www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Press Release IOGT-International, 01/21/12
Fifa, football’s world governing body, keeps insisting that alcohol must be sold at all venues hosting matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Fifa even speaks of a right to sell beer. But alcohol is currently banned from Brazilian stadiums as part of measures to reduce violence in football and to improve public health in general. The country’s health minister has urged Congress to maintain the ban in the new “World Cup law”.

But Fifa is not willing to accept these arguments and Secretary-General Jerome Valcke says: “Alcoholic drinks are part of the Fifa World Cup, so we’re going to have them. Excuse me if I sound a bit arrogant but that’s something we won’t negotiate.”

“No, we do not excuse your arrogance,” says Mr. Sven-Olov Carlsson, President of IOGT International, “and we cannot accept that Fifa is willing to jeopardize the fun of the game, the safety of children and families and the positive social development in Brazilian society.”
“We suggest Fifa to take a good, hard look at its own Corporate Social Responsibility because words should be followed by deeds,” urges Mr. Carlsson.

Fifa writes on its webpage: “Ensuring that the game of football reflects the highest values of society is essential to Fifa. Through its regulations and actions on and off the pitch, Fifa fights negative influences on the game and ensures that the fundamental values are respected.”

A WHO study carried out in (among others) Brazil, showed that about 46% of violence-related cases included alcohol use. The study also demonstrated that violence related injuries increase with alcohol use. Global evidence shows that alcohol marketing, like sports sponsorship, causes earlier onset of alcohol use among youth and heavier alcohol use for those already consuming. All over the world, alcohol is an obstacle for development and human dignity. It is the socially the most harmful drug.

“That’s why IOGT International strongly supports the Brazilian Health Minister and calls on the Brazilian Parliament to keep football stadiums free from alcohol,” says Mr. Carlsson and continues:
“Football is about creativity and freedom. Alcohol is not. So, why does Fifa force them together and knowingly accept that people will suffer? For the profit? We demand from Fifa to take its own words seriously and put people before profit. Let’s set football free.”

An article in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization raises concerns regarding conflict of interest in a partnership where SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewer by sales volume, receive funding from the Global Fund for a HIV/AIDS prevention project in drinking establishements in South Africa.
“No conflict of interest” replies the Global Fund.
The recent issue of Bulletin of the World Health Organization carries a round table section: “Global Fund collusion with liquor giant is a clear conflict of interest. The First article is by Richard Matzopoulos, Charles DH Parry, Joanne Corrigall, Jonny Myers, Sue Goldstein and Leslie London. They describe how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) has recently included SABMiller as a recipient of funding for an education intervention aimed at minimizing alcohol-related harm, including HIV prevention, among men in drinking establishments.The authors think Global Fund support for this initiative is cause for concern.

The article discusses whether men in drinking establishments are the best target group for the intervention, whether a drinking establishment is the best location, and whether the educational intervention itself is effective. Their experience is that the liquor industry is inclined to support alcohol interventions that will not affect drinking rates at a population level. These interventions allow the industry to simultaneously fulfil social and legal obligations to address the harmful use of alcohol while ensuring that sales and profits are maintained.

Providing funding for a highly profitable industry that could afford to fund its own interventions also reduces the funds available for less well-resourced organizations.

Ask the authors: “Do we take it that the problem of “corporate capture” has now spread to one of the largest health funders in the world?” …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/08/12) add-recources.org, 01/05/12
Comment: At least the industry accepted the role of alcohol regarding HIV.

The financial crisis in Europe is affecting young people’s overall emotional well-being and capacity to learn. A report from Glasgow City Council highlights how pupils’ emotional stability underpins their ability to learn. In Estonia a notable rise in abuse of alcohol among youth is reported. However, EU countries report that social spending is bearing the heaviest austerity burden: e.g. the German “savings package” requires 37% of the savings to be taken from social spending.

At the same time the President of the European Commission Mr. Barroso finds the time to attend a gala of the alcohol lobbyist Brewers of Europe, to join their special interests by recognizing the “important contribution to European economy. And the value added of the sector to the economy is estimated at €50 Billion.”

The costs of the social harm caused by alcohol every year in the EU, however, are more than twice of that sum: €125 Billion.
“Mr. Barroso displays exactly the kind of thinking that got us into the crisis in the first place. Short-term profit thinking instead of long-term vision rooted in sustainable policies”, says Andrea Lavesson, President of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace.

The EU is the heaviest alcohol consuming region in the world. Only the economic consequences, let alone the social and democratic harm, are enormous: productivity losses because of alcohol (absenteeism, unemployment and premature death) amount to €59 Billion per year.
In the face of these facts, it remains a riddle how the President of the European Commission can say things like: “And indeed the Commission looks to your industry as a key partner in pushing forward our growth agenda towards a more smart, inclusive and sustainable Europe, our Europe 2020 agenda.” … (Source: JOINT PRESS RELEASE by Active and The European Youth Forum (YFJ), 25.11.11)

Dear grown-ups, decision-makers in the European Parliament, in the national peoples’ representations, in the national governments and ministries, in the European Commission, We hope this letter finds you well.

We are not well. We are concerned because it looks like our future (is) broke.
In our organizations and for many of the young people and youth organizations we are cooperating with, the picture is clear: young Europeans are concerned, often even scared. We are extremely aware of the tremendous burden that is being put on each and every single young European, who will have to make huge efforts, work relentlessly to master the debt challenges collected and piled up by the grown-ups who have been making decisions in the past and do so today.
Millions of young Europeans – in youth organizations, schools, universities and the public places all over the continent – ask: how are we ever going to be able to pay back these paramount debts that exceed any form of imagination?

With this question came another realization: we, Europe’s youth, need the best possible conditions, tools and qualifications to be able to tackle the debt piled up by yesterday’s and today’s grown-ups. In that sense and in many other ways, it is wrong to cut and try and save money on education, youth facilities, culture. It is especially wrong when other measures go largely unnoticed. Therefore Active and (only) 30 of its members collected during 2 hours in Rome last weekend more than 130 postcards from people whom they met. 130 ideas what €125 Billion could be spent on – instead of paying for alcohol related harm every year. … (Source: Press Release activeeurope.org, 11/16/11)
Comment: This could be an essential part of the Occupy-movement.

Prevention of Teen Substance Abuse Must Start with Tackling America’s Underage Drinking Epidemic. Let’s Make it Cool for Teens Not to Drink!

Joseph A. Califano, Jr.A recent survey of 7th through 11th graders in the Connecticut gold coast town of Westport, Connecticut, nails the importance of targeting alcohol use among teens for parents, teachers, pediatricians and public health professionals who seek to prevent teen substance abuse and addiction.

The survey by the Governor’s Prevention Initiative for Youth revealed that 25 percent of the town’s 9th graders, 37 percent of 10th graders, and 60 percent of 11th graders had been drinking alcohol in the previous 30 days. Translated from substance abuse statistical jargon to plain English, this means that these high school freshman, sophomores and juniors are current drinkers, likely drinking regularly. … (Source: CASA, Chairman’s Corner, 11/15/11)

our online-comment:
As long as politicians are not willing to reduce the harmful impact of the alcohol industry on society (TV-marketing is only one sector of many) in order to reduce alcohol consumption in general, youth will miss the good example and will hardly be convinced by educational prevention. Alcohol-lobbies are a sort of corruption. Not only in the Third World.

Alcohol is the world’s number one risk factor for ill-health and premature death amongst the 25-59 year old age group, a core of the working age population. Europe is the heaviest drinking region of the world. Consumption levels in some countries are around 2.5 times higher than the global average (WHO 2009). Alarmingly 43% among 15-16 year old European students reported heavy binge drinking during the past 30 days (ESPAD 2007) and alcohol is the single biggest cause of death among young men of age 16 to 24.
The World Economic Forum’s 2010 Global Risks Report identifies non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as the second most severe threat to the global economy in terms of likelihood and potential economic loss. NCDs are a global risk equal in cost to the current global financial crisis. NCDs account for 86% of deaths globally, cardio-vascular diseases alone cost the EU economy €192 billion a year; similarly diabetes type II affects nearly 10% of entire adult population and costs €166 billion annually. The World Economic Forum and Harvard School of Public Health estimate that NCDs will cause a €25 trillion global economic output loss over the period 2005-2030.
Alcohol abuse is one of the 4 risk factors for developing NCDS such as cancer (1 in 3 European will get cancer in the coming years) and cardiovascular disease. It is important to address alcohol in this context and give it the attention needed.
Addressing the issue of alcohol abuse through effective policies will offer measurable health system savings and enhance the growth and productivity agenda for Europe 2020.
By decreasing the level of alcohol consumption, as well as being physically active and having a healthy diet:
– 75% of deaths from cardiovascular disease could be avoided
– 30-40% of cancers could be avoided

Due to the size of the problem and the universal impact, alcohol abuse is too big for governments to solve
alone. It requires a comprehensive, coordinated response from policy and decisions makers at the
European and national levels as well as all stakeholders concerned.

With this in mind, we the signatories would like to call on the Ministers of Health in Europe to
acknowledge the need for a comprehensive alcohol policy framework. The Committee on National
Alcohol Policy and Action are meeting on 17th November and we urge you to put forward a
request to the European Commission for a future European Alcohol Strategy 2013 – 2020.
(Source: Eurocare; Link to the letter

Comment: For Swiss policy-makers too… But we know, they don’t care.

AAW is led by Alcohol Concern the national charity on alcohol misuse.

As part of AAW, Alcohol Concern have launched a Charter for a World Free from Alcohol Harm. It is a call to action on politicians and professionals to campaign for the measures necessary to enable people in the UK to live free from alcohol harms. The measures are based on WHO recommendations and on policies supported by professionals in the alcohol and health fields.

The Charter aims to promote action to reduce the risks alcohol presents to society. It sets out measures such as responsible retailing, ensuring alcohol is not sold at artificially low prices, protecting children from social marketing, limiting the number of new licences, and increasing the identification and support of people suffering from alcohol-related harms.

Alcohol Concern are calling for as many people and groups as possible to sign up to the Charter, so that a real “grassroots” movement is formed. They also want the Charter and its measures to be formally included in the forthcoming National Alcohol Strategy. This, they believe, will ensure that the public health of the nation is always put first, and that we will begin to live in a world which gives each of us the right to live free from the burdens of alcohol abuse.

The publishing of the Charter is the start of a range of activities by Alcohol Concern during Alcohol Awareness Week, which also include the launch of the Youth Report on Advertising and an invitation to share your local activities on their Facebook page.

For more information see here or visit the Alcohol Concern Facebook page. Alcohol Concern have also released a units poster available to help people think about their level of drinking. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 11/14/11)

A group of medical organizations from around the world this week issued a statement calling on doctors to take the lead in demanding action to reduce alcohol misuse.

The statement, issued in The Lancet, said doctors, who are valued and trusted, are in a unique position to lead and inform this initiative. It comes in advance of next week’s United Nations Summit on Non-communicable Diseases, HealthDay reports.

Two billion people worldwide consume alcohol, and of these, 76.3 million have alcohol misuse problems, the statement notes, adding that alcohol use is the third leading risk factor for preventable and premature disease.

“It is every clinician’s responsibility to address alcohol harm, both on a daily basis with individual patients and in the wider context of health harms and inequalities at the population level,” the statement says. “We ask governments to act urgently and to champion evidence-based initiatives for the implementation of effective alcohol strategies at all levels to improve the health of populations worldwide.” … (Source: Join Together, 09/16/11) Comment: Where are our doctors?

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewing company, has signed a landmark partnership with Google aimed at taking over our computer screens – and marketing to our children. The advertising deal is estimated to reach at least 103 million minors under the age of 18 per month, plus several million more underage youth between the ages of 18 and 20 worldwide. Heineken ads will be concentrated on Google’s YouTube and will involve homepage takeovers and pre-roll ad slots. YouTube receives about 490 million visitors per month, of which an estimated 21% are under age 18. Other alcohol advertisers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (Bud Light) have previously bought standard YouTube pre-roll ad space, but no alcohol company has ever entered into such an extensive deal that will reach so many young people. (Source: Alcohol Justice, 08/24/11)

As we prepare to send kids back to classrooms for another school year, it’s important to equip parents and caregivers with the tools for talking with their children about alcohol. This issue is especially personal for me because my beautiful 15-year-old daughter, Alisa Joy, was killed by an underage drunk driver. While the pain of losing a loved one to drunk driving is devastating, we at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are committed to educating families about how to prevent such needless tragedies.
Teen alcohol use kills 6,000 young people each year, more than all other illegal drugs combined. However, research shows that three out of four teens say their parents are the number one influence on their decisions about alcohol. So it makes sense to provide parents with the tools to effectively harness their tremendous influence. … (Source: Join Together, 08/19/11)