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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

Smirnoff Denies Responsibility
From college campuses across the U.S. to Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, „icing“ has become the first viral drinking game of the modern era, the New York Times reported June 8.
A modification of „tag“ involving alcohol, players „ice“ one another by handing off a warm Smirnoff Ice malt beverage, which must then be consumed on one knee immediately, regardless of the setting. The only way to avoid being „iced“ is if the target also has a Smirnoff Ice in their possession – in which case the attacker must consume both drinks in the same fashion.
Thanks to social media and websites like BrosIcingBros.com, the fad has spread almost overnight, even targeting celebrities like Coolio and rock band The National. (Source: Join Together, 6/9/10)

An inquiry from a Boston Globe reporter led retailer TJ Maxx to remove a series of drinking games from store shelves, the Globe reported May 30. Reporter Beverly Beckham spotted the games — which require players to drink shots of liquor when they lose — in TJ Maxx stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The games were on display near Father’s Day and graduation gifts.
Some of the games were based on classics like Bingo, tic-tac-toe, and checkers; others had names like Drink Like a Fish, Gargle, Drink Til You Drop, Ship Wrecked, and Battle Drinks. (Source: Join Together, 6/2/10)

A new energy drink called „Four Loko“ has a 12-percent alcohol content and is loaded with caffeine and sugar, WABC-TV reported May 28. Twice the size of a regular can of soda, the 24-ounce energy drink sells for under $3 — cheaper than a beer — which officials in New York say makes it appealing to kids.
Four White Plains teenagers recently were hospitalized after drinking Four Loko, prompting warnings from White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong. „The kids have a nickname for it, they’re basically calling it coke in a can,“ he said. (Source: Join Together, 6/1/10) See Video

The Portman Group has challenged a decision by Tesco to move information on alcohol units from the back to the front of alcohol packaging. The supermarket giant said last week that it would move information on alcohol units from the back label of the pack to the front in order, it said, to „help consumers make responsible decisions“ about drinking. The announcement came as a new poll found that three in five UK adults would support tobacco-style health warnings on alcohol packaging. Tesco revealed the measure as part of wider plans to tackle anti-social and unhealthy drinking and said it would work with its branded alcohol suppliers to make front-of-pack alcohol unit information an industry standard.
Alcohol marketing watchdog The Portman Group questioned Tesco’s move decision, saying that it would make more sense to keep all warnings in one place on the back of the pack. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 6/2/10) packagingnews.co.uk, 24 May 2010

Invitation for the workshop on alcohol marketing on 22 June 11.00- 13.00
Items: “How to pave the way for effective regulation of alcohol marketing in Europe”
– What theory tells us about effective alcohol marketing regulations
– Keeping up appearances (Comparing evidence based evaluations with monitoring exercises of the industry)
– The Loi Evin in theory and practice
– Talking about an alcohol marketing ban….why not? (Elaborating about juridical obstacles for an alcohol marketing ban in Europe.) (Source: FASE (Focus on Alcohol Safe Environment)

Anheuser-Busch InBev leaves no stone unturned in its advertising efforts to get you to think ‚alcohol,‘ or more importantly, to think of their products when you think ‚alcohol‘. Our collective subconscious may take another hit from their advertising assaults if the company’s latest ploy becomes a reality: the naming of a newly built amphitheater in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina as the ‚Bud Light Amphitheater‘. (Source: Marin Institute, 5/25/10

A premium vodka sold in a bottle shaped like a skull has been banned from sale in Ontario, Canada, where officials are concerned that the packaging could appeal to children, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported May 18.
Crystal Head Vodka, created by Canadian actor Dan Akyroyd, was rejected by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario — a semipublic entity with limited regulatory powers and a monopoly on retail liquor sales in Ontario. (Source: Join Together, 5/21/10)

Adolescents are being bombarded with alcohol marketing online as firms exploit new-media tools and lax regulation to put their brand images and information in front of young drinkers, according to a new report.
HealthDay News reported May 19 that American University professor Kathryn Montgomery — author of the report, Alcohol Marketing in the Digital Age (PDF) — said that alcohol is being sold through „a multiplicity of platforms throughout the day and night that includes online, offline, mobile, digital, music, video — a whole range of different ways that consumers interact with new digital marketing.“ (Source: Join Together, 5/21/10) our online-comment: Ridiculous is the fact that we allow an industry at all to advertise and promote their products which damage our health, reduce our quality of life and cost us billions each year in social costs. To say the state is making money from alcohol is ridiculous as well, when we compare the very small alcohol taxes with the enormous alcohol related social costs.
To speak with the children is a nice suggestion, often heard from the alcohol industry. A very small percentage of parents does it, the rest will use TV and the Web as babysitters as before.

On the 20th of May, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution that endorsed a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. The strategy highlights the effectiveness of focusing on evidence-based policies regarding pricing, availability and marketing of alcoholic beverages.
When addressing alcohol marketing, the strategy describes the need to limit the volume of alcohol marketing in order to decrease alcohol-related harm. Additionally, alcohol advertising appealing to youth is a serious issue mentioned. International marketing techniques and advertising and sponsorship of alcohol in various new media is mentioned as a significant concern in some countries. The strategy addresses, in particular, the potential harmful effects to young people in lower and middle-inclime countries with a current low prevalence of alcohol consumption or high abstinence rates. (Source: eucam.info, 5/21/10)