www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The U.S Federal Trade Commission, in response to wildly proliferating alcohol advertising in both traditional and new media, is conducting another review of the effectiveness of the alcohol industry’s self-regulation. The agency is seeking comments from the public, so we need your help.
In our 2008 report titled „Why Big Alcohol Can’t Police Itself: A Review of Self-Regulation in the Distilled Spirits Industry,“ Marin Institute concluded that the industry’s voluntary guidelines fail to protect underage youth from exposure to inappropriate alcohol advertising. If you’re concerned about the effects of alcohol advertising on our youth, please submit your comments here, by Tuesday, April 26. To read Marin Institute’s comments, click here. Please submit your comments to the FTC today.

Children can make a real difference in their communities. A new manual on rights-based research from Concerned for Working Children (CWC) in Bangalore, India shows how children can be empowered to influence their community and also local alcohol policies. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/14/11) add-recources.org, 03/14/11

… has been released by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). See press release here.
NICE ‚Alcohol dependence and harmful alcohol use‘ clinical guidelines.
The clinical guidance (CG 115) offers evidence-based advice on the diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in adults and in young people:
Alcohol use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence pdf] NCIE See here for the full 654 page document.
A 24 page quick reference guide is also available summarising the recommendations made. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 02/24/11)

While deficits mount, 6 states haven’t raised beer taxes in 50 years or more.
Marin Institute, the alcohol industry watchdog, launched its Neglected & Outdated Beer Taxes Map today. This new interactive tool helps those who want to raise beer tax rates to balance state budgets or erase deficits.
“Just point your cursor at a state and you can see the your current beer tax rate, the year of your last tax increase, and the loss of revenue from inflation,” said Bruce Lee Livingston, Marin Institute executive director and CEO. “We show the twelve states that have hit the bottom of the barrel in beer tax revenues and are the most overdue for an increase.” (Source: Marin Institute, 02/16/11)

The 2011 edition of the Global status report on alcohol and health confirms that alcohol is a major threat to global public health and welfare. Drinking alcohol kills more people than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. The new edition of the report was released in Geneva last Friday. This third edition of the Global status report on alcohol and health is yet another milestone in WHO’s efforts to document alcohol consumption, related harm and policy responses worldwide. The report is essential for all who work in alcohol prevention, nationally and internationally, and for governments and NGOs alike.
The report contains, among other things, the following:
* Latest figures on alcohol and health from the Global Burden of Disease material;
* Global trends in alcohol consumption, both recorded and unrecorded beverages;
* Consumption data for all countries of the world;
* Overview of recommended policies and interventions and how interventions have been applied in WHO members states;
* Country profiles for more than 100 countries.
(Source: WHO News release)

For the first time, delegations from all 193 Member States of World Health Organization (WHO) reached consensus at the World Health Assembly on a global strategy to confront the harmful use of alcohol. Since 2008, WHO has been in the process of drafting a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. On Friday 21 May 2010 the Sixty-third session of the World Health Assembly adopted by consensus resolution WHA63.13, which endorses the global strategy. (Source: WHO) Comment: Now the final text is available here. (pdf)

Second Monitoring Progress Report, 15 December 2010

Summary report available, Released 13 December 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)

The Department of Health has published the new White Paper Healthy lives, healthy people: our strategy for public health in England. It sets out the framework in which a new public health service, named Public Health England, will manage a ring-fenced budget of around £4 billion. The paper proposes Public Health England will take on full responsibilities from 2012 with the ring-fenced funding allocated to local government from April 2013 as Primary Care Trusts are removed. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 11/02/10) alcoholpolicy.net, 11/30/10