www.alkoholpolitik.ch

„A series of academic studies have drawn a clear line between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and a host of unhealthy outcomes: obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Medical costs for obesity and excessive weight alone are estimated to be about $147 billion — and half of those costs are paid for through Medicare and Medicaid. It’s no stretch to say that soda drinking affects us all.“ (Source: Harvard World Health News, 9/25/09) San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21/09 Comment: taxing alcohol would compensate health costs as well, but the tax should be high enough in order to reduce consumption.

A new study finds that adults who legally were able to purchase alcohol before the age of 21 in their states are more likely than others are to be alcoholics or addicted to drugs. Researchers are not certain how to explain the difference, but it is possible that a higher drinking age could cut back on the intensity of alcohol use before the age of 21, said lead study author Karen Norberg, M.D., a research instructor in psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/19/09)

„Australians will be told to drink and smoke less and eat less junk food by a new preventative health watchdog that will begin monitoring the health system within months. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said legislation for a National Preventative Health Agency would be introduced into Parliament within the next fortnight, forming a key part of the Government’s plan to reduce preventable illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. The independent but publicly funded agency will be responsible for a major preventative health advertising push, policy advice, health surveillance, consultation and research. It will begin in January, staffed by government-appointed population health experts.“ (Source: Harvard World Health News, 9/10/09) The Sydney Morning Herald, 9/6/09

The recently announced price hikes by Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors — which together control 80 percent of the U.S. beer market — has some observers wondering if the industry is setting itself up for an antitrust investigation by the Obama administration. (Source: Join Together, 9/4/09) Online comment: To make it very clear: It would be better if the state would rise the price by taxing beer to such an extent that the harm created by beer is compensated. (With minimum prices fixed)

Commenting on the publication on Wednesday of surgical mortality rates, which showed that alcohol abuse was a factor in 1 in 15 reported deaths, the BMA called on politicians to be bold and implement a raft of tough measures to tackle Scotland’s destructive relationship with alcohol. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/4/09)

Researchers who studied the relationship between alcohol cost and intoxication concluded that drink specials encourage high levels of consumption, rather than just attracting customers to bars as some in the hospitality industry contend. The New York Times reported Sept. 2 that researchers who studied male and female drinkers at bars near college campuses found that those who paid the most money per gram of alcohol consumed were the least intoxicated when given breath tests upon exiting. The least intoxicated patrons paid an average of $4.44 for 14 grams of alcohol (in the form of beer, wine or liquor), while those found to be the drunkest had paid $1.81 for the same amount of alcohol. (Source: Join Together, 9/3/09) Comment: It is common sense, but now it is proven. That’s why high alcohol taxes and minimum prices are needed and a ban on drink specials.

North Carolina, USA, has joined the growing list of states that recognized the time has come for an increase in alcohol taxes to help alleviate budget deficits. Effective September 1, 2009, the state’s beer tax will increase from 53 cents per gallon to 61.7 cents, while wine will increase from 21 cents per liter to 26.4 cents. Nothing earth-shattering, but the changes will generate new revenue of approximately $19.8 million, which will certainly help stave off cuts in important social programs. (Source: Marin Institute, 9/3/09)

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who calls alcoholism a „national calamity,“ plans to work with the nation’s parliament this fall to tackle the country’s drinking problem by proposing an increase in taxes, stricter labeling laws, and restrictions on where alcohol can be sold.
According to Russia’s National Institute of Health, every year Russians drink the equivalent of 4.8 gallons (18 liters) of pure alcohol on average. Thirty-eight percent of Russians ages 20 to 39 — and 55 percent of those ages 40 to 59 — suffer from alcoholism. An average of 30,000 people die of alcohol poisoning in Russia each year. (Source: Join Together, 9/1/09)

Click here to download the complete journal in pdf format. (Source: THE GLOBE 2/2009 with articles )

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today welcomed the approval of the alcopops tax by the Senate and said it should be followed by more comprehensive measures to combat binge drinking. „The Government should prohibit the targeted marketing of alcohol products to teenagers and adolescents, and ban the sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol manufacturers,“ he said. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/14/09)