www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) says that 30 percent of U.S. eighth graders drink alcohol, and 20 percent binge drink, according to a March 4 story in HealthDay. In that light, it’s particularly chilling to learn (also from HealthDay) that federal statistics show that underage drinkers are responsible for about 546 visits to emergency rooms each day.
What’s a parent to do?
Talking with teens about alcohol and drinking can be difficult for parents — but emergency room doctors and MADD just made it a little easier.
The American College of Emergency Physicians(ACEP) teamed up with MADD to create and release a new, free handbook as part of MADD’s „Power of Parents, It’s Your Influence“ campaign. (Source: Join Together, 03/10/11)

ll residential colleges held mandatory meetings on Monday night to discuss each college’s response to the recent campus-wide moratorium on hard alcohol and to inform students about the circumstances that led up to the administrative action.
Each college was given the freedom to specify its own enforcement policies, definition of a private party and other aspects of moratorium that were mentioned in the letter from Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson on Feb. 24. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/11/11) media.www.ricethresher.org, 03/11/11

Österreicher als europäisches Schlusslicht
Viele österreichische Jugendliche geben im europäischen Vergleich ein äußerst schlechtes Bild ab. Fünf bis zehn Prozent der Kinder leben hierzulande in sogenannten Risikokonstellationen, das heißt belastete Familiensituationen, die durch Gewalt, Alkohol, Armut, Vernachlässigung und Missbrauch geprägt sind, beschrieb Mediziner Klaus Vavrik, Präsident der Österreichischen Liga für Kinder-und Jugendgesundheit, am Donnerstag bei einer Tagung des Vereins „die möwe“ und Innenministerium in Wien. … (Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 10.03.11) derstandard.at, 10.03.11 unser Online-Kommentar: Die Kommentare zum Artikel zeigen, dass für das in vielen Fällen dahinterstehende Alkoholproblem kein Verständnis besteht. Die alkoholisierte Gesellschaft sieht sich eben als Normalfall. Und sie ist auch Vorbild der Jugend. Da kann auch keine Besserung erwartet werden.

… data from the World Health Surveys.
Alcohol use is increasing among women in Africa, and comparable information about women’s current alcohol use is needed to inform national and international health policies relevant to the entire population. This study aimed to provide a comparative description of alcohol use among women across 20 African countries. …
Conclusions: A variety of drinking patterns are present among African women with lifetime abstention the most common. Countries with hazardous consumption patterns require serious attention to mitigate alcohol-related harm. Some similarities in factors related to alcohol use can be identified between different African countries, although these are limited and highlight the contextual diversity of female drinking in Africa. (Source: biomedcentral.com, 03/10/11) Comment: Now the alcohol industry knows about a wonderful field for marketing. (It knew before.)

For women, this weekend’s International Women’s Day holiday is supposed to be a time to receive gifts and affection from the men in their lives. For the country, it means a welcome three-day weekend. But for all too many people, the holiday also offers an excuse to drink.
The good news is that the national drinking problem isn’t quite as bad as many thought. The World Health Organization concluded in a report last month that Russia is apparently no longer the world leader in per capita alcohol consumption. In fact, at 15.7 liters of pure alcohol per capita, Russia is not even on the medal stand of the global drinking games, just beating out Ukraine (15.6 liters) for fourth place behind bronze medalist Hungary (16.3 liters), the Czech Republic (16.5 liters) in second place, and the world-champion guzzlers from Moldova, who quaff an astounding 19.2 liters of pure alcohol per year.
But do those numbers actually mean anything? How much do Russians really drink? … (Source: Harvard World Health News, 03/10/11) themoscowtimes.com, 03/05/11

SCIENCE GROUP 8th Meeting, 21 March 2011, 11h00 – 17h00
Brussels, Froissart 101, room 02/169
AGENDA
7) Update on recent developments (Commission services)
8) Work towards formulating scientific advice on reducing the negative impact of harmful
and hazardous alcohol consumption on the workplace (EAHF Task request)
o Draft report on initiatives and guidelines developed by alcohol producer companies
to reduce consumption and potential harm in the workplace
o Draft report on the evidence relating to the topics of the Task request (Source: EU, Agenda, 03/10/11)

The outspoken addictions Professor David Nutt has written a controversial piece claiming ‚There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption‘. Nutt asserts a number of factors to argue that the ‚myth of a safe level of drinking‘ has no real evidence. These include that alcohol is toxin which kills cells, that a small minority of people may become addicted to alcohol at first drink, and that the claimed cardiovascular benefits of moderate consumption have not sufficient proof. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 03/10/11)

„Stadt Linz plant Sondersteuer auf Alkohol“ – diese Schlagzeile brachte am Wochenende eine Kettenreaktion in Gang, die einen unglaublichen Aufruhr unter Politikern, Wirten und Getränkeherstellern im ganzen Land verursachte. Erst nach vier Tagen ist langsam klar geworden: Hier wurde ein Phantom durch die Gassen gejagt, die Steuer wird wahrscheinlich nicht einmal in Linz kommen. … (Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 09.03.11) krone.at, 09.03.11 Kommentar: Dass die Gegner auf die Barrikaden steigen, ist ja klar. Wo sind die Befürworter geblieben? Die WHO sagte schon vor Jahren, Alkohol-Prävention müsse ohne die interessierte Alkohollobby geschehen. Die Presse berichtet über den Aufruhr, aber selber recherchieren und sachlich informieren liegt nicht drin. Sie fürchten wie die Politiker um ihren Anhang. Die Gesundheit des Volkes und die Sozialkosten sind egal. Unsere Projekt-Idee scheint doch die einzige Lösung zu sein.

Von Aschermittwoch (9. März 2011) bis Karsamstag (23. April 2011) wollen 78 Prozent der Deutschen auf Alkohol verzichten. Das ergab eine aktuelle Studie der Krankenkasse DAK. Aber wie hält man den guten Vorsatz durch? Diplom-Psychologin Susanne Ploog gibt Tipps, damit es klappt. …(Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 09.03.11) suite101.de, 09.03.11

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), a project by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, recently announced its latest update of state-by-state alcohol policies. The update reports developments in 29 current APIS policy topics for the year 2009. You can visit the APIS website to obtain details on these and other important policy developments across the country. Many of these changes are consistent with the goals of reducing alcohol-related death and injury in the general population and reducing underage drinking and its consequences. (Source: Marin Institute, 03/09/11)