www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Copenhagen’s bars willingly sold alcohol to 15-year old Swedes.
The work of young members of UNF, The Swedish Youth Temperance Association, reveals the actual strength of actions by the alcohol industry in the European Alcohol and Health Forum. Young UNF members from Sweden’s border regions to Denmark went to Copenhagen to conduct mystery shopping and the results give a clear signal: of in total 7 tested bars and pubs, Swedish minors were without problems able to buy alcohol 11 times. 4 out of these 7 places are part of a project of City of Copenhagen and the alcohol industry.
The City of Copenhagen runs a project, called “tryg den af” (engl.: “Have fun. Be safe”) together with the alcohol industry for responsible selling and serving. It is about certified bars and pubs that take responsibility for not selling alcohol to youth under the age of 18. How responsible selling and serving really is in Copenhagen was now revealed by UNF members. (Source: Press release activeeurope.org, 04/08/11)

Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) have launched a new Manifesto which calls for the new Scottish Parliament to take decisive steps to reduce the harm caused by alcohol by:
Increasing the price and reducing the availability of alcohol
Specifically targeting supermarkets for increased regulation
Banning alcohol sports sponsorship
Reducing drink driving limits to 50mg
Awareness raising campaign on the harm alcohol causes to others
Improved treatment and support services for people in need
See here for the full 8 calls to action. The Scottish National Party (SNP) recently announced they would revive their plans for a minimum price if they win the Scottish national elections on May 5th. A senior police officer has also backed the measure. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 04/07/11)

A new report based on a national survey shows that only 1.2 percent of the nation’s more than 7.4 million adults aged 21 to 64 with an untreated alcohol abuse disorder perceive they could benefit from treatment. The report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in conjunction with National Alcohol Screening Day, April 7, highlights the need to raise awareness about adult problem drinking, how to identify when someone has a problem, how to confront a problem drinker and how to get help. (Source: Medical News Today, 04/07/11)

Almost one in ten (9.6%) cancers in men and three in ten (3%) cancers in women in Western Europe is caused by former and current alcohol consumption, finds a paper published on bmj.com today.
The study focuses on France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Denmark. Source: Medical News Today, 04/07/11) our Online-Comment: The figure regarding women is not correct. Most probably it’s (as from an other source) one in 33 women, that’s 3%. But also in the BMJ-Text the total figures are questionable in the Abstract.
10% of cancers in men are due to alcohol consumption. Of those 57% are avoidable if men stick to the recommended amounts of daily consumption. 3% of cancers in women are alcohol related and 81% avoidable. That means that with men 43% and with women 19% of the cases are connected to a small amount of daily alcohol consumption which is regarded as not dangerous and is even propagated by the alcohol industry as health positive.

It is known that taxation on alcohol products may effectively reduce the alcohol consumption. However, whether alcohol taxation may lead to a decrease in alcohol attributed disease mortality (ADM) has been inclusively.
We conducted this time-series analysis to assess the effect of alcohol tax policy intervention in 2002 on rate of ADM in Taiwan. … This study demonstrated that alcohol taxation policy may pose favorite influences on the time trend of ADM rate in Taiwan, and such influence was most noteworthy in young and middle aged men. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/06/11) springerlink.com, 04/01/11

Minnesota lawmakers are coping with their three-year hangover: Whether to allow beer and alcohol sales at the University of Minnesota’s on-campus football stadium.
The latest bill leaves the matter entirely up to the school’s Board of Regents after previous legislative efforts to fashion a compromise left the stadium dry. The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee advanced the bill Wednesday, but it has a ways to go. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/07/11) kstp.com, 04/06/11

sponsored by MetLife Foundation.
The annual study shows that teen drug and alcohol use is headed in the wrong direction, with marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy over the past three years. The study confirms a disturbing trend that has emerged among American
teens since 2008 and highlights that underage drinking has become more normalized among adolescents. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/07/11) PATS KEY FINDINGS: Released April 6, 2011

Many of the efforts associated with Alcohol Awareness Month each April are targeted at preventing underage drinking, especially during the prom and graduation celebration season. But there are other groups that are also practicing harmful alcohol consumption but may not be aware of the risks.
Prevention efforts have been increased around prom night events and graduation parties since the first Alcohol Awareness Month in 1987, but prevention efforts are also targeted at the following demographic groups. … (Source: alcoholism.about.com, 04/05/11)

Employees at 11 Plainfield businesses face $250 fines after police say they were witnessed selling alcohol to minors.
Officers conducted a compliance check on Wednesday of 39 Plainfield businesses licensed to sell alcohol, said Sgt. Kevin McQuaid. Two 18-year-olds were used in the blitz and were asked to present their own IDs when asked for them. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/02/11) triblocal.com, 04/01/11

The German supermarket giant Aldi, has applied for liquor licenses for its 102 stores across the New South Wales, including 9 stores in Illawarra. The Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and New South Wales Health have made submission against the application for licenses by Aldi. They stated the high rate in the number of alcohol related crimes, accidents and their opposition to more alcohol licenses in the communities.
Sharralyn Robinson, CEO of the Illawarra Land Council has expressed that they are very much aware of the effects of alcohol in the community and they already had more than enough alcohol outlets. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/06/11) topnews.us, 04/06/11