www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Two barmen from the Irish Republic are due to go on trial for the manslaughter of a British man who died from acute alcohol intoxication. The landmark prosecution against Gary Wright and Aidan Dalton will begin in County Tipperary on Wednesday.
They are charged with unlawfully killing a guest at the Hayes Hotel in Thurles on 1 July 2008.
It is the first case of its kind under the liquor liability laws in Ireland. In England it is an offence to ‚knowingly sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk‘ but is punishable by a fine only. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 5/4/11) bbc.co.uk, 5/3/11

-and why its roots must be cut in other ways
BBC London has published a statistics showing that the number of London teenagers going to hospital with alcohol-related injuries has risen by 40% in the time of 2002 to 2007.
Doubtless a number that forces the British government to act, in order to combat teenage drinking. Their modest proposal lies in raising the legal drinking age to 21. Will older teenagers really behave in a more mature way than the kids of today?
Perhaps you should realize the root of all evil before you can come to a conclusion that definitely helps these pitiful teenagers.
Of course, there are many young people enjoying the taste of alcohol on a party, sometimes more boisterous, sometimes less.
All in all, alcohol is just an addition and not necessarily a forerunner of getting hammered. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 5/1/11) hausaufgaben-forum.net, 4/29/11 our Online-Comment: I find it positive that somebody takes up this question as one of several possibible measures in order to reduce alcohol problems in London or anywhere.
The question of the age limit is being discussed too in the USA, they have 21 and in News Zealand where it was changed from 21 to 18.
They main medical reason to have 21 as limit is the fact that the brain is not fully developed until 25. The risk of damaging the brain is high and there are many studies which proof it.
Whenever a government or a parliament decides a law it only makes sense when it is possible to push it through. That means it needs a big acceptance. This age limit would need a big acceptance by the adults who want the law but also by the teenagers who are concerned. And that is the main problem. As long as the society is not willing to take responsibility and show an other behavior in drinking and reduce the total amount of alcohol consumption, the young people will not see the necessity of changing their behavior either.
What the government could do in order to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol related harm is very clear since the World Health Organization has accepted the Resolution on a global alcohol strategy in May 2010, signed by the British Government as well. Instead it cooperates with the alcohol industry and makes the problem even worse.
It is not necessary to drink to become an adult person. I know hundreds of personalities with good characters who never drank alcohol, I should say it makes you stronger if you can say no thanks and you will see who is worth to be your friend.

Attorneys general from 24 states have asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to do more to shield teenagers from alcohol advertising. A letter, written by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and signed by colleagues from 23 other states, proposes a three-step plan to regulate teens’ exposure to alcohol ads, the Deseret News reports. (Source: Join Together, 04/29/11)

Allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older. In fact, such a „harm-minimization“ approach may actually lead to more drinking and alcohol-related consequences, according to a new study in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
„Kids need parents to be parents and not drinking buddies,“ according to the study’s lead researcher, Barbara J. McMorris, Ph.D., of the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Allowing adolescents to drink with adults present but not when unsupervised may send mixed signals. „Adults need to be clear about what messages they are sending.“ … (Source: Medical News Today, 04/28/11) Comment: The second study in this article shows the same result. Probably prevention in schools by offering alcohol to the students will have the same effect.

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.” …

An interim report on binge drinking has been released by Demos:
Under_the_Influence By ‚binge-drinking‘, the report refers not to the Government definition of drinking twice the recommended guidelines on one occasion, but as „young adults that drink to extreme excess, often in an intentionally reckless and very public way, putting themselves and others at risk of harm.“ The report analyses the causes of, and possible responses to, binge-drinking among young adults aged 18-25 in the UK, including:
Recommendations: interventions targeted at individuals
Recommendations: nudges and environmental changes
Recommendations: changing social norms
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 04/28/11) demos.co.uk, March 2011

The Interacting Role of Alcohol Availability at Home and Parental Rules
Objective: The fi rst aim of this study was to gain more insight into the bi-directionality between alcohol-specific parental factors (i.e., parents’ alcohol use, alcohol availability at home, parental rule setting, and frequency and quality of communication about alcohol) and adolescents’ alcohol intake and alcohol-related problems. The second aim was to examine the relative impact of alcohol-specific parental factors on adolescents’ alcohol intake and related problems by studying them in a comprehensive model. … Conclusions: The findings emphasize that parent interventions aiming at the prevention of adolescents’ alcohol use should include the advice to restrict the perceived presence of alcohol beverages at home. Moreover, to prevent alcohol problems, parents should be advised to enforce strict rules about drinking, particularly when a total absence of alcohol at home is not feasible. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 72,
408–417, 2011) (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/27/11) jsad.com, May 2011

The objective of this study was to see whether levels of alcohol consumption newly included as „moderate“ in proposed changes to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are associated with significant levels of alcohol-related harm. … Conclusions: We recommend two alternative approaches to rewording the proposed changes to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that would avoid suggesting that there are benefits associated with the gray area of alcohol consumption. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 72, 453–458, 2011) (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/27/11) jsad.com, May 2011

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)

DrugScope, the national membership organisation representing the drug sector, has today responded to the release of figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which show that 79,360 people who claim Incapacity Benefit (IB) have either a drug or alcohol dependency.
The DWP figures show that of the total number of IB claimants (2,082,570, figures from August 2010), 1.8 per cent (37,000) have a drug dependency and 2 per cent (42,360) an alcohol dependency. However, a drug or alcohol dependency alone would not make someone eligible to receive IB. Martin Barnes, Chief Executive of DrugScope, said:
„Most people with a drug or alcohol dependency also have physical or mental health problems which can affect their ability to work. While a drug or alcohol dependency can be extremely debilitating, it does not of itself give an entitlement or ‚passport‘ to benefit, which may be suggested by the publication of today’s figures. People with drug or alcohol problems must satisfy all the conditions for benefit entitlement, including proof of incapacity, and may be required to undergo a medical examination to determine eligibility. (Source: Medical News Today, 04/26/11)