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A proposal to name Raleigh, N.C.’s new outdoor performance venue the Bud Light Amphitheater has been shot down by the state’s liquor-control agency, the News Observer reported June 17.
Awarding the naming rights to Anheuser-Busch would have netted the city $1.5 million annually, but the N.C. Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission rejected the exception to state liquor laws that would have been required for the deal to go forward. The law explicitly prohibits public venues from being named for alcoholic beverages or brands. (Source: Join Together, 6/22/10)

Binge and underage drinking are societal problems that college officials can’t be expected to solve, according to a speaker at the annual meeting of the American College Health Association (ACHA).
USA Today reported June 4 that Edward P. Ehlinger, head of the Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, said that current efforts to combat dangerous drinking among college students aren’t working. “I don’t think the problem of alcohol is an underage problem. It is not a college or university problem,” he said. “I think alcohol is a community problem — it is a societal problem.” (Source: Join Together, 6/11/10) with our online comment

Among 401 NCAA athletes at a major Division-I university, more than one-third reported mixing alcohol and energy drinks in the previous year, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 57th Annual Meeting in Baltimore. (Source: Medical News Today, 6/7/10)

MillerCoors has announced that it will end its sponsor relationship with the National Football League, opening the door for Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light to become the league’s official beer. Coors Light has been the official beer of the NFL since 2002, but the league and the brewer could not come to an agreement on a price to renew the deal. (Source: Join Together, 5/12/10)

Our nation’s media has been flooded with reports of the brutal killing of University of Virginia senior Yeardley Love by her classmate George Huguely, both college lacrosse players who had been “in a relationship” until she broke it off several weeks ago. The tragedy adds this beautiful 22 year old to the almost 2,000 college students who will die this year as a result of violence, accidents and poisoning related to excessive drinking.
Here’s why I’m convinced that the death of campus beauty Yeardley Love is another consequence of alcohol abuse on our nation’s campuses: (Source: Chairman’s Corner, CASA Founder and Chairman Joseph A. Califano, Jr., 5/10/10

NT: A national program aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm in sports clubs is this week being rolled out across Central Australia.
“Our Good Sports program is about working with community sporting clubs to reduce alcohol related harm – whether they have a liquor license or not – and about bringing back families to community sport” said John Rogerson CEO Australian Drug Foundation. (Source: Medical News Today, 5/5/10)

The loutish and drunken behaviour of some of our sporting heroes – routinely reported in the media – has little or no effect on the drinking habits of young people, new research has found.
Researchers at the Universities of Manchester, UK, and Western Sydney, Australia, say their findings – published in Drug and Alcohol Review – rubbish the idea that sports stars act as role models for those who follow sport. (Source: Medical News Today, 4/22/10)
Reports of heavy drinking by sports stars appear to have little influence on young people’s own drinking behavior, but use of athletes in alcohol advertising carries considerably more weight, results of a study in Australia suggest. (Source: Joint Together, 4/26/10)

Apolo Anton Ohno, the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian in history and star of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, (eight-record breaking Olympic medals in short-track speed skating) has partnered with The Century Council and its Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program. Today in Greenwood Village, Ohno, in conjunction with the newly formed Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation, began a five-city tour to schools throughout the U.S. encouraging kids to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to underage drinking. The Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation, established by the eight-time Olympic medalist, will focus on providing youth of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds with the opportunity to play sports, be active and learn about the benefits of making responsible and positive choices. (Source: Medical News Today, 3/8/10)

‘Side Stepping Alcohol Misuse’, an alcohol awareness project run by London Active Communities and Premier Rugby, is due to kick off across the country this month after receiving £100,000 funding from the charity, Drinkaware. The ground-breaking new youth inclusion project will see specially trained community staff from Premiership Rugby Clubs and local youth workers deliver sports-based alcohol education to young people aged 13 to 19. The programme will target hard to reach and disadvantaged communities in 12 areas, including Newcastle, Leeds and London. (Source: Medical News Today, 3/5/10)

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)