www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The Bishop of Stafford has criticised the government for „doing little“ to prevent alcohol abuse. The Rt Rev Geoff Annas has described alcohol misuse as „one of the major sins of our time“. Writing in a pastoral letter, published in parish magazines across the Diocese of Lichfield, he called for a „seismic shift“ in attitudes towards drinking. The government has said it is tackling alcohol-related crime „at its source“ through a variety of measures.
He said charities were left to tackle the effects of „this drug abuse“, with government action not going far enough.
In the letter, Mr Annas said: „One definition of ’sin‘ is anything that comes between us and God and makes us less than the person God created us to be.
„Alcohol abuse is one of the major ’sins‘ of our time – and it is one that governments do very little to prevent.
„Instead, it is left to amazing organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous or in the inspirational O’Connor Gateway Charitable Trust, of which I am proud to be a trustee, to tackle the effects of this drug abuse.“ … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/07/11) bbc.co.uk, 06/01/11 Comment: It is far too seldom we here from a Churchman such words. To be drunk means the human dignity has gone.

Mumbai has voted to raise the age limit for buying spirits from 21 to 25 and beer 18 to 21, sparking concern from the drinks industry and fury among young people.
Politicians agreed to change the minimum age as part of moves to discourage under-age consumption and problem drinking.
The measures – which include fines for illegal drinking, a ban on serving alcohol at public functions and ceremonies and more „dry days“ when the sale of alcohol is banned – will apply in Mumbai and across the state of Maharashtra.
But Indian spirit-makers and the hotel and restaurant industry reacted strongly against the decision, saying it would adversely affect business.
„Thirty per cent of white spirits is consumed by people under 25,“ said Deepak Roy, vice-chairman and chief executive of Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), which makes the Indian whisky Officer’s Choice. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/07/11) telegraph.co.uk, 06/02/11

Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson submitted a bill in parliament yesterday evening on amendments to the law on alcohol with the purpose of making the ban on advertising alcoholic beverages clearer and more efficient.
It is suggested that the supervision of the ban be moved from the police to the Consumer Agency and that administrative fines can be issued in the case of violations.
As reported on Rás 2 yesterday, the bill includes a ban on advertising light alcoholic beer if the bottles or cans are so similar to regular beer that they can easily be confused. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/08/11) icelandreview.com, 06/01/11

Nach der tödlichen Herrentagsschlägerei in Rostock ist gegen den 24-jährigen mutmaßlichen Haupttäter am Freitag Haftbefehl wegen Totschlags erlassen worden. Der junge Mann soll das 44 Jahre alte Opfer mit einem massiven Faustschlag gegen den Kopf schwer verletzt haben, teilte die Staatsanwaltschaft mit. Der Mann stürzte daraufhin zu Boden und verlor das Bewusstsein. Er starb wenig später im Krankenhaus.
Wie inzwischen bekannt wurde, war offenbar ein Streit darüber, wer den schöneren Herrentagswagen hätte, Anlass der Auseinandersetzung.
Bereits wenige Stunden nach der Tat lieferten sich Betrunkene am S-Bahnhof und in der Nähe des Leuchtturms erneut heftige Prügeleien. Rettungskräfte und Polizei waren bis in die Nacht hinein im Großeinsatz. (Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 8.6.11) ostsee-zeitung.de, 3.6.11

München – Die deutsche Volkswirtschaft verliert mit 225 Milliarden Euro jährlich rund ein Zehntel des Bruttoinlandproduktes durch kranke Arbeitnehmer. Der durch reine Fehlzeiten bedingte Betrag von 1.197 Euro pro Mitarbeiter und Jahr erfasst dabei nur rund ein Drittel dieser Kosten.
Der erheblich höhere Teil entsteht dadurch, dass Arbeitnehmer trotz Krankheit am Arbeitsplatz erscheinen (Präsentismus). Ihre eingeschränkte Einsatzfähigkeit vermindert die Arbeitsqualität, erhöht die Fehleranfälligkeit und Anzahl von Unfällen. Das berichtet die Strategieberatung Booz & Company aufgrund einer Studie für die Felix Burda Stiftung.
Laut der Untersuchung schafft eine betriebliche Gesundheitsvorsorge strategische Wettbewerbsvorteile und kann die Kosten massiv senken, die Unternehmen und Volkswirtschaft jedes Jahr durch kranke Arbeitnehmer entstehen. (Quelle: aerzteblatt.de, 7.6.11) unser Online-Kommentar: Eine kürzliche schweizerische Untersuchung kam auf 2% alkoholbedingte Personalkosten, 14’000 Franken pro Person, total eine Milliarde. Diese Studie hier legt nahe, dass diese Kosten weit höher sind wegen des Präsentismus. Gerade beim Alkohol im Betrieb wird oft sehr lange gewartet, bis das Problem eines Mitarbeiters erkannt wird und auch Massnahmen ergriffen werden. Prävention im Betrieb ist deshalb sehr profitabel.
Ein anderes, unverständliches Kapitel ist die Komplizenschaft der Wirtschaft mit der Alkoholindustrie. Mindestens in der Schweiz bekämpfen die Wirtschaftsverbände seit jeher jede wirksame Alkoholprävention. Dabei würden ihre Betriebe damit nur gewinnen. Die Aktionäre sind blind und taub.

Since the term was coined about 40 years ago, fetal alcohol syndrome has slowly become recognized as a public health issue. Alicestine October reports from South Africa’s Western Cape province, which has the highest reported rate in the world.
“When I was pregnant with my son I drank a lot – mostly on weekends,” says Marion Williams, a 45-year-old mother who lost two of her five children in childbirth.
Williams lives in one of South Africa’s famous wine-growing areas in the Western Cape. She started drinking as a teenager and was taken out of school, she suspects, to work to buy wine for her parents. … (Source: Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011;89:398–399. doi:10.2471/BLT.11.020611)

Alcohol Concern Cymru have released a briefing paper on alcohol and older people:
Hidden harm? Alcohol and older people in Wales [pdf]
An Alcohol Concern page states:
‚To make sure older people in Wales receive the support they need to enjoy alcohol healthily, Alcohol Concern is recommending that professionals working with older people need to be aware of alcohol misuse; better joint working is needed between local older people’s services and alcohol treatment services; and research is needed into whether current unit guidance and screening methods for alcohol misuse are relevant to older people.‘ (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 06/06/11)

Eighth plenary meeting of the European Alcohol and health Forum, Brussels, 8 April 2011 – Summary report available
Released 06 June 2011
European Alcohol and Health Forum – List of members updated
Released 24 May 2011
8th meeting of the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action, Luxembourg, 1-2 March 2011 – Summary report and presentations available
(Source: EU, 06/06/11)

Informationen zu allen Suchtfragen vor allem auf die Schweiz bezogen. Newsletter bestellen

Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decision-making … The complementary construct of motivation not to drink has received less attention. …
We examined how abstinence motives interacted with drinking motives and alcohol expectancies to predict alcohol consumption in samples of US high school students (N > 2,500).
Nondrinking motives predicted lower rates of lifetime and current alcohol use. Motives not to drink interacted with specific drinking motives, like social and coping motives, and alcohol expectancies to predict certain aspects of drinking behavior. For example, motives not to drink had the greatest impact on youth with weaker social motivations.
Findings highlight the distinction between motives not to drink and other alcohol-related cognitions in predicting adolescent alcohol consumption.
This work not only supports the utility of this construct in developing models of youth alcohol-related decision-making but also has implications for prevention programming. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/04/11)