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Prom and graduation should be a time of pure joy for high school seniors and the people who love them. But every year, this season can also be a time of sadness for too many families. That’s because along with these important milestones come many opportunities for underage drinking and driving.
Each year, communities across the country mourn the deaths of teenagers involved in a car crash that resulted from underage drinking at a prom or graduation party. A survey of more than 2,500 high school juniors and seniors conducted in 2010 found that 90 percent believed their peers are more likely to drink and drive on prom night and 79 percent believe the same is true of graduation night. However, only 29 percent of teens say that driving on prom night is very dangerous; 25 percent believe the same is true for graduation night. … (Source: Join Together, 5/3/11)

Drivers in South Africa could soon be banned from drinking any alcohol at all before getting behind the wheel.
John Motsatsing, chief director of road transport regulation in the Department of Transport, said the government was seriously considering a zero alcohol limit for all drivers.
“Irrespective of how many drinks you’ve had, you cannot judge if you are over the alcohol limit, because you are not an expert,” he said. “So why can we not say no drinking at all if you are driving?
“We are going to do away with the alcohol limit. We are drafting a document and will put it out for public comment.”
At least 203 people were killed in road accidents during the Easter weekend, according The Road Traffic Management Corporation. It is estimated that almost half of all weekend motor vehicle crash victims at public hospitals are injured as a result of abuse of alcohol. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/2/11) iol.co.za, 5/1/11

So Friday is the big day. In a highly anticipated wedding, not only in the United Kingdom but the world, there is some controversy if pubs and drinking establishments will be allowed to stay open longer and be a bit lax on the rules in the UK. Some will and some won’t as the nation prepares for a four day Bank Holiday where drinking is expected to go up a notch.
Early responses from the 44 licensing boards north of the Border show some are refusing to get in line with plans in England and Wales to award additional drinking time to pubs on Friday, April 29 and the following weekend. … (Source: Medical News Today, 04/28/11) Comment by Active: The Boozification of the Royal wedding. About Grownups who don’t know how to party:
Today is the big day. Media frenzy is at its height and people’s expectations are on their peak when the highly anticipated Royal wedding in London, UK will take place. But as Britain prepares for the festivities, there’s not only controversy about wedding dresses, wedding date, etiquette and so on. There is also some controversy if pubs and bars should or should not be allowed to open longer and if it should be allowed to be “lax on the rules”.
“The world doesn’t need more booze, Europe doesn’t need more booze and Britain surely doesn’t need more booze”, says Andrea Lavesson, who is the President of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace, and continues: “Every time there is a big event, we hear these calls for a suspension of existing rules, so that grownups could use more alcohol. But more alcohol means more violence, more road accidents, more suffering and deaths. And all that certainly doesn’t belong to festive occasions like today.” …

Almost six million people die from tobacco use and 2.5 million from harmful use of alcohol each year worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
The WHO report on non-communicable diseases—including diabetes, cancer and respiratory and heart diseases—says that a large percentage of these conditions could be prevented by reducing tobacco and alcohol use, eating a healthier diet and exercising more. …
Alcohol-related deaths account for 3.8 percent of all deaths worldwide, according to the report. More than half of these deaths occur from non-communicable diseases including cancer, heart disease and liver cirrhosis. …
To reduce harmful alcohol use, WHO recommends a number of measures including increasing excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, regulating availability of alcoholic beverages (including minimum legal purchase age), restricting exposure to marketing of alcoholic beverages through marketing regulations or comprehensive advertising bans, and treatment of alcohol use disorders and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful drinking. (Source: Join Together, 04/27/11)

The European Transport Safety Council has published its 13th Drink Driving Monitor. The document brings news from across the EU on steps to further improve drink driving legislation and enforcement.
Updates on Cross-Border Enforcement Directive and the decision of the UK to delay its opt-in are presented, together with the Draft Report on Road Safety proposed by MEP Koch and the latest on TISPOL alcohol and drug campaign. An interview with Desiree Schaap, Ministry of Transport in the Netherlands, on the Dutch Alcolock Programme and the ETSC alcolock legislation barometer are also featured. To read more, please click here. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter March-April 2011)

The legal drink-drive limit will remain at 80mg per 100ml of blood, the transport secretary Philip Hammond has announced. A Government press release said the focus would instead be on „improving enforcement and education to tackle the drink and drug drivers who put lives at risk.“
However the decision drew criticism after an independent report last year called for the legal limit to be reduced. In the report Sir Peter North proposed a reduced 50mg limit, arguing it would save lives and bring the level in line with most of Europe. … (Source: Alcohol Policies UK, 03/21/11) Comment: If there are not 15% to 20% less alcohol related accidents and deaths during the next year the government must revise its attitude immediately. Or it should resign because it had caused many deaths and injured people by listening to the alcohol industry instead of following the advice of public health specialists.

Fifty-six pilots working for Indian airlines have failed alcohol tests in the last two years, according to a list issued by the civil aviation ministry.
Ten pilots were fired after they failed tests, including one who was found over the limit on two occasions, according to the list released by Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi in parliament Thursday.
The fifty-six pilots worked for the state-owned national carrier Air India, as well as private airlines Jet Airways, Indigo, SpiceJet, GoAir, and Kingfisher.
Twenty-three pilots from India’s top airline company Jet Airways failed their tests, but the airline did not sack any of them, putting them on suspension and subjecting them to a pay cut instead. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/14/11) google.com, 03/10/11

Information about Oklahoma?s driving breath alcohol and ignition interlock devices just became easier to access with the launch of the Oklahoma Board of Tests for Alcohol and Drug Influence’s (BOT) new website at http://bot.ok.gov. The new website allows the agency to post announcements quickly, keeping Oklahomans informed and increasing transparency of information. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/13/11) trading-house.net, 03/11/11

The government is waging war on the alarming increase in the abuse of alcohol and drugs, and has warned of stricter legislation – including raising the legal age for alcohol consumption from 18 to 21.
In a hard-hitting statement, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said yesterday that the devastating effects of alcohol abuse had spurred the government to „prioritise this as a matter of urgency“.
„Alcohol and substance abuse is destroying families and the fabric of society. The shocking reality of the situation has strengthened our resolve to tackle the problem head-on,“ Dlamini told The Times. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/12/11) timeslive.co.za, 03/11/11 Comment: Good luck, my beloved South Africa. You have the political power to succeed. But do it without the alcohol industry! Take the WHO Global Alcohol Strategy.

In an effort to reduce the number of drink-driving incidents on Polish roads, a bill forbidding the sale of alcohol at petrol stations has been proposed by a senatorial group from across the political spectrum.
Additional changes to the so-called sobriety bill also include a ban on beer advertisements before 11 pm on Polish television. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/08/11) thenews.pl, 03/04/11