www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Young Drink And Drug Driving Shockingly High Finds Road Safety Week Report – Brake Pleads ‚Not A Drop, Not A Drag‘, England
More than 1 in 4 young people (28%) admit to drink or drug driving, or both, or being a passenger with a young drink or drug driver, finds a shocking new report released at the start of Road Safety Week by Brake, the road safety charity behind the Week, in partnership with companies 3M and Alcosense. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/26/09) Comment: When will the government reduce the BAC limit and control it?

Driving while impaired (DWI) contributes significantly to road-traffic crashes, and is involved in more than one-third of all fatalities. Many DWI recidivists – drinking drivers who re-offend – do not participate in mandated alcohol-evaluation and intervention programs or else continue to drink problematically after their licenses have been re-issued. A comparison of the effects of two interventions on DWI recidivists with alcohol problems found that one – Brief Motivational Interviewing (BMI) – was more effective. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/21/09)

The New York state Assembly has passed a bill that would make it a felony offense to drive while intoxicated if children under age 16 are in the vehicle, the New York Times reported Nov. 18.
The bill also would require first-time convicted drunk drivers to install ignition-interlock devices on their cars to prevent repeat offenses.
Currently, only Arizona makes it a felony offense to drive drunk with children; about a dozen states require the ignition-interlock devices, which prevent the engine from starting if a breath sample reveals the presence of alcohol. New Yorkers convicted of felony drunk driving would face up to four years in prison under the bill. (Source: Join Together, 11/19/09)

Makeshift roadside memorials have sprung up nationwide at the site of fatal alcohol crashes, and now advocates in New Hampshire say a similar concept could raise public awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, the Associated Press reported Nov. 9. A bill in the state legislature would allow families of drunk-driving crash victims to apply to the New Hampshire highway department to place signs at accident sites reading, „Please Don’t Drink and Drive,“ with the victims‘ names underneath. (Source: Join Together, 11/16/09)

A United Airlines pilot has been charged with being over the alcohol limit to fly a plane after police at Heathrow arrested him just before his aircraft took off bound for Chicago with 124 passengers and 11 crew on board. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 11/11/09) guardian.co.uk, 11/10/09

Alcohol consumption is a significant contributor to the burden of disease in India and is a major public health concern. Extreme policies of prohibition and the current permissive strategies are both counter-productive. A nuanced approach involving the regulation of alcohol availability and a rigorous enforcement of public health perspectives and legislation is needed. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 11/5/09) morungexpress.com

„Alcohol is a factor in the deaths of one in seven young people, kills 3430 people a year and causes accidents and injury that put 80,000 Australians into hospital annually. A report released by the National Drug Research Institute last month showed that, while alcohol-related deaths were decreasing, hospital admissions had risen by a third over the past decade. ‚Every week, on average, risky or high-risk drinking is killing more than 60 Australians and putting another 1500 people — the equivalent of a small town — in hospital, owing to injury or disease that is entirely preventable,‘ the National Drug Research Institute associate professor Tanya Chikritzhs said. According to the National Preventative Health Taskforce Report, released this month, alcohol abuse costs the Australian economy $15 billion a year. The highest cost factors were loss of life ($4.135 billion), workforce reduction and absenteeism ($3.579 billion) and road accidents ($2.202 billion).“ (Source: Harvard World Health News, 10/29/09) The Sydney Morning Herald, 10/25/09 Comment: Interesting figures for passive-drinkers, for all of us.

Officials in Canada are considering changing the law to allow police to conduct random roadside Breathalyzer tests for drunk driving, rather than only for-cause tests, the Montreal Gazette reported Oct. 24.
A number of other countries — but not the U.S. — allow random DWI testing of drivers, but Canada has banned the practice for 40 years. Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson wants to change the law, but said he needs to discuss the proposal with provincial officials first. (Source: Join Together, 10/26/09)

“There is no Single European way to Consume Alcoholic Beverages”
– Understanding Different Drinking Patterns Across Europe key to Successful Alcohol Policies. EU-level policy to reduce alcohol-related harm must be tailored to respond to diverse, complex realities in the different Member States. This is the conclusion of experts meeting in Brussels today at a scientific conference, organised by the Wine Information Council. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 10/23/09) flensburg-online.de, 23.10.09 Comment: In the media-report they pretend: „Furthermore, the literature suggests that the regulatory approach is simplistic, and sometimes counter-productive, punishing moderate drinkers and leaving problem drinkers unhelped.” The literature they mention is their own literature. The reality is just the contrary. Moderate drinkers and problem drinkers have a profit by regulatory measures, which reduce consumption and harm. We all are at any time passive-drinkers under the pressure of the alcohol industry and suffer from tremendous harm and social costs. We need regulatory measures. They alone are able to reduce overall consumption. That’s the only reason, why the alcohol industry doesn’t like them.

More protection needed for European citizens. This is the headline of a new brochure by Eurocare with basic facts on alcohol in the EU.
The European Union (EU) is the heaviest drinking region of the world (11 litres of pure alcohol drunk per adult each year). This is over 2,5 times the rest of the world average. ALCOHOL IS NOT AN ORDINARY CONSUMER
COMMODITY. Harm to the Individual drinker: Alcohol is a key health determinant, responsible for 7.4% of all ill-health and premature death in the EU, which makes it the 3rd leading risk factor, after high blood pressure and tobacco. (Source: Eurocare, 10/18/09)BROCH_MEP091019