Men and Alcohol: Key Issues

The Men and Alcohol: Key Issues report summarises the contributions and key findings and presents recommendations for research, policy and practice from the SHAAP and Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) 2019/2020 'Men and Alcohol' seminar series.

The report finds that alcohol consumption is intimately tied to male identity in the UK, often in ways that intersect with issues of culture, class and race. It also explores how alcohol-related harms, both mental and physical, remain a significant issue for men in Scotland and the rest of the UK, with men less likely to seek help for mental problems. The report argues that, in order to reduce alcohol-related harm among men we first need to address the stigma around seeking help for both alcohol and mental health problems, and address social and economic inequality.

Key recommendations for addressing alcohol-related harm from the report are:

• to strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability;
• to enforce bans on alcohol advertising, sponsorship and promotion;
• to raise alcohol taxes via taxation and pricing policies and in Scotland to undertake a review of minimum unit pricing linked to affordability;
• to invest in youth services and provide activities for young people to learn skills, develop relationships and have fun in an alcohol-free environment;
• for all services to be joined-up, trauma-informed and exercising professional optimism, and that services make use of the expertise of individuals with lived experience, initiating peer-led support to reduce the stigma of seeking help.