www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The Norwegian Health Directorate has launched a campaign ”Alkoholfritt svangerskap” (Alcohol-free pregnancy) to raise awareness among the population about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
“You give your child the best start if you abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. Research shows that alcohol may interfere with the development of the child’s brain and other organs. Think about drinking habits already when planning children”
The animation-movie “Soon to be mother” is at the moment running on Norwegian TV and cinemas and is available on YouTube and on their website:

http://www.helsedirektoratet.no/gravid/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr__u6bRBK0
(Source: Eurocare Newsletter Winter 2010)

Youth Rights in alcohol culture – all right? Active proudly presents ALL RIGHTS booklet
Today is Human Rights Day and on this day the European community looks to the situation in China and Liu Xiaobo. While this is important, not least for the children and young people there, it is essential to assure at the same time not to loose sight of the European situation.
“In Europe we’ve developed the bad habit to always think of development countries and dictatorships when we talk about Human Rights violations. While that’s convenient, the truth is that there happen Human Rights, even Children’s Rights violations on our continent. They happen in open street. They happen in children’s rooms. Every day. We cannot afford to waste time to combat them”, says Andrea Lavesson, President of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace.
To live up to the needs and demands of millions of young Europeans, Active today launches its most recent publication: a booklet zooming in on the rights violations caused by alcohol harm and alcohol culture in Europe.
Find the booklet for download: http://www.activeeurope.org/attachedFiles/documents/allrigths_booklet.pdf.
An Active working group, consisting of 12 young Europeans, analyzed every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Not less than 15 breaches of the UDHR attributable to alcohol harm and the European alcohol culture were found. The severity of breaches is even magnified by decision-makers on all levels who ignore to primarily consider the Best Interest of children whenever deciding on policies.
Studies show that alcohol harm inflicted upon others can be found everywhere and affects children and young people disproportionately. For example, alcohol is a causal factor in 16% of child abuse and neglect. In Germany, between 2000 and 2008 the number of alcohol intoxicated youth ending up in emergency rooms increased by 170%. Alcohol is responsible for 7, 4% of disability and premature death in the EU. (Source: Press Release Active, 12/10/10)

Felony charges were leveled against a Dartmouth College fraternity after a 17-year-old high school student was hospitalized following a night of drinking, police said.
The Psi Upsilon fraternity was served with two felony complaints for providing alcoholic beverages to minors, Hanover police said. Chief Nicholas Giaccone said a prospective student had to be rushed to a hospital after a night of drinking. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 12/04/10) wmur.com, 12/03/10 Comment: A wonder that parents still send their children to such a college.

A countywide Social Host Liability Ordinance was passed by the Board of Supervisors on June 15, 2010, and will go into effect on December 1, 2010.
The law makes it illegal for anyone hosting a party to knowingly allow minors to consume alcohol at that party. If cited, the host will face a civil penalty of $500 plus a required educational class for the first offense, $1,000 for a second offense and $2,000 for a third offense. …(Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/26/10) independent.com, 11/25/10

Disturbing trends in drug and alcohol use in the Berkeley Unified School District as well as low rates of violence, crime and physical and mental health issues were outlined in results from the 2010 California Healthy Kids Survey, presented Wednesday at a district Board of Education meeting.
The self-reported data – collected from students in grades five, seven, nine and 11 – showed that Berkeley students, except fifth graders, smoke marijuana on a regular basis at twice the national and state rates and have been high or drunk on school property at double or more than double the state rate. However, students binge drink and smoke cigarettes at levels less than or comparable to state and national rates. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/15/10) dailycal.org, 11/15/10

30 Million underage youth view beer ads on Super Bowl Sunday.
Help Marin Institute fight back against Big Alcohol advertising during TV Sports events with our Free The Bowl contest. The more alcohol ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink.
10.7 million underage youth drink; 7.2 million binge drink. Our Free the Bowl video contest empowers youth (ages 10-20) to make original „counter-beer-ads“ to speak out against bombarding youth with beer ads during TV sports events like the Super Bowl. Help us launch our 2011 Free The Bowl contest on November17th—and give youth video a voice.
Anheuser-Busch InBev spends over $14 million on Super Bowl beer ads. Your donation can help counter that power. (Source: Marin Institute, 11/11/10)

Young children who don’t like school are more likely to be involved in underage drinking and sexual activity. A study reported in BioMed Central’s open access journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy, has found that pupils‘ general wellbeing and specific satisfaction with school were both associated with the incidence of risky behaviors. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/11/10)

Hospital figures show 32% increase in four years with 8,799 under-18s given specialist help last year. Growing numbers of children are ending up in hospital because they have drunk so much, with more girls needing treatment than boys, according to new NHS figures. Under-18s have an increasingly damaging relationship with tens of thousands every year being attended to by ambulance crews, treated in A&E or admitted overnight, according to a report from the charity Alcohol Concern.The number of underage drinkers admitted to hospital in England rose by 32% between 2003 and 2007, from around 11,000 in 2003 to more than 14,000 in 2007, NHS hospital records show. A total of 92,220 children and young people under 18 were admitted to hospital between 2002 and 2009 – or 36 under-18s a day. … (Source: Harvard World Health News, 10/28/10) guardian.co.uk, 10/23/10

A United Kingdom charity group has asked the government to ban alcohol ads from television prior to 9 p.m. and to remove them entirely from the internet, the Guardian reported Oct. 20.
The government-funded agency, Alcohol Concern, proposed the ban after research found more than a million four- to 15-year-olds were exposed to alcohol promotions during England’s participation in World Cup soccer. The total could go as high as five million if all live games, not just England’s, are taken into account. (Source: Join Together, 10/27/10)

Anheuser-Busch InBev wants kids to think so. Help Marin Institute fight back against Big Alcohol advertising during TV Sports events with our Free The Bowl contest. The more alcohol ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink. 10.7 Million underage youth drink; 7.2 million binge drink. The Free the Bowl video contest empowers youth (ages 10-20) to make original „counter-beer-ads“ to speak out against bombarding youth with beer ads during TV sports events like the Super Bowl. (Alert by Marin Institute, 10/27/10)