rise of alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks? John Holmes and colleagues argue for a precautionary approach that is guided by public health interests and considers both risks and benefits Sales of alcohol-free and low alcohol (nolo) drinks have ...

'How should public health respond to rise of alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks?' | @jholmessheff.bsky.social @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/392/...

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee has reported on how to address substance inc alcohol use in prisons today (but the news agenda is busy so not v high profile!). Really do hope the recommendations on alcohol are acted on

digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/R...

What's Up Docs? - Should you do Dry January? - BBC Sounds Drs Chris and Xand explore alcohol and what a good intake goal might look like.

Listen to a brilliant explanation of how alcohol harms your health, by @maizie333.bsky.social on What’s Up Docs www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

What's Up Docs? - Doctors' Notes: Alcohol - BBC Sounds Chris and Xand look at how the alcohol industry may have shaped our drinking culture.

"It’s not our culture to have billboards covered in glamourised alcohol products. It's not our culture to have bright pink alcohol that's 9% alcohol and appealing to young people."

Dr @maizie333.bsky.social joins Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken on 'What's Up Docs?'

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Public health impacts of increasing the minimum unit price for alcohol in Scotland: A model-based appraisal In this modeling paper, John Holmes and colleagues analyzed the effects on public health of changing the minimum unit price of alcohol in Scotland.

This paper highlights that increasing MUP can reduce harm and that MUP policies lose effectiveness if not increased over time - suggesting that governments who seek to introduce MUP should also consider automatic increases in the legislation.

journals.plos.org/plosmedicine...