Study reveals public attitudes to alcohol pricing

This month has seen the launch of Alcohol Research UK - a new independent charity set up to tackle some of the problems created by alcohol misuse and provide robust, scientific evidence to guide policy and practice in the UK.

The launch is marked by new independent research which reveals the views and misconceptions of the general public regarding the impact of a minimum pricing policy in combating alcohol-related harm in the UK.

Led by the School of Psychology at Nottingham University and funded by Alcohol Research UK and Our Life, with support from North West PCTs, the qualitative research study looked to go beyond the balance of opinion derived from surveys.

The project comprised of a mix of focus groups, interviews and mind mapping exercises to examine in-depth the attitudes and beliefs held by members of the public with respect to a minimum price per unit policy.

Our Life's involvement enabled a series of focus groups to take place in areas of the North West, making it the fullest and most in depth analysis of public opinion so far aiding policy makers in developing policy calibrated to public concerns.

The research report can be seen here, together with a press release which accompanied the launch.

Health psychologist Professor Martin S. Hagger now at Curtin University, Australia who led the research gave a presentation on the study at the launch which can also be viewed here.