Alcohol and smoking brief interventions by socioeconomic position: British population-based survey

Background Alcohol and smoking brief interventions (BI) in general practice have been shown to be effective in lowering alcohol- and smoking-related harm. Aim Assess prevalence of self-reported BI receipt among increasing/higher risk drinkers and past-year smokers in Great Britain (GB) and associations between intervention receipt and socioeconomic position. Design & setting Monthly population-based survey in England, Scotland, and Wales. The study comprised 47,799 participants (15,573 increasing/higher risk drinkers (AUDIT-C score ≥5), 7791 past-year smokers) surveyed via telephone in 2020-2022 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). All data were self-reported. Method Prevalence of self-reported BI receipt was assessed descriptively; associations between receipt and socioeconomic position were analysed using logistic regression. Results Among adults in GB, 32.2% (95% CI 31.8–32.7) reported increasing/higher risk drinking and 17.7% (95% CI 17.3–18.1) past-year smoking. Among increasing/higher risk drinkers, 58.0% (95% CI 57.1–58.9) consulted with a general practitioner in the past year, and of these, 4.1% (95% CI 3.6–4.6) reported receiving BIs. Among past-year smokers, 55.8% (95% CI 54.5–57.1) attended general practice in the past year. Of these, 41.0% (95% CI 39.4–42.7) stated receiving BIs. There was a tendency for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients to receive more alcohol (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.38; 95% CI 1.10–1.73) or smoking BIs (aOR 1.11; 95% CI 0.98–1.26), but for the latter the results were statistically non-significant. Results did not differ notably by nation within GB. Conclusion BIs in general practice are more common for smoking than for alcohol, but for alcohol a greater proportion is delivered to socioeconomically disadvantaged increasing/higher risk drinkers.