Department of Health

Website of the Department of Health

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What we do

  • Last modified date:
    24 June 2008

The Department of Health is responsible for Government health policy on alcohol misuse.  

Regular excessive drinking is a significant cause of acute and chronic ill health and affects people’s families and careers as well.

The Department of Health is committed to tackling alcohol misuse through a wide range of initiatives:

  • We have just launched our biggest ever advertising campaign on alcohol and health  The new Know Your Limits campaign (see link below) raises awareness of units and provides advice for when you have a drink.
  • `Safe, Sensible, Social.’ (see link below) is the Government’s alcohol strategy and commits all Government departments to work together to tackle alcohol problems.
  • Reducing alcohol related hospital admissions is now a measure of performance for the NHS.
  • The NHS spends about £217 million per year on specialist alcohol treatment for dependent drinkers, on top of support many people receive from GPs.
  • We have reached a ground-breaking agreement with industry to include health and unit information on most alcohol labels by the end of 2008, as well as reworded advice for women on alcohol and pregnancy.
  • We have commissioned an independent review of alcohol pricing and promotion – due summer 2008.
  • The Government is working with the alcohol industry to encourage responsible promotions and improve the quality of information available to consumers.

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