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Colin Angus

@victimofmaths.bsky.social
7.1K followers 376 following 1K posts

Professor of Alcohol Policy in the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (@SARG-SCHARR), graph drawer, data botherer, cake eater, incompetent cyclist and intermittent birder.

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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New data on drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2025 published today by @natrecordsscot.bsky.social show that drug misuse deaths rose, although they remain some way below the levels we saw early in the pandemic.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Relative to overall inflation, some of the food and drink categories that saw big price increases in 2022/23 (hello butter) have started to come back down slightly. Alcohol, meanwhile, remains cheaper in real terms now than in January 2021 and prices have effectively fallen throughout 2026.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
With the recent publication of new alcohol duty data from HMRC, I wanted to look at how the volume of alcohol cleared for sale has changed in recent years. A brief spike post-lockdown, then a sustained drop from late 2021 onwards - exactly timed with the start of the cost-of-living crisis.
A line chart showing the 12-month centered rolling average volume of pure alcohol cleared for sale by HMRC from late-1999 to mid-2026. The chart shows a rise to the mid 2000s, then a gradual fall, coinciding with the Labour government's alcohol duty escalator. Once the escalator was removed in 2013 levels rose only very gradually with little change during the COVID lockdowns, then a brief spike in the summer of 2021 and a relatively sharp fall from ~0.68 litres per person per month to ~0.58 in 2026.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A few years ago I made this graphic of sunshine hours and rainfall across the UK. It's one of the the things I've made that has broken containment to the greatest degree and so occasionally turns up in strange places. Anyway, sometimes people ask me about updating it, so I have...
A 'bivariate' map of the UK with places that were sunniest in 2021 coloured in yellow, places that were rainiest in blue, places that were both sunny and rainy in black and places that were neither in grey. It shows generally the patterns you would expect (blue in Scotland and Wales, yellow in the south and east of England), but with interesting stories, like the sunniness and dryness of Scotland's east coast, or the sunniness and raininess of south Cumbria, north west Wales and much of Cornwall.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I have a cool graphic pinned up next to my desk from @opendatamcr.bsky.social showing all the local authorities in England in 2019 ordered by deprivation and coloured by political control. I was staring at it yesterday and wondered what it might look like now. So obviously I had to make it...
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Ste Jormur @stejormur.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Just came across this insane Wikipedia article about a case I'm surprised isn't more famous – a bonkers attempt by some monks to win a theological debate by faking an apparition of Mary, involving cross-dressing, drugs, a secret crane and an exploding chair, that ended in their public execution. 🧵
"Mary" in Jetzer's cell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jetzer_affair#
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Abi Stevely @abi-stevely.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
New study published in @addictionjournal.bsky.social this morning 🥳 We found that alcohol-free and low-alcohol beer is generally cheaper than regular-strength beer on the shelf. But at checkouts, people pay 7% more. sarg-sheffield.ac.uk/news-media/s...
sarg-sheffield.ac.uk
The higher cost of a healthier option: SARG study lifts the lid on why no/lo alcohol beer drinkers feel out of pocket - Sheffield Addictions Research Group
People buying alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers pay more for choosing a healthier option, according to new research by the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG).
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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
One of the more interesting graphs I've seen, something that seems really counter-intuitive until you think about it. England only having about 15 percent forest coverage at the time of the Doomsday book (about half of what France and Germany have today) is wild, isn't it?
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
How do alcohol duty rates vary across OECD countries? Here's the excise duty (excluding VAT) for every OECD country I could find data for. Highest rates in the Nordic countries, Australia and the UK. Only Japan and (I believe) Korea don't have higher taxes per unit alcohol for spirits.
A bar chart showing the excise duty rate per unit of alcohol for beer, wine and spirits in most OECD countries. Many countries don't tax wine at all. Those that do, generally have higher tax rates per unit for wine than beer, and all countries except for Japan and Korea have higher rates for spirits than any other alcohol.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Today I will mostly be playing hide and seek on the Sheffield bus network, Jet Lag style.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
This really is tremendous. Birds are such glorious dorks, although not as dorky as the humans that have given them so many daft names.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
My colleagues and I have some thoughts about Andy Burnham's proposals to save Britain's pubs as well as his suggestion to fund this through increased business rates on vape shops and bookies. (My alternative title 'Andy Burnham: Pub Messiah?' was sadly vetoed)
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
This is such a weird non-story. The regulations relate specifically to the term 'alcohol-free', which should only be applied to drinks below 0.05% ABV. But there is no barrier to making drinks at 0.5% - e.g. Lucky Saint is 0.5% and their sales seem to be fine. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
UK’s alcohol-free beer boom threatened by regulations, trade body warns
BBPA wants content definition for beer to be considered non-alcoholic to be changed from 0.05% to 0.5%
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
For those of you that missed the news that Humphrey Smith, the eccentric autocrat of the Samuel Smith pub empire, had died recently... (and if you've no idea who he was, stop what you are doing and go and read this excellent article now www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...)
theguardian.com
Humphrey’s world: how the Samuel Smith beer baron built Britain’s strangest pub chain
Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder?
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
This is really interesting work and has some important implications for anyone who cares about the impact of new treatments and interventions on health inequalities. Whether current NHS spending is reducing inequality is crucial to estimating what happens when we divert some of that to new drugs.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
ICYMI, here's the most striking finding from our new paper on reformulation in the British off-trade alcohol market: This graph shows the proportion of beer sales which are below 3.5% ABV. The dashed line shows the date that duty rates for 2.8-3.4% beer was cut. 1/4 of beer sold in 2025 was <3.5%!
A line chart with 3 separate lines showing the proportion of beer sales coming from products below 3.5% ABV (excluding no/low alcohol products) measured in terms of: 1) the volume of beer, 2) the volume of alcohol and 3) the amount of money spent. All three measures are very low (less than 3% of the market) and falling between 2018 and mid-2023 when taxes were cut on 2.8-3.4% beer. Immediately after this change the volume of lower-strength beer jumps to 10-15% and then continues to rise, eaching 15-20% for alcohol volume and sales value and almost 25% for product volume.
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Drinking Studies Network (DSN) @drinkingstudies.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
'How Have Alcohol Producers Changed the Alcohol Content of Their Products? A Descriptive Analysis of Reformulation in the Off-Trade Alcohol Market in Great Britain, 2018–2025' | @victimofmaths.bsky.social et al, Drug and Alcohol Review onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
How Have Alcohol Producers Changed the Alcohol Content of Their Products? A Descriptive Analysis of Reformulation in the Off‐Trade Alcohol Market in Great Britain, 2018–2025
Introduction In August 2023, the United Kingdom introduced alcohol taxation reforms designed to encourage alcohol producers to lower the alcoholic strength of their products. This study aims to quan...
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APSAD DAR @apsad-dar.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🆕 How Have Alcohol Producers Changed the Alcohol Content of Their Products? A Descriptive Analysis of Reformulation in the Off-Trade Alcohol Market in Great Britain, 2018–2025 Colin Angus, Luke B. Wilson, Sarah Jackson, ..., Jamie Brown, John Holmes doi.org/10.1111/dar.70197
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
New paper klaxon: Our analysis of reformulation (when alcohol producers change the strength of their products) in the British alcohol market 2018-2025 has just been published in @apsad-dar.bsky.social. I think some of our findings are pretty striking... doi.org/10.1111/dar....
An image of the head of the journal article: How have alcohol producers changed the alcohol content of their products? A descriptive analysis of reformulation in the off-trade alcohol market in Great Britain, 2018-2025
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Emily✨ @emilyoram.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Giroud x Colin 🐛🍫🇫🇷
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This is an important piece of work - looking at how alcohol prices in Australia's Northern Territory responded to the repeal of Minimum Unit Pricing last year. Unsurprisingly, they found an immediate increase in the availability of cheap alcohol.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This is a really interesting blog about a curious phenomenon - the rise of high-strength (10%+) pre-mixed cocktails. In absolute terms the price per unit of alcohol on these isn't particularly low, but we might worry about their appeal to younger drinkers.
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Institute of Alcohol Studies @ias.org.uk · 18/06/2026
No and low alcohol drinks aren't the population-level fix for alcohol harm that headlines suggest. In our latest blog, Oscar Rousham shows that most buyers already drink at low risk - but for a smaller group of regular heavy drinkers, they could help. www.ias.org.uk/2026/06/18/n...
ias.org.uk
No/lo drinks and alcohol harm reduction: a targeted tool, not a population-level solution - Institute of Alcohol Studies
New research on no/lo drinks finds most buyers are low-risk, infrequent triers - not the heavy drinkers most likely to benefit from harm reduction. Only a small subgroup of regular, higher-risk purcha...
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European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 11/06/2026
Year after year, life expectancy rose. Until it didn’t ⏳ ERC grantee Jennifer Dowd @ox.ac.uk investigates the social, economic, and biological forces shaping mortality trends today. 🔗 Read the full story here: buff.ly/BH8l63N #LifeExpectancy #PopulationHealth #FrontierResearch
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Also in Lithuania - many cool birds 🦉 Yellow wagtail (with a blue head - ours have yellow heads) White Stork preening on a roof Aquatic warbler singing his little heart out Cranes with a little baby crane
A yellow wagtail sitting in a tree, looking very yellow (although with a slatey blue head, the ones we predominantly get in the UK have yellow heads)A massive white stork sitting on top of a roof preening itselfAn aquatic warbler, a little brown and white bird, perched on top of a reed  doing some good warblingCranes! A pair of big grey dudes with a cute fluffy baby
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I spent last week in Kaunas in Lithuania at an alcohol policy conference. It was my first visit to Lithuania, and it was marvellous. A beautiful city, great food and an abundant supply of delicious cakes.
A big old church. Very Eastern European looking with lots of domesThe roof terrace of a very austere, but quite cool modernist church, with a big square spireA nice old building on the town square with turrets. Could be from anywhere in Central Europe, pretty muchThe fancy interior of a Catholic Church, with a beautifully decorated ceiling, fancy columns, etc etc
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
It's almost World Cup time (for better or worse), so I've got an excuse to update this silly application of a lexis surface to the England men's football squads for every major tournament ever. R code here: github.com/VictimOfMath...
A chart with time on the x-axis and player age on the y-axis. It shows the players included in every World Cup and Euros squad as dots, positioned vertically by their age. Players included in multiple squads are joined by diagonal lines, which are darker for players appearing in the most squads.
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Institute of Alcohol Studies @ias.org.uk · 09/06/2026
In our latest blog, researcher Lucy Burke finds that people who drink alcohol to "fit in" are more likely to try no and low alternatives - but those who drink to cope or for intoxication? Not so much. Drinking motives may shape who no/lo policies actually reach. www.ias.org.uk/2026/06/09/w...
ias.org.uk
What is the point of a pint without alcohol? How drinking motives can help our understanding of who is consuming no/lo drinks - Institute of Alcohol Studies
Drinking motives help explain why people drink alcohol - so how do these motives interact with consuming zero alcohol products?
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SARG - SCHARR @sarg-scharr.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
📢 We’re recruiting a Research Assistant to join SARG on a @wellcometrust.bsky.social -funded project led by @ambercopeland.bsky.social exploring how contextual factors influence alcohol consumption. 📍 Full-time (hybrid), Sheffield ⏳ Apply by 29 June tinyurl.com/sarg-ra #AcademicSky #PublicHealth
Graphic advertising a Research Assistant vacancy with the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) at the University of Sheffield. The blue graphic features a photograph of Dr Amber Copeland labelled “Project Lead” and “Wellcome Research Fellow”. Large text reads “We Are Hiring – Research Assistant” with a short description of a Wellcome-funded project exploring how contextual factors influence alcohol consumption. Three role highlights are listed: supporting a smartphone-based behavioural study, managing participant recruitment and study delivery, and preparing and analysing complex datasets. The graphic states that the role is a full-time hybrid Grade 6 position for two years, with applications closing on 29 June 2026 and a link to apply.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
This (and the other points in the thread) are generally good advice. BUT I think people often get overly prescriptive with this sort of guidance and ignore the fact that a good presentation requires a combination of good slides *and* a good presenter. I HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS...
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
This is such a weird headline to the article, the text of which makes no mention of any 'tax raid' (because there hasn't been one). The changes to the duty system in 2023 mean that there are now tax *cuts* for producers who reformulate to below 3.5%.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Come and join this cool project. You get to work with @ambercopeland.bsky.social and be part of our lovely team of excellent humans.
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SARG - SCHARR @sarg-scharr.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Interested in a fully funded PhD in gambling harms? The @ukri.org Gambling Harms Research UK Evidence Centre is recruiting six four-year PhD studentships across @glasgow.ac.uk, @sheffielduni.bsky.social and @swanseauni.bsky.social. More at tinyurl.com/ghrukphd #PhD #AcademicSky #PublicHealth
Promotional graphic for fully funded UKRI PhD studentships in gambling harms research from the Gambling Harms Research UK Evidence Centre. Large text reads: “Fully funded UKRI PhD studentships in gambling harms research.” Supporting text says: “Join leading researchers to shape the future of gambling harms evidence, policy and prevention.” Includes a study desk image, GHRUK and UKRI logos, and the web address tinyurl.com/ghrukphd.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Urusei Yatsura Mogwai (x2) The National Fugazi Godspeed You! Black Emperor (x3) ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (x2) Lucy Dacus Pixies Deftones (x2) Kathryn Joseph
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I've been a bit quieter on here lately - busy beavering away on all sorts of interesting projects that I can't share just yet, but here's some visual snippets of a few of the fun things I've been up to that I'll hopefully get to post about soon.
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SARG - SCHARR @sarg-scharr.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
SARG Research Fellow @abi-stevely.bsky.social was recently interviewed on the @nihrsphr.bsky.social 'Researchers in the making' podcast to discuss research into no/lo drinks, youth drinking trends, and their own academic career pathway. Listen at open.spotify.com/episode/3BA9... #PublicHealth
The image shows Abi Stevely and the quote "Maybe the growing availability of these products and their massive increase in sales will have longer term effects around changing people's relationship with alcohol." It also shows the NIHR SPHR, University of Sheffield and Sheffield Addictions Research Group logos.
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Mia Jankowicz @miajankowicz.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Delighted and daunted in equal measure to be joining @millmedia.bsky.social as a staff writer as they branch out to a new city. Launching in June, The Exchange will provide quality writing, features and investigations covering Leeds and West Yorkshire. Any local tips? Reach out!
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Went to the seaside and saw some birbs today 🦉 Flappy gannet, grumpy razorbill, curious puffin, guillemot shaking it's booty. Photo credit on those last two to my daughter.
A gannet - a big white bird with a yellow head and black wingtips - perched at the top of a cliff flapping its massive wings threatening to take offA razorbill - a cute little black and white seabird - chilling in the sun at the top of a cliffA puffin looking adorable, tilting its head quizzically at the cameraA guillemot - another cute black and white seabird - shaking itself down post-preen
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SARG - SCHARR @sarg-scharr.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
We're delighted to be taking a lead role in the new Gambling Harms Research UK (GHR-UK) Evidence Centre, the UK's largest independent gambling harms research initiative, supported by @ukri.org. Find out more on the SARG website: sarg-sheffield.ac.uk/news-media/s... #GamblingResearch
sarg-sheffield.ac.uk
SARG researchers lead UK's biggest effort to tackle gambling harms - Sheffield Addictions Research Group
A major new national effort to tackle gambling harms and shape future policy, prevention and treatment across the UK is being led by researchers from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
This is a really neat study looking at the role our motivations for drinking alcohol play in our use of no- and low-alcohol drinks. The findings also have some important implications for public health - suggesting the scope for no/lo drinks to reduce alcohol consumption may be somewhat limited...
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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
I'll use any excuse to post my favourite economic graph, price of a pint relative to income from 1259 to 2023. Ale isn't as quite as constant for prices as bread is, but I love how this shows spikes in inflation and prices in a way that is accessible because it's a disposable luxury.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
We've just published a new briefing note, based on interviews with people with alcohol dependence or in recovery and who are experiencing financial hardship about their views on alcohol pricing policies. We found some interesting things... sarg-sheffield.ac.uk/sarg-briefin...
An image of the cover of our new briefing note, titled "What do people with experience of alcohol dependence think about alcohol pricing policy" in a very nice teal, orange and white colour combo.
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Suzi Gage @soozaphone.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Ugh I wish I had time to write a proper explore of this post. It's SO CLOSE to getting it - she even talks about how she realised what she was missing out on when she had a baby and felt out of the loop. YES - because this type of work culture is massively discriminatory!!!! It's an anachronism.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
This seems, you know, bad. Healthy Life Expectancy is the number of years we can expect to live in 'good' health or better. It's fallen by 2 years since 2012-14 and now sits at just under 61 years for both men and women. www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...
health.org.uk
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Story from the BBC here reporting the results of our new study, just published in BMJ Public Health, looking at changes in criminal offences and ambulance callouts when Aberdeen extended late-night opening hours for pubs. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/4/2/...
bbc.co.uk
Longer pub hours bring 'more crime and ambulance call-outs'
Researchers say there was a rise in alcohol-related ambulance calls when Aberdeen's pubs opened to 03:00.
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
When we're interested in exploring people's preferences for how health gains from new treatments are distributed across the population (e.g. do we prefer more people getting less, or fewer people benefitting more), how do we elicit these? We've got a new paper about that: doi.org/10.1016/j.jv...
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
This is a great essay making the case for Universal Basic Income, with bonus Quebequois microtonal math rock content. www.scottsantens.com/the-angine-d...
scottsantens.com
The Angine de Poitrine Argument for UBI
Why Angine de Poitrine's viral microtonal math rock KEXP session, Ireland's permanent basic income for artists, and Albert Einstein are three sides of the same human triangle Two guys in papier-mâc...
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 24/04/2026
How many pints of Guinness does an hour’s work buy you? Well, it depends where you live. Check out our Chart of the week ⤵️ buff.ly/KPkiIZZ
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SARG - SCHARR @sarg-scharr.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Our latest study, commissioned by @alcoholchangeuk.bsky.social and conducted in partnership with @ucl.ac.uk, explores adults' attitudes towards adolescent consumption of no/lo drinks, alongside young people’s patterns, motivations and experiences of consuming alcohol and no/los. #PublicHealth
sarg-sheffield.ac.uk
New SARG study finds young people are three times more likely to start with alcohol than no/lo alternatives - Sheffield Addictions Research Group
New research from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) and University College London (UCL) has found that young people aged 16-25 in Great Britain are three times more likely to start drinki...
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Colin Angus @victimofmaths.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
This is obviously bad, but it isn't new. @niamhfitzgerald.bsky.social and I found exactly the same thing when we compared the approaches to alcohol policy of the four UK nations back in 2015 in a report for @nestauk.bsky.social. www.nesta.org.uk/report/four-...
nesta.org.uk
Four Nations: How evidence-based are alcohol policies and programmes across the UK?
The report shows differences in the use of evidence in alcohol-related policy in the four UK jurisdictions, and discusses the reasons underlying this.
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