www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Excessive alcohol consumption causes 79,000 deaths annually in the U.S., shortening the lives of those who die from it by approximately 30 years. Although alcohol taxation is an effective measure to reduce excessive consumption and related harm, some argue that increasing alcohol taxes places an unfair economic burden on “responsible” drinkers and socially disadvantaged people.

To examine the impact of a hypothetic tax increase based on alcohol consumption and sociodemographic characteristics of current drinkers, individually and in aggregate.

Data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey were analyzed from 2010 to 2011 to determine the net financial impact of a hypothetic 25-cent-per-drink tax increase on current drinkers in the U.S. Higher-risk drinkers were defined as those whose past-30-day consumption included binge drinking, heavy drinking, drinking in excess of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and alcohol-impaired driving.

Of U.S. adults who consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, 50.4% (or approximately 25% of the total U.S. population) were classified as higher-risk drinkers. The tax increase would result in a 9.2% reduction in alcohol consumption, including an 11.4% reduction in heavy drinking. Compared with lower-risk drinkers, higher-risk drinkers would pay 4.7 times more in net increased annual per capita taxes, and 82.7% of the net increased annual aggregate taxes. Lower-risk drinkers would pay less than $30 in net increased taxes annually. In aggregate, groups who paid the most in net tax increases included those who were white, male, aged 21–50 years, earning ≥$50,000 per year, employed, and had a college degree.

A 25-cent-per-drink alcohol tax increase would reduce excessive drinking, and higher-risk drinkers would pay the substantial majority of the net tax increase.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/19/12)

Plans for a minimum unit price for alcohol have been approved in principle by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government’s alcohol bill passed its first major parliamentary hurdle without opposition, by 86 votes to nil, with 32 abstentions on Wednesday afternoon.
After a debate at Holyrood, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats supported the legislation, while Labour abstained. …

The Scottish government said it accepted that minimum pricing was not a „magic bullet“ but was an important part of its strategy.
Speaking ahead of the vote, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told Holyrood that decisive action must be taken to „stem the flow of cheap high-strength drink“. „The link between price and consumption, and between consumption and harm, is irrefutable”. She added: „It’s not some sort of magic bullet that will solve all of our nation’s problems with alcohol. However, it is essential if we are to make a significant contribution to reducing consumption.“
Ms Sturgeon promised she would announce what the minimum price per unit would be before Holyrood’s final vote on the legislation later in this parliament. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 03/19/12) bbc.co.uk, 03/14/12

News from Members, EU, WHO, European countries, new research and reports, new events
(Source: Eurocare, 03/16/12)

Offer a male fruit fly a choice between food soaked in alcohol and its nonalcoholic equivalent, and his decision will depend on whether he’s mated recently or been rejected by a female. Flies that have been given the cold shoulder are more likely to go for the booze, researchers have found. It’s the first discovery, in fruit flies, of a social interaction that influences future behavior.

„This is an amazing link,“ says neurogeneticist Troy Zars of the University of Missouri, Columbia, who was not involved in the study. Understanding the brain pathways responsible, he says, could help explain more broadly how rewarding behavior is reflected in the brain, and how the brain mediates complex behaviors. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/15/12)
Medical News Today, 03/16/12

Alcohol consumption affects the health and well being of people in the United States in many negative ways: drunk driving, violent crime, spousal and child abuse, and diseases such as liver cirrhosis and cancer.

Though these problems often result from underage drinking, binge drinking, and alcoholism, even moderate alcohol consumption can contribute to health problems, especially various forms of cancer.

If consumers knew the nutritional value of the alcohol they are about to consume, they might make better choices and help reduce the risks of consumption.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority and is about to finalize a new rule on national nutrition labeling standards for restaurant menus that should include alcohol. At the moment it does not.

Let’s tell President Obama that considering all the health and societal harms associated with alcohol consumption, it’s time to direct his administration to include alcohol in the final restaurant labeling rule to best inform consumers so they can make healthier choices.

Email this Alert to a Friend — TAKE ACTION
(Source: Alcohol Justice, 03/12/12)

A free special edition of the Drug and Alcohol Review journal has been released exploring the evidence and reasons behind low risk drinking guidelines.

The special edition includes commentaries from Professor Nick Heather on the importance of drinking guidelines and a critical perspective from Sally Casswell who asks why have guidelines at all.

The issue comes shortly after a the Science and Technology Committee review into UK guidelines, from which MPs called for greater efforts to help the public understand alcohol guidelines.

The Government recently released a new Change4Life alcohol campaign warning against the risks of regularly exceeding the recommended guidelines.
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 03/06/12)

A special committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies is expected to vote Tuesday on the “General Law of the Cup” (“Lei Geral da Copa”), but relations between the government and the head of the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) have completely melted down after macho comments by Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. Last month, Valcke stated “Alcoholic drinks are part of the FIFA World Cup, so we’re going to have them. Excuse me if I sound a bit arrogant but that’s something we won’t negotiate.”

Valcke caused an explosive response in Brazil when he stated on Friday: “You have to push yourself, get a kick up the backside and just deliver this World Cup.“ That arrogant comment led to a powerful response by Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo on Saturday, „In light of these statements, which are inadequate and unacceptable comments for any type of relationship, the Brazilian government… no longer accepts Secretary-General Valcke as an interlocutor.“ Brazilian presidential adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia added fuel to the fire Sunday, calling Valcke a loudmouth and a bum (“boquirroto” and “vagabundo”).

In an effort to reduce alcohol-related sports violence and protect public health in general, alcohol sales have been banned from football stadiums in Brazil since 2003. A World Health Organization study that included Brazil showed that about 46% of violent incidents seen in the emergency room were related to alcohol use. …
(Source: Alcohol Justice, 03/06/12)
See also press release by IOGT-International

PS Unfortunately, the special committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has accepted the “General Law of the Cup”. It’s a shame! Now it is up to the parliament.

A major overhaul of guidelines for the safe consumption of alcohol seems to have had no impact on Australians.
Only 5 per cent of the population can identify safe drinking levels nominated in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s guidelines for reducing health risks from alcohol consumption.
The latest guidelines, which were published in 2009, say women and men can reduce their lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury by having a maximum of two standard alcoholic drinks a day.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/07/12) brisbanetimes.com, 03/06/12

Online comment: Before we can expect people to take notice of and accept drinking guidelines they must know why. But for decades the fields of information and propaganda have been left over to the alcohol industry, which may invest giant sums into advertising and marketing.

Putting Tobacco in Movies and TV shows has long been politically unacceptable, except for certain period pieces. Now it’s booze under the spotlight with a report in April 2012 Pediatrics (published online March 5), showing that the more teenagers watched movies that featured consumption of alcohol, the more they were likely to drink themselves. The news is hardly surprising, considering how past generations were fed the cool of the cigarette or cigar in previous productions.

The data was collected in Europe and gathered from more than 16,500 youngsters aged 10 to 19. The students from Germany, Iceland, Italy,The Netherlands, Poland and Scotland were asked how often they had had 5 or more drinks on one occasion, and what popular movies they watched (in each country, the majority were Hollywood blockbusters). Movies were content coded for screen depictions of alcohol use. …
(Source: Medical News Today, 03/05/12)

The relationship of increased alcohol taxes to reductions in alcohol-related harm is well established. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of sudden decreases in alcohol tax rates or effects of narrow tax changes limited to specific beverage types. In the current study, we: (1) examine whether tax increases on spirits have similar effects in reducing alcohol-related disease mortality as increasing taxes on all types of alcoholic beverages simultaneously, and (2) evaluate effects of beer-specific tax decreases in New York State on mortality. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/01/12)