Drinking Studies Network (DSN)

Is the Great British Pub on the verge of extinction? The truth behind the headlines - Institute of Alcohol Studies Media headlines often suggest that British pubs are in terminal decline. But is that true?

In our latest blog, Jem Roberts and Dr Peter Rice unpack the panic about pub closures - and show why much of it is misleading 🍺

What’s actually happening?

⬇️ Pub numbers have fallen for over a century - this isn’t new
⬆️ Employment in pubs has stayed stable...

www.ias.org.uk/2026/02/10/i...

Modelling the economic effects of reducing the consumption of unhealthy commodities: An inter-sectoral input–output approach buff.ly/9cdRaW1 @damonm1989.bsky.social

Why Do Academics Often Dismiss 12-Step Recovery? Twelve-step programs have millions of recovering members worldwide, yet they’re often dismissed by academics. Why?

'Why Do Academics Often Dismiss 12-Step Recovery?' @psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psyc...

Submit your work for an award The SSA awards two prizes each year for excellence in [...]

The Society for the Study of Addiction awards two prizes each year for excellence in addiction science. Find out here how to apply for the Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers and the Impact Prize: www.addiction-ssa.org/news/submit-...

Now you see it, now you don’t - Institute of Alcohol Studies Now you see it, now you don’t: How alcohol industry interference made marketing restrictions disappear from the 10 Year Health Plan in England In July 2025, the UK Government published its 10 Year Hea...

'Now you see it, now you don’t: How alcohol industry interference made marketing restrictions disappear from the 10 Year Health Plan in England' | @ias.org.uk report www.ias.org.uk/report/now-y...

CFP: @britsoci.bsky.social Medical Sociology Annual Conference, 8-10 September, 2026: www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-b...

Beer vs. The Law How Governments Quietly Control What Ends Up in Your Glass

'Beer vs. The Law' | Mathias Lentz, Grain to Glass graintoglass.substack.com/p/beer-vs-th...

Why Heineken’s zero-alcohol London Underground campaign fell flat An expert in the marketing of zero-alcohol drinks explains what went wrong.

'Why Heineken’s zero-alcohol London Underground campaign fell flat' | @theconversation.com theconversation.com/why-heineken...

'Understanding late-onset alcohol problems among older adults' | The Dram basisonline.org/2026/01/27/l...

A graph.

Alcohol related hospital statistics (Scotland financial year 2024 to 2025) | Public Health Scotland www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications...

Reverse Spin Bias A new study by O’Leary et al (2026) published in Research Integrity and Peer Review introduces a striking, unexplored phenomenon in academic research: “reverse spin bias.” Unlike conventional spin ...

'When Researchers Undermine Their Own Evidence: The Emergence of “Reverse Spin Bias”' | @drugscience.bsky.social www.drugscience.org.uk/reverse-spin...

We would like to welcome Dr Pam Lock @pamplemoussepam.bsky.social to the editorial board of 'Brewery History'.

Just been interviewed on the importance of pubs for tonight’s BBC Look North

Lovely blog about our Think While You Drink public events on beer, drinking, and drinking places in pubs last year if anyone is interested in how they worked and what we did:
humsimpact.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2026/01/05/b...

Starting to plan for this year so watch this space or sign up to our list

Lightning Talks at The London Archives - IN PERSON Are you a student or Early Career Researcher? Need feedback on in-progress research? Can you summarise your research in 5 minutes or less?

⚡ Lightning Talks at The London Archives ⚡

Are you a student or ECR? Need feedback on your work? Can you summarise it in 5 minutes? Join us for Lightning Talks at The London Archives - a friendly event open to researchers of London and its history!

📆 Wed 11 February
🕔 5pm

You should start writing about beer and pubs There’s always room for more people visiting pubs, drinking beer, and sharing their thoughts and observations.

Our January newsletter is a pep talk: you – yes, you! – should write about beer and pubs.

boakandbailey.substack.com/p/you-should...

Three colourful panels of painted sculptured plaster, mounted at the top of cinema escalators. The panels show Victorian ideas of medieval scenes, inspired by Tennyson's Idylls of the King.

Gerald Moira & F. Lynn Jenkins' Arthurian frieze, originally made for the entrance hall to Lyons' Trocadero Restaurant, 1898; restored & mounted in what is now the Picturehouse Central. Moira chose feasting scenes for the restaurant, but went on to paint a temperance-themed ceiling mural... 1/4

@drinkingstudies.bsky.social

NIQ/RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, Dec 25 vs Dec 24 All outlets +6.2%, LFL +2.9% Pubs +7.3%, LFL +5.1% Restaurants +3.8%, LFL +0.8% Bars +1.5%, LFL -1.7%

Latest NIQ stats for managed hospitality in December. Pubs performed well, bars and restaurants less so.

SARG researcher Dr Parvati Perman-Howe secures NIHR Career Development Award - Sheffield Addictions Research Group We are delighted to announce that Dr Parvati Perman-Howe, a Research Associate within the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), has secured a highly sought-after Career Development Award.

NIHR Career development award will support @ppermanhowe.bsky.social in new research into health impacts of mid-strength drinks | @sarg-scharr.bsky.social sarg-sheffield.ac.uk/news-media/s...

WSL alcohol trials: No disruption to safety at games, say fans Trials providing supporters with the option to drink alcohol in the stands at Women's Super League games receives positive feedback on fan safety.

'No disruption to fan safety in WSL alcohol trials' | BBC Sport www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Via @salvarmyarchive.bsky.social

Price a bigger factor than health when drinking less, study claims - Drinks Retailing Price is a more significant influence than health and wellbeing among consumers who are cutting back on their alcohol consumption, new research from MMR Research shows. The consumer research agency sa...

'Price a bigger factor than health when drinking less, study claims' | Drinks Retailing drinksretailingnews.co.uk/price-a-bigg...

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...

Call for Abstracts: 2026 Alcohol Occasionals - Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) invite researchers to submit their research proposals for the 2026 SHAAP/SARN Alcohol Occasionals we...

Call for Abstracts: 2026 Alcohol Occasionals @shaapalcohol.bsky.social - “Future directions for alcohol research, policy, and practice – priorities for a new Scottish Government” www.shaap.org.uk/news/call-fo...

Nigerians spend N1.54tn on beer, others in nine months Nigeria's beer market shows resilience as major brewers generate a combined N1.54tn in revenue in nine months. See the financial performance of top compani

Commercial determinants of health: The costs will be higher

punchng.com/nigerians-sp...

A scene with two couples at a table in a beer garden with the landlord standing over them. From left to right the actors are Daphne Pollard, Oliver Hardy, Alan Hale as the innkeeper, Stan Laurel and Betty Brown. Daphne (Mrs Hardy) is ordering a ham sandwich, mustard on the side and a glass of beer.

Happy birthday yesterday to Oliver Hardy, seen here at Denker's Beer Garden in NYC in OUR RELATIONS (1936), a film based in part on 'The Money Box' (1902) by W W Jacobs, a prolific comic story writer best remembered now for 'The Monkey's Paw'. The film concerns twins, mistaken identies and money 1/5

Incidentally if this story existed it would have been a strong contender for @pamplemoussepam.bsky.social's 'Dead Drunk' collection of drink/temperance Tales of the Weird

‘There is a moment of clarity that life would be better without alcohol’: what we can learn from addiction memoirs After losing her father to alcohol addiction, author Sophie Calon turned to writing – and found clarity, connection and hope in other stories of relapse and recovery

‘There is a moment of clarity that life would be better without alcohol’: what we can learn from addiction memoirs | @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

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/...