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Almost one-quarter of Americans age 12 or older say they participated in binge drinking in the previous month, according to a government survey. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found binge drinking rates varied among states, ranging from 14.1 percent in Utah, to 29.8 percent in North Dakota. The survey defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks on one occasion. …
The survey included interviews with more than 137,000 people between 2008 and 2009. … (Source: Join Together, 07/21/11)

Binge drinking among young people may have peaked according to official new data.
Amid the constant furore surrounding binge drinking among Britain’s young people, a quiet revolution is taking place. Increasing numbers are abstaining from alcohol in what appears to be a rejection of media stereotypes and peer pressure.
An annual survey of young people’s drinking habits, to be published by the NHS Information Centre in two weeks, is expected to show another rise in the number of young teenagers who have never had a drink. This follows nine years of steady increases in the proportion of 11 to 15 year olds who have never tried alcohol, from 39 per cent in 2001 to 49 per cent last year.
These figures coincide with a 21 per cent decline in the number of children under the age of 16 needing hospital treatment for alcohol-related diseases in the past two years, suggesting that safe drinking messages may be starting to get through. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/19/11) independent.co.uk, 07/06/11

Teenage girls who binge-drink have a higher risk of long-term harm to the brain compared to boys of the same age who also binge drink, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Their definition of binge-drinking is consuming at least four (for females) or five (for males) alcoholic drinks at one sitting.
The investigators said that activity levels in several regions of the brain among girls who binge drink were lower than what one would normally find among typical teenagers. …(Source: Medical News Today, 07/17/11)

We examined the association between pre-teen alcohol use initiation and the victimization and perpetration of bullying among middle and high school students in Georgia. …
Pre-teen alcohol use initiation is an important risk factor for both the perpetration and victimization of bullying among boys and girls in Georgia. Increased efforts to delay and reduce early alcohol use through clinical interventions, education and policies may also positively impact other health risk behaviors, including bullying. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/12/11)

Binge drinking can cause permanent genetic damage especially to the unborn children of women in the earliest stage of pregnancy, according to a study which shows for the first time how alcohol destroys DNA.
Scientists have identified the precise molecular mechanism leading to the breakdown of the body’s natural defences that protect DNA against damage from excessive alcohol in the bloodstream. They believe the results demonstrate that binge drinking causes a build-up of toxins within the body, causing irreversible genetic damage, which may explain the phenomenon known as foetal-alcohol syndrome, when babies of mothers who drink during pregnancy are born with congenital learning problems. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/08/11)

Objective: To test the hypothesis that changes in alcohol-related attitudes and expectancies mediate the effect of alcohol advertising on youth drinking. Design: Longitudinal survey with a 9-month interval. Setting: Twenty-nine public schools in 3 German states….
Results A total of 581 of the students (28%) started to drink alcohol during the observation period. Alcohol use initiation was positively related to baseline alcohol advertisement exposure. This effect of alcohol advertisement exposure on alcohol use was partially mediated by a change in alcohol-related attitudes, which explained about 35% of the total effect after controlling for baseline covariates and exposure to other advertising contents. The analysis revealed similar results for binge-drinking initiation. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/07/11) archpedi.ama-assn.org, July 2011

– reports the Telegraph. A survey found 47 per cent of alcopops had been on offer in the past year, compared to only 20 per cent of red wines and 10 per cent of after-dinner tipples such as port. The Health Secretary recently called on supermarkets to take further action on front of store sales as part of the controversial Responsibilty Deal. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 06/29/11) telegraph.co.uk, 06/05/11

An analysis of three years worth of data from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) shows that the vast majority of alcohol sales to minors occur at locations other than the full-service supermarkets and specialty grocers that use assisted self-checkout stands.
The examination of disciplinary actions from January 1, 2008 to March 11, 2011, all public data found on the ABC website, shows that the ABC filed almost 2,300 accusations against off-sale license holders (which include supermarkets and liquor stores) throughout California for selling alcohol to minors.
Of these accusations, fewer than 7 percent were lodged against specialty grocery stores and big box retailers, most of which do not yet use assisted self-checkout technology.
Large, chain supermarkets that do increasingly use assisted self-checkout stands accounted for less than 4 percent of the accusations. Fresh & Easy stores, which use only self-checkout stands, accounted for only 2 accusations. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 06/28/11) trading-house.net, 06/28/11

On October the 27th the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy (STAP) will host the first European network conference on reducing youth drinking by law enforcement. Law enforcement experts and professionals from all over Europe will be able to exchange knowledge and experiences during a conference specifically focussed on enforcing alcohol legislation. Although regulations, policies and responsibilities differ by country, there are similar enforcement topics that apply to all. Effective enforcement of legal age limits is one of the main themes of the conference. Because the knowledge about law enforcement in Europe has grown substantially over the last decades it is the right moment to organise the first European alcohol enforcement meeting. … (Source: stap.nl, 6/27/11)

Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa – MAMPA Project is a new report released by the Africa Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO). The study on alcohol marketing was commissioned by the WHO Regional Office for Africa in 2010. The background was an intention to support governments decide on what measures to take regarding alcohol advertising. In order to inform such decisions insight into the impact of advertising, specifically in terms of volume, frequency, and content of alcohol advertising and promotion is essential. …
Among the recommendations of the report is for governments to recognize that a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship would reduce alcohol-related harm, and that selfregulation is an ineffective mechanism to reduce alcohol related harm, effective legislation is necessary to strictly regulate alcohol marketing activities. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/20/11) WHO-Report, 06/20/11