HOT TOPICS for March and April 2012
The more important an issue is, the more likely it is to be contested. These are the hot topics,
some new, some perennial, plus some which ought to be hot but have been neglected. Our selection
gives you one-click access to relevant Findings analyses. New entries are drafted or previous ones
updated every two months. The latest set is now at:
http://findings.org.uk/hot_topics.php
Individual links below.
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CONTROLLING ALCOHOL-RELATED CRIME, NUISANCE AND DISORDER
Controlling intoxicated drinkers on a night out is a major theme in British national alcohol
policies, as town centres count the costs of an alcohol-based nighttime economy and street drinking
is increasingly treated as anti-social and sometimes simply banned. Perhaps the most promising
approach is setting a per unit price in such a way that strong drinks cost more, an approach being
pursued in Scotland and considered for the rest of the UK.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=hot_alc_dis.hot
RELIEVING THE POPULATION-WIDE BURDEN OF ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM
At 2001 rates alcohol-related death, illness and crime cost England about 20 billion pounds and at
2006/7 rates, Scotland 2.25 billion. This public health burden both reflects and calls in to
question the embededness of drinking in British society, making how to reduce the burden a highly
contested issue. In the mix are universal prevention programmes, price rises, widespread screening
and brief advice in surgeries and hospitals, and treating the worst cases. Each has enthusiasts and
sceptics.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=hot_alc_pop.hot
PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT - CAN IT WORK?
Just about wherever you look among British national drug policies, employment is seen as both a
bulwark against relapse to dependent drug use and an obligation on drug users who can work and
contribute to society rather than living on benefits. But how realistic is competitive paid
employment for addicts who have often spent a decade or more not honing their CVs, but chasing drugs
and gaining a criminal record - especially now, when the economy is shedding labour? In evidence
terms, this central policy plank is thin in comparison to the weight of expectations.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=hot_employ.hot
RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION; THE BEST ROUTE TO RECOVERY?
Despite parlous finances, in August 2010 the British Prime Minister said his ambition was to expand
abstinence-oriented residential treatment. In convincing Treasury colleagues, his problem may be the
lack of conclusive evidence that residential care is preferable to (generally cheaper)
non-residential options. But lack of evidence does not necessarily mean lack of benefit and
residential services are fighting back against the doubters. Get to grip with the nuances by running
this hot topic search.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=hot_resrehab.hot
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