www.alkoholpolitik.ch

A craze for a ‚turbo-charged‘ alcoholic energy drink as strong as wine and sold in pint cans has lead to a rise in violence, police have claimed.
One can of ‚Crunk Juce‘ is the equivalent of drinking a pint of wine mixed with an energy drink.
‘Crunk Juce’ is 12 per cent proof and marketed as an alternative to beer and wine that will ‘leave you wondering what happened’.
But police say drinkers of ‘Crunk’ – slang for being crazy drunk – are increasingly involved in crime and are now working with trading standards to investigate its impact on public health. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 7/19/11)metro.co.uk, 06/26/11

Reports of a rise in counterfeit alcohol production have hit the news following a blast that killed 5 people in Boston, Lincolnshire.
In a BBC report on the Growing problem of illegally distilled alcohol, Trading Standards said that in some parts of the UK up to a quarter of licensed premises had been found to be selling counterfeit alcohol. It also reported that alcohol fraud costs the UK about £1bn a year in lost revenue, including £300m from illegal spirit sales, according to government estimates. Over £13 million of smuggled alcohol was seized last year. … (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/15/11)

Since 2006, Australia has had graphic image warnings on cigarette packages. Now announced this week, the liquor industry is volunteering to label its products with health warnings also. About 80% of alcohol sold in the country will carry the warnings.
According to government statistics, the proportion of people drinking at high risk level has increased from 8.2% in 1995 to 13.4% in 2005, when the last National Health Survey was conducted. The increase has been greater for women. … (Source: Medical News Today, 07/12/11)

On October the 27th the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy (STAP) will host the first European network conference on reducing youth drinking by law enforcement. Law enforcement experts and professionals from all over Europe will be able to exchange knowledge and experiences during a conference specifically focussed on enforcing alcohol legislation. Although regulations, policies and responsibilities differ by country, there are similar enforcement topics that apply to all. Effective enforcement of legal age limits is one of the main themes of the conference. Because the knowledge about law enforcement in Europe has grown substantially over the last decades it is the right moment to organise the first European alcohol enforcement meeting. … (Source: stap.nl, 6/27/11)

– does the prevention paradox apply?
According to the prevention paradox a majority of alcohol-related problems in a population can be attributed to low to moderate drinkers simply because they are more numerous than heavy drinkers, who have a higher individual risk of adverse outcomes. We examined the prevention paradox in annual alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and alcohol-related problems among adolescents in 23 European countries.
Survey data from the 2007 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) among 16-year-old students were analysed.
A total of 38 370 alcohol-consuming adolescents (19 936 boys and 18 434 girls) from 23 European countries were included.
The upper 10% and the bottom 90% of drinkers by annual alcohol intake, with or without HED, and frequency of HED, were compared for the distribution of 10 different alcohol-related problems. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/18/11)

Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 2011- The European Union is the heaviest drinking region in the world. Therefore, in Europe we suffer from the highest alcohol related problems. It is estimated that 58 million adults in the EU drink at risky levels, and 23 million are alcohol addicted. Alcohol constitutes the primary risk factor for accidents, injuries and violence. Approximately half of the deaths attributable to alcohol are from injuries.
This issue is being addressed at the 3rd European injury prevention conference, organised by EuroSafe in cooperation with the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council. Today stakeholders in the prevention of accidents and injuries from Europe and other continents meet in Budapest to exchange, debate and discuss the latest results in injury research, policies and practices. … (Source: Eurocare, Active Press Release, 06/16/11)

Our “Alcohol’s harm to others” conference took place on 3 June in Edinburgh. Around 100 delegates attended to hear from expert speakers and workshop leaders on the impact of excessive drinking on people other than the drinker, with a particular focus on children and young people.
Presentations can be downloaded below and the conference report will be available soon. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/10/11)

THE cost of some cask wine could quadruple, with Health Minister Nicola Roxon signing off on a plan to develop a nationwide minimum floor price for alcohol. The National Preventive Health Agency has been asked to „develop the concept“ as part of a plan approved by Ms Roxon but yet to be approved by her state counterparts.
The interim chief executive of the agency, Rhonda Galbally, said that while she wasn’t at liberty to reveal everything in the strategic plan approved by Ms Roxon, she was prepared to confirm that it included developing the concept of a uniform alcohol floor price that would apply nationwide. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/08/11) theage.com, 06/08/11

A regulation partly overruled by the Council of State would have helped prevent the recent deaths of several Russian tour guides from consuming unlicensed alcohol, the president of Turkey’s alcohol regulatory agency has said.
The decision of the Council of State was only an interim judgment and did not reflect the final verdict, said the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Agency, or TAPDK, chief.
“We deeply care about the arrangements in our regulation to prevent [such] deaths,” said TAPDK President Mehmet Küçük. He added that the recent deaths resulting from the consumption of unlicensed alcohol had demonstrated the importance of alcohol being sold by licensed vendors in predetermined locations. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/07/11) hurriyetdailynews.com, 06/06/11

Police say their latest national blitz on drunken behaviour confirms that Australia’s culture of alcohol and violence is out of control.
Over the weekend 1509 people were arrested in the ACT, Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, as part of Operation Unite, a 48-hour police crackdown on excessive alcohol consumption across Australia and New Zealand. …
The Police Association of NSW was less impressed with the 563 arrests made in its state, calling for new strategies to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence.
Acting president Pat Gooley said, “Operation Unite has proved that our culture of alcohol and violence is out of control, with boozed-up idiots running wild all over the country. “We need a comprehensive strategy for tackling alcohol-fuelled violence one that addresses the causes of the problem, not just the symptoms.“ (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/17/11) canberratimes.com.au, 5/16/11