www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Public service advertising campaigns that use guilt or shame to warn against alcohol abuse can actually have the reverse effect, spurring increased drinking among target audiences, according to new research from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. (Source: Medical News Today, 2/25/10)

While the big game itself is old news, the commercials are not: the impact of Super Bowl advertising is in full swing. And according to the more than 30,000 middle and high school students nationwide, who participated in the DrugFree Action Alliance Super Bowl Survey; while alcohol ads were widely remembered, they did not place in the top three favorites among youth, as in past surveys. (Source: Join Together, 2/12/10)

Marin Institute awarded prizes in its 2nd annual Free The BowlTM video contest to seven young people ages 10 to 25. The prizes honored these young filmmakers compelling counter-alcohol ads, which were previewed at the Free The Bowl From Big Al (Big Alcohol) 2010 World Premiere in San Rafael, California on February 4. The message to Big Alcohol in these videos was clear: The alcohol ads you show during the Super Bowl are inappropriate for the millions of vulnerable young viewers who watch the event. (Source: Marin Institute, 2/8/10)

The recent earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath is by any measure a massive humanitarian disaster. The good news is that people all over the globe are doing whatever they possibly can to help–donating money, clothing, food, water, and their expertise. But most of these generous people are not putting out press releases about their good deeds. Nor are they branding their donated goods with their personal monikers. Why then, is Anheuser-Busch InBev sending out a press release about the 350,000 cans of water the company sent from its nearby plant in Santo Domingo? And why does the beer behemoth need to brand the cans of this much-needed water with its corporate logo? (Source: Marin Institute, 1/26/10)

Drinking games that encourage overconsumption — as well as all-you-can-drink specials and ladies’ nights — could soon be things of the past in the U.K. The British government plans to issue a ban on promotions that encourage heavy drinking later this year. As of April, games like the “dentist’s chair” — where patrons have liquor poured down their throats — will be prohibited in pubs, and mandatory ID checks will come into force in October. Pub owners who violate the laws could face heavy fines or prison time. (Source: Join Together, 1/22/10)

Although the content of alcohol advertisements in the UK is restricted, an analysis of previously unseen industry documents published on bmj.com today, finds that advertisers are still managing to appeal to young people and promote drinking. Professor Gerard Hastings and colleagues show that companies are “pushing the boundaries” of the advertising code of practice and warn that the UK system of self regulatory controls for alcohol advertising is failing. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/21/10)

In a report published on 8 January 2010, the Health Committee of the UK Parliament warns that the drinks industry and supermarkets hold more power over government alcohol policies than expert health professionals.
English MPs’ report calls for radical overhaul of alcohol policy.
It says the drinks industry is dependent on hazardous and harmful drinkers for three-quarters of its sales and if people drank responsibly, alcohol sales would plummet by 40%.
The Committee calls for the introduction of minimum pricing, a rise in the duty on spirits and industrial white cider, tighter and totally independent regulation of alcohol promotion, vastly improved alcohol treatment services, better early detection and intervention, a mandatory labelling scheme for alcoholic drinks, and much better use of expert advice.
The report flatly rejects as a myth the suggestion that minimum pricing would unfairly affect moderate drinkers: at 40p per unit it would cost a moderate drinker (6 units per week) 11p per week more than at present, and a woman drinking the maximum 15 units per week could buy her weekly total of alcohol for six pounds.
Three times as much alcohol per head is drunk as in the mid 20th century, 30-40,000 deaths every year could be alcohol related and liver disease rates are soaring. The total cost of alcohol to society has been put at £55bn. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter December 09-January 10)

Massachusetts consumers may soon be able to order wine online and have it shipped directly from out-of-state wineries after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the state’s latest attempt to control such shipments.
The Associated Press reported Jan. 15 that the court ruled that a 2006 law that forced larger winemakers to choose between selling through retailers or getting a license to ship directly to consumers was a violation of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The law was carefully crafted to exempt wineries located within Massachusetts from the requirement by making it applicable only to companies that produce 30,000 gallons of wine or more per year.(Source: Join Together, 1/19/10)

On the cover of this issue: Global Alcohol Strategy on the right track
Also in this issue:
* Draft global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol – Summary of Report
* Swedish Presidency – Major Alcohol Conference in Stockholm
* EU Alcohol Strategy makes a promising start
* GAPA Board meets in Sweden
* European Economic and Social Committee calls for statutory controls on alcohol marketing Self-regulation ‘not enough’, etc. All articles online

“Ministers are facing fierce opposition from medical groups, teaching unions and children’s charities over plans to allow products to be used in television programmes for marketing purposes for the first time. Critics claim the move, which broadcasters say will give them up to £140m a year in extra revenue, will fuel childhood obesity, exacerbate the problems caused by alcohol and gambling, and distort storylines by rewarding programme makers for deliberately giving certain items high visibility. The British Medical Association has written to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) strongly opposing the plan….(Source: Harvard World Health News, 1/7/10) The Guardian, London, Online, 1/3/10 Comment: They just try before the EU brings its contrary recommendations. Switzerland has decided last year this way, why Britain should not?