www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Health and addictions professionals are well aware that adults over the age of 65 should drink less than younger people and know about important new risks of consuming alcohol. Now, a federal health website for older adults has published that information in a consumer-friendly format.
The National Institutes of Health’s Senior Health website recently added Alcohol Use and Older Adults, a featured topic that explains why alcohol packs a bigger punch as we age. (Source: Join Together, 8/24/10)

Some people whose drinking habits do not change over the years and decades may find that they develop problems with alcohol when they get older – aging lowers the body’s tolerance for alcohol. A drink now and again as one ages will not usually cause any harm. However, alcohol can become a problem for older adults, especially if they are taking certain prescription medications, have health conditions, or do not control their alcohol intake. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/13/10)

One-third of American drinkers over age 60 consume excessive amounts of alcohol, are at risk of dangerous interactions between alcohol and medications, or have illnesses that can be exacerbated by drinking, according to researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
A study of 3,308 clinic patients in California found that 34.7 percent of drinkers were considered high-risk, with more than half falling into at least two of the three risk categories. Patients ages 60-64 were twice as likely to be at-risk drinkers than those over age 80, and risk was also higher among drinkers who were more affluent and less educated. (Source: Join Together, 4/27/10)

As with underage drinking, social factors can help predict excessive drinking among older adults, according to new research from Rudolf H. Moos of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, Calif.
Moos and colleagues studied 719 men and women ages 55 to 65 over a 20-year period and found that those with more money, a more active social life, and friends who approved of drinking were more likely to engage in risky or excessive drinking. (Source: Join Together, 2/2/10)

Among older drinkers, social factors can both predict and sustain alcohol misuse.
Social factors have consistently been implicated as a cause of vulnerability to alcohol use and abuse. The reverse is also true, in that individuals who engage in excessive drinking may alter their social context. New research on drinking among older adults has found that older adults who have more money, engage in more social activities, and whose friends approve more of drinking are more likely to engage in excessive or high-risk drinking. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/28/10)

Council invites Member States and Commission to keep alcohol high on the agenda. The Council of the EU adopted today its Conclusions on Alcohol and Health. Today’s Council conclusions on Alcohol and Health
The Council reiterates that harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption is the third most significant risk factor for ill health in the EU and that many Community policies have a potential positive or negative impact on health and well-being.
The Council also notes that the level of alcohol-related harm is still high in the Member States, that 15 % of the EU population drinks at harmful levels and that the impact of harmful use of alcohol is greater in young people.
It also remarks that these issues are of Community relevance because of the cross-border element and highlights the negative effect on both economic and social development and public health.
The Council conclusions also mention that alcohol marketing increases the likelihood of young people to start drinking, that alcohol has became more affordable between 1996 and 2004 and that alcohol pricing policies can reduce alcohol consumption and related harm.
It also points at the relationship between alcohol consumption and communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
The Council invites the Member States to:
* implement the good practices included in the EU Alcohol
* foster a multi-sectoral approach
* make use of effective measures
* consider the role of alcohol pricing policies
* address the well-being of the aging population

The Council invites both the Commission and the Member States to:
* Keep alcohol policy high on the agenda
* strengthen the identification and dissemination of effective policies
* recognize the reduction of health inequalities as a priority
* engage the alcohol industry to enforce regulatory measures
* consider how to improve EU regulations on alcohol marketing
* implementation of brief interventions
* raise awareness of the impact of harmful consumption

The Council invites the Commission to:
* Continue to provide strong support to the Member States
* Ensure that alcohol is taken into account in other EU policy areas
* Consider further steps to reduce exposure to alcohol marketing
* Report to the council in 2012 at the latest on the progress and outcome of the Commission work , and;
* Define the priorities for the next phase of the Commission’s work on alcohol after the end of the current strategy in 2012. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter 12/1/09member st) Comment: At least the EU-Council sees clearly.

Having a drink or two a day may not help maintain a sharp mind as people age, according to a new report.
Reuters reported Nov. 16 that researchers from University College London studied the alcohol use; social, economic and physical conditions; and thinking skills of 1,985 men and women ages 60 to 74. Data on the 87 percent of participants who said they drank moderately or didn’t drink at all were analyzed in further detail. … Researchers said that moderate drinkers likely have better mental skills as they get older because their superior social, economic, and educational status helped them improve their thinking skills throughout their lifetime, not because of drinking. (Source: Join Together, 11/24/09) Online-Comment: Now let’s see if the media report this study the same way they welcomed previous studies with the opposite result.

Older adults who have alcohol dependence problems drink significantly more than do younger adults who have similar problems, a new study has found. The findings suggest that older problem drinkers may have developed a tolerance for alcohol and need to drink even more than younger abusers to achieve the effects they seek. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/22/09) Comment: Not surprising.

Online Comment on “Moderate Drinkers Less Likely To Develop Dementia” on Medical News Today, 8/30/09:
Now we have the same epidemic news as we have had it with heart disease. And here researchers declare openly they did not explore the characteristics of individuals. That means, it is not clear who the abstainers are: Former alcoholics, people with diabetes, abstainers for one month, a year or lifelong. I know many lifelong abstainers, many of them lived 90 and more years, but not one of them showed abnormal signs or died of dementia.

Moderate Drinkers Less Likely To Develop Dementia says a study from The Australian National University.
People who drink light to moderate amounts of alcohol in later life are less likely to develop dementia than people who abstain from alcohol consumption. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/30/09) Comment online. The same story again: Characteristics of individuals recruited into the studies were not checked. Pure alcohol marketing.