www.alkoholpolitik.ch

In a first-of-its-kind report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) broke down data on health disparities by race, ethnicity, income, and education, The New York Times reported Jan. 13.
The report included data on the impact of alcohol and drug use on different segments of the United States population. For example, more Americans now die from prescription drug overdoses than from illicit drugs. In particular, White, non-Hispanic deaths from prescription drug overdoses outnumber those of African-Americans. (Source: Join Together, 01/20/11)

To reduce drunk driving, Nebraska’s Liquor Control Commission is considering a ban on drinking games sponsored by suppliers or bars, the Associated Press reported Jan. 10.
The commission has focused on drinking games like beer pong because they „encourage overintoxication, which has a societal risk, a societal harm,“ according to Hobert Rupe, who directs the commission.
„The problem with a lot of these games is if you’re drinking a lot of alcohol rapidly, in a short amount of time, you’re not going to realize you’re at that state until it’s too late,“ he said. Under the proposed regulations, a bar that violated the ban could lose its liquor license. (Source: Join Together, 01/19/11)

The government plans to introduce charges for treating alcohol-related illnesses.
A union representing doctors in Sri Lanka has protested against government plans to stop free healthcare for those addicted to alcohol.
The health ministry is planning to stop free health care to „alcohol-addicts“ from next month.
The union says the new measure jeopardises doctor-patient relations because medics are required to provide a health report for each patient.
The poor that will be twice punished by the measure, the union says.
Dr Nishantha Dasanayake, president of the All Ceylon Government Medical Officers‘ Association, said that the union is happy that Sri Lanka’s Medical Council has expressed objections to the government’s initiative. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/19/11) bbc.co.uk, 01/17/11

Impact on alcohol-related mortality of a rapid rise in the density of private liquor outlets in British Columbia: a local area multi-level analysis.
To study relationships between rates of alcohol-related deaths and the density of liquor outlets and the proportion of liquor stores owned privately in British Columbia (BC) during a period of rapid increase in private stores.
Multi-level regression analyses assessed the relationship between population rates of private liquor stores and alcohol-related mortality after adjusting for potential confounding. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/18/11)

I read with great interest earlier, this BBC News article about the Coalition Government’s plans to bring in a minimum price for alcohol in England and Wales.
In the Coalition Agreement, it was stated that: „We will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price“. Ministers are now fleshing out their proposals to make this a reality.
It will work by banning shops and bars from selling drinks for less than the tax paid on them. It is hoped that this will send a signal that the Government is clamping down on the sale of extortionately cheap alcohol. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/19/11) johnmarkcole.blogspot.com, 01/18/11 our Online Comment: It is fine to have an ideology. Then you don’t need thinking.
There is a lot of talking about personal freedom. What about my freedom when the alcohol industry forces me to pay a life long the huge alcohol related social costs? The World Health Organization has mentioned that we all are Passive Drinkers. We all suffer from the harm of alcohol consumption. Taxes are ridiculous low.
Everybody is free to consume according to its income. Drinking alcohol is not a human right. It is better to fight for jobs with an income which enables everybody to live a decent life, instead of giving cheap alcohol to keep the poor calm and down.
What about my personal freedom, when the media do not give the necessary information I need to discuss this matter and ask for the right measures to be taken by the government, because they are alcohol lobbyists? Did you know that in May 2010 the World Health Organization accepted with all 193 votes of the member states a resolution on a global alcohol strategy? In it the alcohol related harm on society and the evidence based measures for harm reduction are listed. Governments only had to implement those proposals, but instead they try everything which wouldn’t harm the alcohol industry. The industry keeps the profit, society pays the social costs in money and in life, etc.

…a summary review of the evidence base.
‚Below cost‘ ban announced as duty + VAT re-opens pricing debate.
The Government has announced the ‚below cost ban‘ will be defined as the rate of duty + VAT, despite concerns from critics that few drinks are sold below this level. A Home Office press release said „This is an important first step in delivering the government’s commitment to ban the sale of alcohol ‚below cost‘ price.“
However some media reports described the measures as ‚minimum pricing‘, a different approach based on cost per unit. See here for the differences between a below cost ban and minimum pricing. The ban on sales below a duty + VAT rate has been calculated as preventing retailers from selling… (Source: Alcohol Policy UK110119 / Home Office, January 2011

…designed to punish poor people for the crime of getting hammered.
“Minimum alcohol pricing” sounds like such an inoffensive idea. No one is likely to go to the barricades, far less to the wall, in order to “Smash Minimum Alcohol Pricing!” So in the interests of political honesty and clarity, and with an eye for encouraging some people to consider going to the barricades over this latest Lib-Con measure, I think we should start referring to “minimum alcohol pricing” by its true name. This is a Sin Tax, pure and simple, designed to punish people, specifically poor people, for the crime of occasionally wanting to get hammered and have fun. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/18/11) blogs.telegraph.co.uk, 01/18/11 Comment: Typical arguments of a liberal. Many comments, some positive ones.

Alcohol use is the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease, estimated to cause 3.8% of all deaths. Among people aged 15 to 44 years, alcohol is estimated to result in 4.6% of all disability-adjusted life years lost and a disproportionate number of fatal injuries. 2 Heavy drinking is classified as the consumption of more than 210 g of alcohol per week for men and more than 140 g per week for women, owing to differences in clearance and body size. As a metabolic poison, heavy alcohol use is
associated with cardiovascular disease, oral cancers and liver cirrhosis. As an intoxicant, it causes dependency, injuries and trauma as well as substantial social harms. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/18/11) cmaj.ca, CMAJ 2011. DOI:10.1503/cmaj.110029 our Online-Comment: In May 2010 the General Assembly of the World Health Organization held in Geneva accepted with all votes of the 193 member states a Resolution on a global Alcohol Strategy. In it the evidence-based measures are listed which reduce the general consumption of alcohol in a given society. No need to wait any longer.

There is an essay in this month’s The Atlantic called “The Hazards of Duke: A now infamous PowerPoint presentation exposes a lot about men, women, sex, and alcohol—and about how universities are letting their female students down” by Caitlin Flanagan, likely of interest to feminist philosophers.
There a few themes in the article but one of them is the increased rates of drinking among college aged women. I haven’t heard much about this before and I’m interested to know what blog readers make of the article. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/14/11) feministphilosophers.wordpress.com, 01/13/11 with our Online-Comment

… reduced wellbeing and health status for those with heavy drinkers in their lives.
The impact of alcohol on those other than the drinker is an under- researched area with important policy implications.
This study is a first step in investigating relationships between exposure to heavy drinkers in respondent’s lives with measures of health status and wellbeing.
A cross-sectional general population survey was carried out among 3068 New Zealand residents aged 12 to 80 years (response rate – 64%) using an in house Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing system. …
There is a relationship between exposure to heavy drinkers and reduced personal wellbeing and poorer health status in this cross-sectional general population sample. Exposure to heavy drinkers may have negative impacts for others. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/14/11)