www.alkoholpolitik.ch

President Rupiah Banda says there is need for the country to find ways of restricting alcohol in public places. The President said this is because most of the crimes being committed are as a result of people spending long hours in drinking places.
He was speaking to Journalists shortly after he cast his vote at Mulungushi University in Kabwe on Wednesday.
The President said he is happy that alcohol has been banned at the MMD convention, which he said has contributed to the peaceful atmosphere. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/06/11) lusakatimes.com, 04/06/11

The Century Council Kicks Off Alcohol Awareness Month By Releasing Ask, Listen, Learn PSAs with 23 Attorneys General.
Timed with April’s designation as Alcohol Awareness Month, The Century Council teamed up with 23 Attorneys General from around the country to release a fun and innovative Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix Public Service Announcement (PSA). In the animated and radio PSAs Attorneys General encourage kids to say ‚YES‘ to a healthy lifestyle and ‚NO‘ to underage drinking. The PSAs will begin airing around the country this month. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/05/11) trading-house.net, 04/04/11

What Is Not on The Bottle?
Brussels, 17 March 2011. Pick up just about any food or beverage product on store shelves and you’ll find on the package information about calories, ingredients etc. Unless that is, the product is alcohol. Alcohol is one of the leading risk factors for death and ill health in the EU, especially among young people. It increases the risk of developing several types of cancer including those of the liver, digestive tract as well as breast cancer, it is responsible for 25% of deaths among young men aged 15-29, causes depression etc.
Shouldn’t consumers be informed about the potential health effects of its consumption? Why we do not know how many calories a glass of wine has?
Today politicians, public health experts and alcohol industry met at the European Parliament to discuss labelling of alcoholic beverages, what would be effective and why it should be done at the EU level. Click here to read more about the event and watch the video of the seminar. Comment: Article with details on alcohol harm in Europe.

Hospitalizations for alcohol have been trending upward on campus this year, with spikes at fraternity houses, freshman dorms and among the sophomore class. In fall quarter alone, there were 33 cases of Stanford students being transported to the emergency room for alcohol-related incidents, according to Ralph Castro, manager of the Substance Abuse Prevention Program at Vaden Health Center.
To date, a total of 48 students have been transported to the hospital, an increase from the 42 transports in the previous academic year. In winter quarter alone, there were 15 cases—six freshmen, three sophomores, five juniors and one senior. Transports were divided fairly evenly between men and women. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/04/11)

Friday night, 1st April, in St. Pauli district, Hamburg a football match of the highest German league (Bundesliga) was abandoned. The reason: the assistant referee was hit in the back of his head by a plastic cup full of beer thrown at him from the stands . The match had to be broken off and the referees had to be guided from the pitch by guards.
“Not many in Europe might have paid attention to this incident”, says Andrea Lavesson, President of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace. “But we think that the dramatic incident from Friday night stands a symbol for the fact that alcohol and sport does not belong together at all.”
The act of violence occurred shortly after an official hearing in the European Parliament organized by the EPP group on 30th March. By this hearing the EPP group aimed at stressing “the importance of sports. The […] Hearing on Sport […] is a very important step in bringing new ideas and suggestions…” Commissioner Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, among others, expressed the strong role that sport plays in promoting active citizenship. … (Source: active presscontact, 04/04/11)

My name is Andrea Lavesson and I am President of Active – sobriety, friendship and peace. Active is a European youth umbrella NGO with 38 member organizations in 27 countries from all over Europe.
In this letter I am sending you our thoughts and experiences as well as our wishes – in reaction to the most recent unveiling of the “cash-for-amendments” scandal that threatens the trust of young Europeans in the independence of their elected representatives.
That four corruption cases involving MEPs , from different political groups and countries, have been discovered by journalists and that more discoveries seem to be likely has shocked and surprised us. We are truly worried and quite frankly alarmed. We wonder about what the implications are for the political efforts of so many of our members and their initiatives towards the European Parliament.
Many Active members from all over Europe engage in advocacy to share their visions of a better Europe. We write e-mails with ideas and questions. We call and we try to meet MEPs, when we have the (financial) resources to go to Brussels. (Source: OpenLetterActive110404) Comment: In Switzerland the Social Democrats just start with a people’s initiative which demands that all political parties have to declare the sources of their income. Most of the Swiss members of parliament are lobbyists.

Alcohol marketing on television is banned in Sweden, but since 2003 a number of TV channels have circumvented the Swedish Alcohol Act by broadcasting from the UK. It has been possible, but whether it is legal or not is not yet clear.
That is why IOGT-NTO has sent a complaint on the fourth of March, concerning 32 companies who have broadcasted or produced alcohol advertisement targeting a Swedish audience, to the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Broadcasting Authority. The list includes among others Carlsberg Sweden, TV3 and Kanal 5.
‘It is obviously a problem that a number of companies can ignore the Swedish legislation’, says Sara Heine, handling the complaint from IOGT-NTO. (Source: EUCAM, 03/04/11)

… Recommendations and Case Studies. Supporting Partnerships to Reduce Alcohol Harm:
This document records the methodology and findings of the Alcohol Harm Reduction National Support Team. It provides collated and aggregated information about what the team have recommended in visited areas, with the intention to provide readers with helpful information to draw upon in their current work. It also contains signposting, case studies and examples of good practice. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, March 31, 2011)

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has praised a private member’s bill put forward in parliament today by Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes. Dr Wollaston will put forward proposals to limit the exposure of children and young people to alcohol advertising as a Ten Minute Rule Motion. (Source: Medical News Today, 03/31/11)

Mar 31, 2011 01:22 PM CDT by David Rosenbloom

Dear Join Together Friend,

Since today is the last time Join Together Online will be published under my direction, I am going to break one of my own rules. We have never used Join Together publications to toot our own horn. From day one, Join Together has been about you and what you do in America’s communities to prevent and reduce substance use problems. We didn’t waste your time with newsletters that had our pictures and told stories of all the wonderful things we were doing. Join Together’s leadership and technical assistance programs, policy panel reports, advocacy campaigns and online news all spoke for themselves.
Now, on your behalf and mine, I want to recognize and thank the remarkable people who joined together on our staff over the past twenty years to change the way the nation’s communities deal with alcohol, tobacco and drug problems. (Source: Join Together, 03/31/11) Comment: We thank David Rosenbloom and his team for this impressing work they have done and of which we could profit all these years long.