www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The government is receiving a lot of criticism from a number of different health groups based on their refusal to sign up for a „responsibility deal“ regarding alcohol sales in England. The deal created by organizations like Alcohol Concern, British Liver Trust and the Royal College of Physicians is voluntary and encourages the drink industry to label the alcohol units on their beverages and to take on the problem of alcohol abuse. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/14/11) topnews.us, 03/14/11

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania yesterday launched a nationwide campaign to tackle excessive drinking.The government’s initiative against irresponsible drinking has the backing of local brewers and is supported by international organisations with the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) being its major financier.
The campaign will mainly be conducted through radio programmes. The campaign, dubbed Chonde Chonde! Ulevi Noma! (Please, alcoholism is dangerous), is a six-month drive that will end in September this year.
“For example, people who drink excessively more often have unprotected sex than those who do not or those who drink responsibly. Tacaids (The Tanzania Commission for Aids) lists alcohol consumption as an important factor in HIV/Aids prevalence.”
According to the Tacaids HIV Prevention Strategy for Tanzania Mainland (2009), men who drink have an HIV prevalence rate that is three times higher than those who do not drink. The prevalence rate is twice higher among women who drink than those who don’t. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/08/11) thecitizen.co.tz, 03/03/11

New Zealand’s first ever FebFast ends tomorrow, having raised thousands of dollars for youth charities and given participants a break from drinking alcohol. Nearly a thousand people have given up alcohol for all of February as part of the Drug Foundation’s FebFast fundraiser, and so far more than $75,000 has been raised.
Coordinator Catherine Milburn says people can continue to make donations via the FebFast website (www.febfast.org.nz) throughout March. „There’s still time to show your support.“
A number of well-known New Zealanders have also supported the event, including teams of Labour and National MPs, ZM host Polly Gillespie, chef/food writer Jo Seagar, actor/writer Pinky Agnew, singer Maisey Rika, TV3 journalists Mike McRoberts and Paula Penfold, social media editor Greer McDonald, and The Edge radio hosts Jay-Jay Feeney and Dominic Harvey. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 02/28/11) voxy.co.nz, 02/28/11 our online-comment: Congratulations for that splendid idea. I wished our politicians and media people would have the same courage. Maybe then they could better get involved into work for an effective alcohol policy.

As per the findings of the Victorian Alcohol Statistics Report, the number of alcohol-related violence and brawls has experienced a sharp rise over the period between 1999 and 2007. …
Now with the released results of the much-awaited report, experts are in quest to find the magic bullets to curb the menace of alcoholism.
Mary Wooldridge, the Minister for the State Mental Health and Community Services, asserted: „This is the most comprehensive, detailed analysis of the impact of alcohol across the state, it’s critical for developing solutions“. … Expressing his unrest and disbelief over figures, the Director for Turning Point, Professor Dan Lubman said that the report is the wake-up call for authorities as well as the people to realize what havoc the alcohol is playing. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 02/28/11) topnews.net.nz, 02/28/11

..invest to save says Alcohol Concern amidst rising hospital admissions.
Alcohol-related hospital admissions could hit 1.5 million a year by 2015 if further investment in alcohol is not prioritised, say Alcohol Concern. The charity calls for increased investment as the rising trend of alcohol-related hospital admissions could bring to the cost of alcohol to the NHS to £3.7 billion per year.
Read the report ‚Making alcohol a health prority: opportunities to reduce alcohol harms and rising costs‘ [pdf] An Alcohol Concern press release

Active and partners launch action week for children of alcohol addicts.
Today, Active – sobriety, friendship and peace and partners from all over Europe join to pool and concentrate resources to bring attention to the situation of children and young people who have to grow-up in families harmed by alcohol abuse.
Approximately 9 Million children in the European Union are affected by their parents’ drinking problems. These children suffer from neglect, feelings of shame and selfblaming for their parents’ addiction and from continuous conflicts at home. Many children and young people have to witness and suffer violence. … (Source: Active/Eurocare Press Release, 02/14/11) Comment: I think this is one of the worst effects of alcohol in our societies. Who cares?

…AIDS Second
Today the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that alcohol is to blame for just about 4% of, or 2.5 million deaths worldwide annually. Alcohol attributable injuries are of a growing concern to the public health community, with alcohol-related injuries such as road traffic accidents, burns, poisonings, falls and drownings making up more than a third of the disease burden attributable to alcohol consumption. AIDS was a close second with 2.1 milion deaths in 2009.
Yet alcohol control policies are weak and remain a low priority for most governments despite drinking’s heavy toll on society from road accidents, violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism. … (Source: Medical News Today, 02/11/11) WHO: Global status report on alcohol and health analyses our Online-Comment: For those persons who don’t like them, figures from other sources are always incorrect. But nobody can deny that governments do not care enough about them. And that is the main sorrow of the WHO. The alcohol industry could not hinder that in May 2010 the WHO General Assembly accepted a resolution on a global alcohol strategy. Now it puts pressure on the national governments that they don’t implement the proposals in their legislation. The civil societies come off a loser.

Alcohol abuse is killing 2.5 million people each year and governments must do more to prevent it, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Some 4 percent of all deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol, the U.N. body said. The main causes of alcohol-related deaths are injuries incurred when drunk, cancer, liver cirrhosis, heart disease and strokes.
„It’s a killer and it’s not good from a public health point of view,“ Melvin Freeman of South African’s Ministry of Health and a contributor to the report, told reporters in Geneva.
Worldwide, over 6 percent of male deaths are related to alcohol, but only just over 1 percent of deaths in women. Almost one in 10 deaths among young people aged 15-to-29 is from alcohol-related causes — about 320,000 each year — WHO said. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 02/11/11) Washington Examiner: 02/11/11

The Australian government should put warning labels on alcohol in conjunction with a broad public health campaign addressing alcohol use, according to an advisory panel, The Age reported Jan. 29.
Dr. Neal Blewett, a former health minister, led the panel of experts reviewing the issue. According to The Age, the panel recommended text warnings, like „Alcohol can damage your health“ and „Drinking to excess is a danger to yourself and those around you.“ (Source: Join Together, 02/09/11)

As if boozed up whipped cream in flavors such as chocolate, cherry, and orange wasn’t appealing enough to kids, now in Wisconsin they can just buy a can of it for themselves, at the grocery store, LEGALLY.
Despite containing an alcohol content of 15% (same as in Bailey’s Irish Cream or Bacardi Mojito), Wisconsin state regulators have taken the position that alcohol-infused whipped cream is not subject to the state’s alcohol beverage control laws or alcohol taxes because it is a “food” product and not an alcoholic beverage. (Source: Marin Institute, 02/08/11)