Professor John Holmes

Director of the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group and Lead Director of the Wellcome Doctoral Training Centre in Public Health Economics and Decision Science

Abstract

Alcohol remains a major cause of ill health, and deaths due to alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic heighten this concern. This presentation will explore the role of alcohol prices as a driver of alcohol-related health problems and a target for public health responses. After setting out the evidence on key pricing trends and concerns, the presentation will describe emerging evidence suggesting positive effects of minimum unit pricing in Scotland and the Australian Northern Territory. It will also explore the Government’s ongoing alcohol duty review and the potential for radical policy change if the Government follows through on its suggestions.

Bio

John is the Director of the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group and Lead Director of the Wellcome Doctoral Training Centre in Public Health Economics and Decision Science. He completed his training in the University of York’s Social Policy department with a thesis focused on inequalities, risks and opportunities associated with young people’s internet use. He then spent one-year researching child poverty and well-being. Since 2010, he has worked at the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield, where he has contributed key epidemiological evidence and policy analyses to national and international alcohol policy debates. In particular, he has worked on minimum unit pricing (MUP), other pricing policies and low risk drinking guidelines. He currently leads an evaluation of the impact of MUP on harmful drinkers in Scotland, research on drinking occasions, practices and culture, and a Wellcome Investigator Award examining the sharp decline in youth drinking.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/people/staff/john-holmes

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