www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Liquor stores are suing and neighbors are complaining as the Walgreens pharmacy chain seeks permits to sell alcohol at its stores in Indiana, the Indianapolis Star reported Feb. 27. Walgreens stopped selling alcohol about a decade ago but wants to resume such sales in central Indiana. Opponents in Indianapolis and other areas say that the area already is oversaturated with alcohol outlets, and the state’s beverage retailers have filed suit over the issue. (Source: Join Together, 3/3/10)

A new 6 million pound NHS campaign to reveal alcohol’s hidden effects warns people of the unseen damage caused by regularly drinking more than the advised limits and highlights drinkers’ affected organs while they sup their drink in the pub or at home. The campaign was launched recently by Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron. It forms part of a government-wide strategy to tackle the harmful effects of alcohol and is backed by major health charities. (Source: Medical News Today, 3/1/10) Online-Comment: I have been wondering for some time already why people in the U.K. get the advise to drink double the amount of alcohol as advised in other countries on the continent. Is it the climate or the good relations between alcohol industry and government?

Dear Legislator,
I support AB 1694 — The Alcohol-Related Services Program It’s time for Big Alcohol to pay its fair share of California’s annual $38.4 billion in alcohol-related trauma care, hospitalization, treatment, prevention and criminal justice costs. (Source: Marin Institute, 2/20/10)

Constellation Brands, whose growth as a power player in the alcohol industry recently earned it a spot on Marin Institute’s website as one of the world’s top alcohol-producing companies, can now add political influence to its list of accomplishments, thanks to a $25,000 contribution to the re-election campaign of New York State Governor David Paterson.
Constellation, which prides itself on its reputation as the world’s largest wine producer (by volume), contributed said 25K just one week before Governor Paterson announced his 2010/2011 budget, which included a proposal to allow wine to be sold in New York’s 19,000 grocery stores. Current law only allows wine to be sold in the 2,700 liquor stores in the state. (Source: Marin Institute, 2/21/10)

According To New Indiana University Research More Alcohol Sales Sites Mean More Neighborhood Violence.
More alcohol sales sites in a neighborhood equates to more violence, and the highest assault rates are associated with carry-out sites selling alcohol for off-premise consumption, according to new research released Feb. 21 by two Indiana University professors. (Source: Medical News Today, 2/22/10)

A Prohibition-era law still on the books makes Nebraska the only U.S. state to ban bars from serving drinks that mix beer and liquor, and some lawmakers are trying to make the restriction history. (Source: Join Together, 2/19/10 )

In Denmark people drank less alcohol in 2009 than the previous year – the first drop for several years. The latest figures for first three quarters of 2009 show a 20% decrease in the quantity of taxable alcohol reported sold across the board. And the average of 11.7 litres of pure alcohol bought per person for the year was 1.5 litres less than five years ago. The Danish Brewers’ Association (Bryggeriforeningen) said that beer sales within the industry decreased by 8% last year compared to 2008. According to Statistics Denmark alcohol consumption had been gradually climbing for many years prior to 2009. (Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 12.2.10) globalmalt.de, 9.2.10 Comment: Denmark still belongs to the European top consumers.

Want to know who exactly we’re referring to when we talk about Big Alcohol? Learn more about the biggest alcohol producers by clicking on the corporate logos below. (Source: Marin Institute, 2/10/10)

A proposal to use beer-tax revenues to fund an alcohol detoxification program in the notorious town of Whiteclay, Neb., is being opposed by alcohol industry lobbyists, the Omaha World-Herald reported Feb. 4.
Whiteclay is home to four stores that sell only beer, and most of that to residents of the “dry” nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The reservation is plagued by alcoholism, and Whiteclay has been dubbed the “Skid Row of the Plains.” (Source: Join Together, 2/8/10)

Liquor sales are holding steady despite the recession, but industry data indicates that more Americans are drinking at home rather than going out to bars and restaurants, the Phoenix Business Journal reported Feb. 2.
Liquor sales were up 1.4 percent last year, to 187 million cases worth $18.7 billion, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. The study also found that off-premise consumption rose by 2.2 percent while on-premise drinking (e.g. at bars and restaurants) fell by 3 percent. (Source: Join Together, 2/5/10)