What is the Alcohol Charter?

The Charter sets out effective and workable policies to reduce the harm caused by alcohol in the UK.

All references can be found in the full Alcohol Charter, which you can download at the bottom of this page.

The Charter was produced in 2018 by the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm, in consultation with the Alcohol Health Alliance, Alcohol Change UK and the Institute for Alcohol Studies.

It has been endorsed by over 30 organisations across the drugs and alcohol sector, and has received increasing cross-party parliamentary support. Read more about support for the Charter.

The Government should publish an Alcohol Strategy, which must:

  • Be based on the evidence of what works to reduce alcohol harm as outlined in the PHE alcohol evidence review.
  • Tackle the increased availability of excessively cheap alcohol.
  • Empower the general public to make fully informed decisions about their drinking.
  • Provide adequate support for both dependent and non-dependent drinkers.
  • Set out the Government’s intention to reduce harmful drinking, tackle health inequalities, improve family and community resilience and ensure the UK has a healthier, better informed relationship with alcohol. It will do this through evidence-based policy and targeted investment.

We call on the Government to take tangible steps that can both reduce existing harm to individuals and communities, and prevent people drinking in ways likely to create harms in the future.

We call on the Government to:

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Improve support for those in need

We call on the Government to use the upcoming Alcohol Strategy to improve support for those in need, through policies such as a ‘treatment levy’, enforcing action against age inequalities and improving training for health and social care professionals.
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Protect public health

We call on the Government to protect public health through policies such as a comprehensive review of alcohol duties, tighter restrictions on alcohol marketing and improved licensing.
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Focus on alcohol-related crime and disorder

We call on the Government to reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder through policies such as reducing the drink-driving BAC limit, investing in family drug and alcohol courts, and expanding the delivery of brief interventions in criminal justice settings.

Download pdf

Download the full Alcohol Charter

pdf (0.38Mb)

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