Today, Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) have published a new report on research by Stirling University's Institute of Social Marketing and Health.

The research explores the extent, nature and frequency of alcohol advertising in professional football and rugby unions in Scotland, and provides recommendations on how to mitigate the negative influence of this advertising, espeically for young people. The full background research report from Stirling University is also available.

The FYFA project, co-funded by the EU and Scottish Government, has conducted research into attitudes to under-age drinking and alcohol policies in football among young people aged 13-15 years. In addition to seeking young people's views, the project researchers asked club managers, stakeholders and policy makers in six European countries for their views on alcohol policies and sport at international, national and local level. SHAAP and our partner Eurocare contributed to the project.

Infographics summarising the outcomes of the project are now available to view, and you can visit the FYFA website here: https://www.fyfaproject.eu/

Prevention is the foundation of public health policy and central to protecting and improving people’s health and well-being. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is a key opportunity to put prevention where it belongs - at the heart of the European Union's (EU) health agenda. SHAAP and our partner Eurocare contributed to the plan as members of EPHA.

Read our joint statement.

Read SHAAP's response to the Alcohol Health Alliance's 2020 Commission on Alcohol Harm.

The video and report of SHAAP's new research on lived/living experience was launched on 4th February 2020 at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and are now available to view and read here: https://www.shaap.org.uk/our-work/recovery.html

On October 25, 2019 SHAAP released their updated publication 'Alcohol and Cancer: A Guide for Health Professionals'. The new guide has been welcomed by Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood:

"This is a fantastic resource for all health colleagues, and I encourage everyone to use it in conversations with their patients. As the Scottish Government's Alcohol Framework recognises, the link between alcohol and cancer is not sufficiently well known. Initiatives to raise awareness about cancer and alcohol are really important for our population health, and I'm delighted to support this work from SHAAP."

Read the brochure here

Read NHS Health Scotland's 2019 reports assessing different impacts of Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol since it was introduced in Scotland last year:

- on Alcohol Sales: http://www.healthscotland.scot/media/2587/mesas-monitoring-report-2019.pdf

- on Compliance within retail sector: http://www.healthscotland.scot/publications/minimum-unit-pricing-evaluation-compliance-study

- on impacts on the alcohol industry: Read the report by Frontier Economics

SHAAP and SARN (Scottish Alcohol Research Network) held a very successful extra 'Alcohol Occasional' event on July 9th at RCP Edinburgh, featuring Dutch investigative journalist Olivier van Beemen who introduced his latest book: 'Heineken in Africa: a multinational unleashed'.

Watch an interview with the author.

Read the report

SHAAP is delighted to announce it has today become proud sponsor of the Scottish Women's Football National Performance League and very happy to be associated with positive health messages embraced by Scotland's female footballers. Read the press release

Read our brief report of the event held at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, organised by SHAAP and addressed by Monica Lennon MSP, which brought together alcohol misuse survivors, people in recovery and organisations supporting them in their journey. The summary outlines key priorities identified by the workshops held.

Download