www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Eurocare has issued its Newsletter with international news on alcohol policies and politics.

A Swiss private banking firm publishes a report on the newly proposed WHO-strategy on alcohol:
Price rises are key to tackling alcohol abuse-WHO
* WHO issues draft global plan to tackle harmful alcohol use
* Executive board to examine strategy next week
* Harmful use of alcohol blamed for 2.5 mln deaths a year
Binge drinking and other growing forms of harmful use of alcohol should be tackled through higher taxes on alcoholic drinks and tighter marketing regulations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 1/13/10) claridenleu.com, 1/12/10 Comment: Perhaps this information may convince some shareholders of the alcohol industry to sell their shares as it is not acceptable to earn money at the cost of public health and our youth.

Researchers who studied 22,000 men over more than two decades have concluded that drinking alcohol is not associated with either the odds of having a stroke or the severity of stroke symptoms, Reuters reported Jan. 5.
Previous, smaller studies have suggested that moderate drinking may protect against stroke, but researcher Tobias Kurth and colleagues found that the association is weak and grows even weaker over time. The study found that very light drinkers — those who consumed just one alcoholic drink weekly — were slightly less likely to suffer strokes, but moderate drinking had no impact. (Source: Join Together, 1/08/10) Comment: Let’s hope again, that the international press picks it up.

FACE’s Fresh Story blog highlights a new report from the New Mexico Department of Public Health that quantifies the human and ecomonic costs of alcohol abuse in the state. The report also prompted an insightful newspaper commentary observing that 85 percent of all alcohol deaths in the state are caused by something other than impaired driving. (Source: Join Together, 1/6/10) freshstory.org, 12/29/09

A massive rise in the numbers of people drinking heavily and the cost of treating them is creating an unsustainable burden on NHS hospitals but more could be done to ease existing pressures, says an NHS Confederation report published recently. Too Much of the hard stuff: What alcohol costs the NHS, from the NHS Confederation and the Royal College of Physicians shows that the cost to the NHS of excess drinking has doubled in just five years, with most of the cost being spent on hospital and ambulance services. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/6/10)

“Well, ladies, as you reach for that holiday drink of choice — mulled wine, Christmas punch, or spiced eggnog, perhaps? — you might want to think twice. A new study in Europe shows that highly educated, professional women drink more often and more heavily than almost any other female group. …” (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 12/22/09) politicsdaily.com, 12/21/09

The Royal College of Nursing today (17th December) welcomed the launch of new guidance for parents, children and young people on alcohol consumption, published by the Chief Medical Officer. Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said: “Both in A&E departments and in classrooms nurses see the devastating effects alcohol is having on young people everyday – it is damaging not just their health but also their education, development and general wellbeing. (Source: Medical News Today, 12/17/09) // guardian.co.uk, 12/17/09

Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use are serious problems in the U.S., but American teens are far from world leaders when it comes to smoking and drinking. A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that 20 percent of U.S. 15-year-olds reported having been drunk at least twice in their lives, one of the lowest rates in the developed world. By contrast, the rate was 56 percent for girls in Denmark and 59 percent for Danish boys. In the U.K., which has struggled to contain an explosion in youth drinking in recent years, the rates were higher for 15-year-old girls (50 percent) than boys of the same age (44 percent). (Source: Join Together, 12/10/09)

Almost 1,300 fewer Americans died in alcohol-related crashes last year than in 2007, and fatality rates dropped by 20 percent or more in Vermont, Wisconsin, Maine, Nebraska, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Dakota, Arizona and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
However, the rate of alcohol-related fatalities rose in New Hampshire, Kansas, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Idaho, Oklahoma and Colorado, DOT reported (PDF). (Source: Join Together, 12/10/09)

5th Plenary meeting, BRUSSELS, 12 November 2009
SUMMARY REPORT, 12/9/09