By Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands 

As Parliament returns for a new term, Emma Roddick reflects on the role of alcohol in rural and island communities in Scotland.

By James Morris, (@jamesmorris24), a Research Fellow at Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research at London South Bank University (@CABR_LSBU).

In this blog James Morris highlights why we need to look more closely at the stories we tell and hear around alcohol use and problems.

By Nick Bibby, writer and recovering alcoholic.

In this blog, Nick Bibby discusses how we talk about alcohol and how that affects those whose lives have been harmed by it.

By Dr Mary Jean Walker, Lecturer in Philosophy at La Trobe University, Australia

In this blog post, Dr Mary Jean Walker discusses the acceptance of drinking and drunkenness, responsibility, identity and culture, and the ethicality of various alcohol policy processes.

By Dr Elena Dimova, Prof Carol Emslie, Dr Jamie Frankis & Prof Lawrie Elliott, Glasgow Caledonian University (@SubMisuseGCU)

This blog post by researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University reports on their recent study for SHAAP "What are LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of alcohol services in Scotland? A qualitative study of service users and service providers", which highlights the difficulties LGBTQ+ people experience when trying to access alcohol services in Scotland. 

By Michaela Jones, National Policy Officer, Scottish Recovery Consortium.

In this blog post, Michaela reflects on her own lived experience of addiction and the need to understand stigma as more than just language. 

By Dr Jennifer Ferguson, Lecturer in Criminology at Teesside University.

This blog post reports on a research study undertaken by Dr Jennifer Ferguson that examined what factors need to be considered when designing and implementing alcohol screening and brief interventions (ASBIs) within a female open prison in England.

Dr Andrea Mohan has written a blog post for Voluntary Health Scotland on the SHAAP-funded research which explored the views and experiences of a specialist alcohol harm reduction service, the ‘Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service’ (PCANOS) in Glasgow, which employs addiction nurses who support people with alcohol problems.

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By Eunan McKinney, Head of Communications and Advocacy at Alcohol Action Ireland

In this post, Eunan McKinney briefly describes the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Ireland, which occurred at the start of 2022. Eunan describes the role of Alcohol Action Ireland in public health messaging surrounding MUP, and reflects on the challenges posed by industry and industry-aligned media to MUP and alcohol policy in general.

By Danilo Falzon, Dr Hannah Carver and Professor Tessa Parkes, Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research, University of Stirling

Managed Alcohol Programmes (MAPs) are a harm reduction intervention for those experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) which provide regular and measured doses of alcohol to service users throughout the day, alongside a range of health and social supports. In this post, Danilo Falzon, Dr Hannah Carver and Professor Tessa Parkes share their mixed-methods research exploring the potential for MAPs to reduce the risks faced by those experiencing homelessness and AUDs in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioned paintings by Linda McGowan and Stu Duffy from the Unexpected Gallery in Glasgow are provided, which showcase the themes and findings of this research.