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Aim To examine whether receipt of alcohol industry sponsorship is associated with problematic drinking in UK university students who play sport. Methods University students ( n = 2450) participating in sports were invited to complete a pen-and-paper questionnaire by research staff approaching them at sporting facilities and in university settings. Respondents were asked whether they, personally, their team and/or their club were currently in receipt of sponsorship (e.g. money, free or subsidized travel or sporting products) from an alcohol-related industry (e.g. bars, liquor stores, wholesalers), and whether they had solicited the sponsorship. Drinking was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test ( AUDIT). Results Questionnaires were completed by 2048 of those approached (response rate = 83%). Alcohol industry sponsorship was reported by 36% of the sample. After accounting for confounders (age, gender, disposable income and location) in multivariable models, receipt of alcohol sponsorship by a team (adjusted βadj = 0.41, P = 0.013), club (βadj = 0.73, P = 0.017), team and club (βadj = 0.79, P = 0.002) and combinations of individual and team or club sponsorships (βadj = 1.27, P < 0.002) were each associated with significantly higher AUDIT-consumption substance scores. Receipt of sponsorship by team and club [adjusted odds ratio ( aOR) = 2.04; 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 1.04-3.99] and combinations of individual and team or club sponsorships ( aOR = 4.12; 95% CI = 1.29-13.15) were each associated with increased odds of being classified a hazardous drinker ( AUDIT score >8). Respondents who sought out sponsorship were not at greater risk than respondents, or whose teams or clubs, had been approached by the alcohol industry. Conclusions University students in the United Kingdom who play sport and who personally receive alcohol industry sponsorship or whose club or team receives alcohol industry sponsorship appear to have more problematic drinking behaviour than UK university students who play sport and receive no alcohol industry sponsorship. Policy to reduce or cease such sponsorship should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims The concept of national drinking culture is well established in research and policy debate, but rarely features in contemporary alcohol policy analysis. We aim to demonstrate the value of the alternative concept of social practices for quantitatively operationalizing drinking culture. We discuss how a practice perspective addresses limitations in existing analytical approaches to health-related behaviour before demonstrating its empirical application by constructing a statistical typology of British drinking occasions. Design Cross-sectional latent class analysis of drinking occasions derived from retrospective 1-week drinking diaries obtained from quota samples of a market research panel. Occasions are periods of drinking with no more than 2 hours between drinks. Setting Great Britain, 2009-11. Cases A total of 187 878 occasions nested within 60 215 nationally representative adults (aged 18 + years). Measurements Beverage type and quantity per occasion; location, company and gender composition of company; motivation and reason for occasion; day, start-time and duration of occasion; and age, sex and social grade. Findings Eight occasion types are derived based primarily on parsimony considerations rather than model fit statistics. These are mixed location heavy drinking (10.4% of occasions), heavy drinking at home with a partner (9.4%), going out with friends (11.1%), get-together at someone's house (14.4%), going out for a meal (8.6%), drinking at home alone (13.6%), light drinking at home with family (12.8%) and light drinking at home with a partner (19.6%). Conclusions An empirical model of drinking culture, comprising a typology of drinking practices, reveals the dominance of moderate drinking practices in Great Britain. The model demonstrates the potential for a practice perspective to be used in evaluation of how and why drinking cultures change in response to public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Research into craving is hampered by lack of theoretical specification and a plethora of substance-specific measures. This study aimed to develop a generic measure of craving based on elaborated intrusion ( EI) theory. Confirmatory factor analysis ( CFA) examined whether a generic measure replicated the three-factor structure of the Alcohol Craving Experience ( ACE) scale over different consummatory targets and time-frames. Design Twelve studies were pooled for CFA. Targets included alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate and food. Focal periods varied from the present moment to the previous week. Separate analyses were conducted for strength and frequency forms. Setting Nine studies included university students, with single studies drawn from an internet survey, a community sample of smokers and alcohol-dependent out-patients. Participants A heterogeneous sample of 1230 participants. Measurements Adaptations of the ACE questionnaire. Findings Both craving strength [comparative fit indices ( CFI = 0.974; root mean square error of approximation ( RMSEA) = 0.039, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 0.035-0.044] and frequency ( CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.049, 95% CI = 0.044-0.055) gave an acceptable three-factor solution across desired targets that mapped onto the structure of the original ACE (intensity, imagery, intrusiveness), after removing an item, re-allocating another and taking intercorrelated error terms into account. Similar structures were obtained across time-frames and targets. Preliminary validity data on the resulting 10-item Craving Experience Questionnaire ( CEQ) for cigarettes and alcohol were strong. Conclusions The Craving Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) is a brief, conceptually grounded and psychometrically sound measure of desires. It demonstrates a consistent factor structure across a range of consummatory targets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims British alcohol consumption and abstinence rates have increased substantially in the last 3 decades. This study aims to disentangle age, period and birth cohort effects to improve our understanding of these trends and suggest groups for targeted interventions to reduce resultant harms. Design Age, period, cohort analysis of repeated cross-sectional surveys using separate logistic and negative binomial models for each gender. Setting Great Britain 1984-2009. Participants Annual nationally representative samples of approximately 20 000 adults (16+) within 13 000 households. Measurements Age (eight groups: 16-17 to 75+ years), period (six groups: 1980-84 to 2005-09) and birth cohorts (19 groups: 1900-04 to 1990-94). Outcome measures were abstinence and average weekly alcohol consumption. Controls were income, education, ethnicity and country. Findings After accounting for period and cohort trends, 18-24-year-olds have the highest consumption levels (incident rate ratio = 1.18-1.15) and lower abstention rates (odds ratio = 0.67-0.87). Consumption generally decreases and abstention rates increase in later life. Until recently, successive birth cohorts' consumption levels were also increasing. However, for those born post-1985, abstention rates are increasing and male consumption is falling relative to preceding cohorts. In contrast, female drinking behaviours have polarized over the study period, with increasing abstention rates accompanying increases in drinkers' consumption levels. Conclusions Rising female consumption of alcohol and progression of higher-consuming birth cohorts through the life course are key drivers of increased per capita alcohol consumption in the United Kingdom. Recent declines in alcohol consumption appear to be attributable to reduced consumption and increased abstinence rates among the most recent birth cohorts, especially males, and general increased rates of abstention across the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]