www.alkoholpolitik.ch

SCIENCE GROUP 8th Meeting, 21 March 2011, 11h00 – 17h00
Brussels, Froissart 101, room 02/169
AGENDA
7) Update on recent developments (Commission services)
8) Work towards formulating scientific advice on reducing the negative impact of harmful
and hazardous alcohol consumption on the workplace (EAHF Task request)
o Draft report on initiatives and guidelines developed by alcohol producer companies
to reduce consumption and potential harm in the workplace
o Draft report on the evidence relating to the topics of the Task request (Source: EU, Agenda, 03/10/11)

The outspoken addictions Professor David Nutt has written a controversial piece claiming ‚There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption‘. Nutt asserts a number of factors to argue that the ‚myth of a safe level of drinking‘ has no real evidence. These include that alcohol is toxin which kills cells, that a small minority of people may become addicted to alcohol at first drink, and that the claimed cardiovascular benefits of moderate consumption have not sufficient proof. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 03/10/11)

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), a project by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, recently announced its latest update of state-by-state alcohol policies. The update reports developments in 29 current APIS policy topics for the year 2009. You can visit the APIS website to obtain details on these and other important policy developments across the country. Many of these changes are consistent with the goals of reducing alcohol-related death and injury in the general population and reducing underage drinking and its consequences. (Source: Marin Institute, 03/09/11)

In a stunning display of insensitivity and ignorance, Belvedere Vodka and singer Usher have joined with Product (Red) to launch a special edition bottle and give half its profits to „fight HIV/AIDS in Africa,“ under the misleading tagline “Helps Save Lives.” Promoting and selling booze to fight HIV/AIDS?! There are just so many things wrong with this, we can hardly decide where to start. Let’s consider the facts that are missing from this campaign:
* Product (Red) must have conveniently missed the recent news release that alcohol kills more people annually than AIDS, tuberculosis, or violence – a sobering 4% of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Association.
* Alcohol use is a leading factor in the spread of HIV. Alcohol consumption is associated with two major modes of HIV transmission: high-risk sexual behaviors and injection drug use. … (Source: Marin Institute, 03/09/11)

In New York City, a professor of Human Ecology from Rutgers University is taking a giant step from documenting the urban advertising landscape toward changing it. In the process, she hopes to improve the health of neighborhoods impacted by blight such as outdoor alcohol advertising. …
Dr. Naa Oyo Kwate’s research focuses on mapping urban environments and their impact on health. For example, she found that an astonishing twenty-five percent of outdoor advertising in Central Harlem was dedicated to promoting alcohol. Exposure to the alcohol ads increased black women’s chances of being a problem drinker by up to thirteen percent. … (Source: Marin Institute, 03/08/11) our Online-Comment: My compliments to that researcher. Usually scientists don’t care much what happens to their study results. But she feels responsible that there is progress.

Aims The impact of alcohol on those other than the drinker is an under-researched area with important policy implications. This study is a first step in investigating relationships between exposure to heavy drinkers in respondent’s lives with measures of health status and wellbeing.
Design setting and participants A cross-sectional general population survey was carried out among 3068 New Zealand residents aged 12–80 years (response rate 64%) using an in-house computer-assisted telephone interviewing system.
Findings More than one in four of the sample had experienced someone they considered to be a heavy drinker in their environment in the past 12 months.
Conclusions: Cross-sectional data from a general population sample suggest that there is a relationship between exposure to heavy drinkers and reduced personal wellbeing and poorer health status. Exposure to heavy drinkers may have negative impacts for others. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/08/11) onlinelibrary.wiley.com, 03/07/11

It may seem like binge drinking is just a fact of college life, but a number of institutions of higher-education are proving otherwise. Survey data show notable drops in student binge drinking at several colleges and universities, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Feb. 16. For example:
* Alcohol-related violations dropped 3.7 percent at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. over two years.
* Between 2007 and 2009, „problem drinking“ fell 12 percent at the University of Pittsburgh.
* The number of Purdue students who engaged in binge drinking sank from 48 percent in 2006 to 37.3 percent in 2009.
* Frostburg State University in Maryland saw binge drinking plummet 27% over the past decade. … (Source: Join Together, 03/07/11) with our Online-Comment: It is always better to invest in prevention instead of paying for negative results. If the alcohol free offers are a success, other students will try too.

Introducing a minimum price for alcohol in Northern Ireland is an important step in the prevention of suicide and self-harm, as well as addressing wider health and social issues the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland has said.
Dr Philip McGarry, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, welcomed the consultation into alcohol pricing launched today by Social Development Minister Alex Attwood and Health Minister Michael McGimpsey, but said the floor price must be set high enough to have a genuine impact on problem drinking. (Source: Medical News Today, 03/07/11)

A Cardiff University study has established a link between pub violence and happy hour-style drinking promotions.
The findings also show that pub staff themselves need to do more to stop heavily intoxicated customers from continuing to drink. (Source: Medical News Today, 03/07/11)

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania yesterday launched a nationwide campaign to tackle excessive drinking.The government’s initiative against irresponsible drinking has the backing of local brewers and is supported by international organisations with the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) being its major financier.
The campaign will mainly be conducted through radio programmes. The campaign, dubbed Chonde Chonde! Ulevi Noma! (Please, alcoholism is dangerous), is a six-month drive that will end in September this year.
“For example, people who drink excessively more often have unprotected sex than those who do not or those who drink responsibly. Tacaids (The Tanzania Commission for Aids) lists alcohol consumption as an important factor in HIV/Aids prevalence.”
According to the Tacaids HIV Prevention Strategy for Tanzania Mainland (2009), men who drink have an HIV prevalence rate that is three times higher than those who do not drink. The prevalence rate is twice higher among women who drink than those who don’t. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/08/11) thecitizen.co.tz, 03/03/11