www.alkoholpolitik.ch

– says BBPA: European Brewery Convention, Glasgow 2011.
At a major European conference on the brewing industry which opened this morning in Glasgow, a leading industry figure has raised concerns over key aspects of Scottish alcohol policy and called for a new dialogue with the SNP government over key issues.
In the opening keynote session of the 33rd European Brewery Congress & Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, Brigid Simmonds OBE, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said:
“The beer and pub trade is worth £1.5 billion to the Scottish economy every year, and 71,000 Scots depend on beer and pubs for work – you might be surprised to know that’s double the number that depend on Scotch Whisky for work, on a comparable basis. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/24/11) beerandpub.com, 5/23/11

The maker of the popular Tilt malt beverage is lowering the drink’s alcohol content from 12 percent to 8 percent for a 24-ounce container. Anheuser-Busch announced that the new drinks will be sold starting this summer.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sparks flavored malt beverages made by MillerCoors also have a maximum of 8 percent alcohol by volume. The article notes that the changes to Tilt come as malt beverages such as Four Loko are being criticized for encouraging underage and binge drinking. … (Source: Join Together, 5/25/11)

Confronting family poverty needs evidence-based alcohol policies.
In his message on the International Day of Families 2011 the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says: “On this International Day of Families, let us resolve to support families as they nurture the young, care for the old and foster strong communities”.
The UN has a long history of efforts to protect families, especially women and children. This year’s theme is very important as it allows development organizations and governments to direct the spotlight on a hidden but key issue – the impact of alcohol abuse on families. Effective action here will radically improve the conditions and future prospects of children, women and families in general. … (Source: IOGT International, 5/16/11)

Almost half of UK consumers (45%) are trying to lose weight, and nearly two thirds (62%) are worried about their bank balance, yet many don’t make the connection between their drinking and an expanding waistline or empty wallet, according to new research released today by alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware. … (Source: Medical News Today, 5/23/11)

8th meeting of the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action, Luxembourg, 1-2 March 2011 Summary report and presentations available:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/alcohol/events/ev_20110301_en.htm (Download very slow, dates maybe too big.)

The European Week Against Cancer is back!
Between 25 and 31 May each year organizations in Europe will join forces to identify ways to prevent cancer. Under the leadership of the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) and the European Partnership Action Against Cancer, the European Week Against Cancer (EWAC) will give new impetus to cancer prevention and healthy lifestyles in Europe by promoting the European Code Against Cancer. “We’re really glad that the EWAC is back,” says Andrea Lavesson, president of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace, a European youth organization. “And we support the leadership of ECL in its efforts to prevent cancers because we know that around 40% of all cancer cases could be prevented, if screening policies and prevention methods were improved and if Europeans would lead healthier lifestyles.”
Every year more than 3 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer, making cancer the most common cause of death in Europe after heart disease. Over the years evidence has been accumulated by scientists from all over the world clearly showing that the use of alcohol increases the risk of cancer. The greater the amount of alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx, breast, liver and colorectum. Thus the European Code Against Cancer 1 states that ‘If you drink alcohol, whether beer, wine or spirits, moderate your consumption to two drinks per day if you are a man or one drink per day if you are a woman’. However ”even these levels incur a certain amount of risk, it is important that the general public, policy makers and alcohol producers are aware of the risks and do everything they can to minimize them,” says Emma Woodford from European Cancer Leagues. … (Source: Press Release activeeurope.org, 5/25/11)

Background: To avoid strong declines in the quality of life due to population ageing, and to ensure sustainability of the health care system, reductions in the burden of disability among elderly populations are urgently needed. Life style interventions may help to reduce the years lived with one or more disabilities, but it is not fully understood which life style factor has the largest potential for such reductions. Therefore, the primary aim of this paper is to compare the effect of BMI, smoking and alcohol consumption on life expectancy with disability, using the Sullivan life table method. …
Results: Life expectancy at age 55 differed by 1.4 years among groups defined in terms of BMI, 4.0 years by smoking status, and 3.0 years by alcohol consumption. Years lived with disability differed by 2.8 years according to BMI, 0.2 years by smoking and 1.6 by alcohol consumption. Obese persons could expect to live more years with disability (5.9 years) than smokers (3.8 years) and drinkers (3.1 years). Employing information on time to death led to lower estimates of years lived with disability, and to smaller differences in these years according to BMI (2.1 years), alcohol (1.2 years), and smoking (0.1 years). … (Source: biomedcentral.com, 5/24/11)

News from Sweden, Finland, USA, Australia, UK, Germany, Taiwan, India and some studies. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/23/11)

This surveillance report, prepared by the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), presents data on underage drinking for 1991–2009.
This is the fourth of a series of reports to be published every two years on underage drinking and related attitudes and risk behaviors. Data for this series are compiled from three separate nationally representative surveys: the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).
The following are highlights of trends from 1991 through 2009. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/23/11)

Hispanics are the largest and most rapidly growing ethnic group in the United States, making up about 16 percent of the population, or more than 50 million people. Research shows that drinking patterns among Hispanics are different from those of non-Hispanic Whites and other ethnic or racial groups. Understanding these differences can help prevention, intervention, and treatment programs better serve the Hispanic community. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/23/11) pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/, 5/23/11