www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Illinois, the fifth most populous state in the nation, has taken the bold, positive step of significantly raising alcohol excise taxes to help fill the state’s $11.6 billion budget deficit. Beginning September 1, the wine tax will increase from 73 cents per gallon to $1.39 and spirits will go from $4.50 to $8.55 per gallon. Sadly, the beer tax will only increase from a measly 18.5 cents per gallon to a still meager 23.1 cents. (Source: Marin Institute, 8/11/09)

Among the most striking of the many statistical tables in the Law Commission report discussing reform of our liquor laws is one that shows we’re not drinking as much as we used to. (30 years ago) (Source: Harvard World Health News, 8/7/09) New Zealand Herald, 8/2/09 Comment: Some interesting arguments which we cannot see in Europe’s media. In most of the European countries the consumption per head has gone down in the last 30 years, but the harm has gone up.

A new Massachusetts tax on liquor, wine and beer went into effect this weekend, but the state’s alcohol sellers are working to reinstate a longtime sales-tax exemption on alcoholic beverages. As part of a budget-balancing plan, state lawmakers raised the Massachusetts sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent, and also applied the tax to alcoholic drinks along with other goods and services. Backers expect the alcohol tax to raise up to $80 million in annual revenues for the state. (Source: Join Together, 8/4/09)

Last month, a California Assembly subcommittee hearing on alcohol and drug problems became the launching pad for a new state-wide coalition, the Charge for Harm Alliance, its mission to pass AB 1019, the Alcohol-Related Services Act in 2010. (Source: Marin Institute, 7/8/09) (Video)

June 30 marked the end of the fiscal year for a number of states, and with many suffering from dramatic budget shortfalls, the question looms large, how many states will raise alcohol taxes to prevent cuts in much-needed programs and services. While California’s budget still remains uncertain, several states have taken action, including New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. (Source: Marin Institute, 7/9/09)

Comprehensive information on customs duties became available to WTO website users on 9 July 2009 through a new database, the WTO Tariff Download Facility. Users can now search for members’ customs duty rates, as actually charged as well as legally bound maximums, and in many cases imports, down to a high level of detail.
> WTO Tariff Download Facility
> Brief explanation and user guide

Doctors attending the BMA’s annual conference in Liverpool have today (Thursday 2 July 2009) backed calls to introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol. Proposing a motion which also included calls for clearer labelling and a total ban on alcohol advertising, Dr Chandra Mohan from Barking, Havering and Brentwood, said: „People drink alcohol in different patterns and for different reasons, so a multi-directional approach is needed to address these problems. (Source: Medical News Today, 7/3/09)

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BMA Scotland Chairman Urges MSPs Not To Play Politics With Public Health. Speaking at the Annual Conference of the British Medical Association (BMA), Dr Peter Terry, chairman of the BMA Scotland urged MSPs to put party politics aside and stand together to improve health. He also underlined the need for legislation on the price of alcohol as an effective measure to tackle Scotland’s drink problem. (Source: Medical News Today, 7/1/09

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Young men run the highest risk of dying because of their drinking. Alcohol may have caused the death of twice as many Scots as previously thought, an NHS study has found. Researchers used a new method of calculating alcohol-related deaths which is said to more accurately reflect the damage done by drinking. They estimated that 2,882 deaths – one in every 20 – could be attributed to alcohol in 2003. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 2.7.09) BBC NEWS, 6/30/09 Medical News Today, 7/1/09

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Project Idea
– To reduce many problems which all are connected with alcohol consumption:
– Poverty
– Children and youth in families with alcohol problems
– Problems in partnership, domestic violence, divorce, children of divorced parents
– Criminality an violence, violence by youth, sexual violence, unintended pregnancy
– Drink driving, death and invalidity
– Alcohol on the work place, absenteeism, wrong decisions, economic damage
– Youth alcoholism, old age alcoholism, addiction, about 60 different deseases in connection with alcohol (WHO), a burden for hospitals, health and other insurence premiums, states taxes
– In total 6.5 Billion Swiss Francs each year and a terrible lot of human tragedies and harm

– New chances for youth in sports, fine arts, as well as for youth organizations, sports organizations, music teachers – if they keep to preventive basic ideas
– New chances for the marketing people to forget about unethical campaigns
– Possibilities for fruit- and winefarmers to compensate income losses as a result of a reduction in consumption
– All would have a profit in health, security, quality of life, financially

Here is the link to the details