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Manchester is set to become the worldwide centre for excellence in hair testing for alcohol and drug abuse with the launch of a new laboratory at the Hexagon Tower science park in Blackley.
The state-of-the-art facility, being opened this week (w/c 22.3.10) by London-based Trimega Laboratories, will test hair samples from around the world to provide accurate historical records of someone’s intake of drink or drugs up to 12 months prior. The technique is already widely used throughout the UK to help Local Authorities and family lawyers diagnose forms of dependency among adults involved in child care orders. The number of these applications has leapt 46%* nationwide in the wake of the Baby P case with hair test requests in the North West and Wales, for example, increasing from an average of 40 to 70 a month in the past year (out of around 800 a month nationwide). (Source: Medical News Today, 3/23/10)

THE government has signalled that it plans to cut the drink driving limit to less than a pint of beer or a glass of wine. Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, expects an official review of the law to recommend reducing the legal limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. He said he would take this “very seriously” and added: “A strong case has been made to have a lower limit.” (Source: Harvard World Health News, 3/18/10) timesonline.co.uk, 3/14/10

Drivers in Norway and Sweden caught behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) higher than .02 percent can face drunk-driving charges, and now the Australian state of Queensland, where it currently is .05 percent, is considering a similar standard. Officials said research shows that such a move could cut road deaths by 11 percent. The AAP reported March 15 that Australia’s prime minister said the proposal should be considered nationally, and some public-health experts said the change was needed to cut highway deaths and send the message that drunk driving would not be tolerated. (Source: Join Together, 3/17/10)

Doctors yesterday (Tuesday, 16 March 2010) welcomed the launch of the DOE consultation on a new road safety strategy. Dr Paul Darragh, Chairman of the BMA’s Northern Ireland Council said, „Doctors deal with the horrific aftermath of road traffic accidents on a daily basis, and believe that a new road safety strategy is important to continue to build on what has already been achieved. (Source: Medical News Today, 3/17/10)

The rate of alcohol-related fatal car crashes has risen among some populations of female drivers, a worrying trend that runs counter to the decline in such crashes among young men.
ScienceDaily reported Feb. 18 that an analysis of U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data found that the rate of fatal car crashes where drivers had alcohol in their system fell among all age groups of men studied up to age 20 (16 to 20) and remained the same among 21- to 24-year-olds. (Source: Join Together, 2/23/10)

In a new published study on alcohol harm in California, Marin Institute researchers found that Hispanics are more likely to die in alcohol-related homicides than non-Hispanics. Also, while Blacks and Whites experience similar numbers of traffic fatalities, the alcohol-related homicide rate for Blacks was five times higher than for Whites. This is disturbing because it’s similar to data from 20 years ago, indicating that not much progress has been made in reducing racial disparities from alcohol harm. (Source: Marin Institute, 1/22/10)

FACE’s Fresh Story blog highlights a new report from the New Mexico Department of Public Health that quantifies the human and ecomonic costs of alcohol abuse in the state. The report also prompted an insightful newspaper commentary observing that 85 percent of all alcohol deaths in the state are caused by something other than impaired driving. (Source: Join Together, 1/6/10) freshstory.org, 12/29/09

An attractive female beams her message across the opening page: „Wanna go home with me tonight?“ No surprise here: Budweiser is using sex to sell its latest public relations campaign, the “Budweiser Designated Driver.” Anheuser-Busch InBev (the global giant owner of Budweiser) has taken the old adage “sex sells” to heart, featuring beautiful people who drink too much, and do so often, as they tell us over and over in the campaign’s ad. (Source: Marin Institute, 12/15/09)

Prior studies have not only demonstrated a clear connection between alcohol outlets and alcohol-related problems, they have also shown that certain types of outlets are associated with different types of problem outcomes. A new study shows that a particular group, underage youth and young adults, have specific problems – injury accidents, traffic crashes, and assaults that are related to specific types of alcohol outlets – off-premise outlets, bars and restaurants. (Quelle: Medical News Today, 12/21/09)

Quebec will be joining the rest of Canada by lowering its legal blood-alcohol level for motorists from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. The decision is in line with the Quebec Road Safety Task Force’s recent recommendations. The move also came on the heels of the death of seven people in car accidents over one weekend in Quebec. (Source: Join Together, 12/14/09)