www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Supporters Say It Could Raise Millions For Health Programs
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A plan to increase the state alcohol tax by 10 cents a drink may be gaining momentum in Annapolis. Maryland has recently increased the gas tax, the tobacco tax and the sales tax, but the tax on alcohol hasn’t been changed in 38 years, thanks mostly to the state’s powerful alcohol lobby.
According to those who support increasing the alcohol tax this year, 10 cents gets more than one would think.
The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute provided a House committee with a new study revealing that in the past three years, the state has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in programs that benefit the developmentally disabled in addiction services, medical assistance and other community health care projects. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/03/11) wbaltv.com, 03/03/11 our Online Comment: When a tax rise on alcohol is in discussion we forget always that there is also the possibility of reducing the social costs and alcohol-related harm, depending on the amount of taxation. If the new tax brings a reduction in consumption this not only brings more income for the state but could compensate the additional expenses of moderate consumers. And this is the majority. A new tax should be fixed with an article regarding compensation of inflation.

Towards a Comprehensive EU-Wide Strategy
The Silken Berlaymont Hotel, Brussels. Tuesday 14th June 2011
Event Details  Website 
In the European Union, domestic violence against women remains an alarming phenomenon, and the most consistent and pervasive human rights violation across the continent.
This timely International Symposium renews the debate on how to work towards an EU-wide strategy on domestic violence. It will provide a platform for the discussion of a better European regulatory framework aimed at strengthening the 3 P’s – prevention, protection and prosecution.

The SMART project (Standardizing measurement of alcohol-related troubles) [1] has been looking into developing standardised methodologies to survey drinking behaviours as well as standarised cost-benefit analyses of alcohol policies.
The project has been funded under the EU Public Health Programme and it is to be seen in the context of An EU Strategy to support Member States in reducing alcohol related harm. Adopting a common strategy requires common methodologies to monitor both its implementation and its impact. However, there is not a standardized survey methodology which could be applied across Europe for comparative purposes. This was the gap that the SMART project came to fill. …
[2] Ten countries participated representing various drinking cultures and different levels of political development ranging from Nordic Finland, new EU countries including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland, Western European countries: Germany, UK and Ireland as well as Mediterranean Italy and Spain. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

Europe is the heaviest-drinking region in the world — we drink, on average, 11 litres of pure alcohol each year. Alcohol costs our society an estimated EUR 125 billion every year in spending on such things as the treatment of diseases and policing and in terms of lost productivity, etc.
This being so, could the Commission please provide data that show how much of the European budget is currently spent on the promotion of alcoholic beverages?
Does the Commission intend to continue to spend these levels of funds on the promotion of alcohol?
Answer given by Mr Cioloș on behalf of the Commission: … (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

This new publication looks at the links between violence and tourism and the role played by the abusive consumption of alcohol and other drugs as well as by the context. Each chapter closes with a series of recommendations or descriptions of measures already in place or which could be introduced to deal with the problem at hand. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

The number of young people having to be treated in hospital for serious liver disease has risen by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, figures show. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

Madrid, 25 February 2011. Alcohol labels should warn of the risks associated with drinking. This is the position of the Senators and MPs that make up the mixed Parliamentary committee on Drugs, that last 24 February urged the Government to implement these and other measures to prevent that harm caused by alcohol.
The Committee adopted unanimously the non-legislative proposal by the Socialist Group where the national and regional authorities, as well as the stakeholders, are urged to take measures to prevent and combat the harmful use of alcohol, especially by young people.
The new labelling rules would put an end to the legal vacuum that exists in this regard. In contrast to cigarettes, where packs already emphasize the dangers associated with smoking, alcohol labels are only required to contain information about their alcohol volume. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

Alcohol’s role in everything from injury and relationship breakdown to trouble with the police, emerges in a poll of 2,221 people commissioned by the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG).
According to the survey, some 11% of people polled have seen a friend or relative’s relationship end as a direct result of heavy drinking. One in five (21%) know someone who has driven while over the legal alcohol limit. And 51% know someone who has been a victim of alcohol-related violence, or has been attacked themselves.
The survey also found that 14% of children are being brought up in a family where at least one adult has a drink problem.
The YouGov poll paints a graphic picture of alcohol’s many negative consequences. The survey found that:… (Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)

In search for a Coherent Alcohol Policy in Common Agricultural Policy.
Under the current regulations alcohol production is eligible for EU funding and, as recently noted by the Commission, this is not likely to change.
The majority of the funding comes from Community policy on information measures on the Community system of wines with a protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI). Ironically, the CAP budget also provides money for ‘information measure on responsible drinking and the damaging effect of dangerous alcohol consumption’. In the last three years approximately €12.7mln has been spent for these two ‘information measures’ strands[1].
Consequently, EU budget money (our money) is being given to the alcohol industry to tell us how dangerous it is to consume the product they sell us.
Eurocare has recently addressed this problem in its response to the Common Agriculture Policy consultation. … (Source: Eurocare Newsletter Januar-February 2011)

Letter from MEP Alojz Peterle to his fellow MEPs about the pros and cons of the alcohol consumption
On Tuesday 7 December 2010, the MAC (MEPs Against Cancer) organized a round table discussion on the topic of Alcohol and Cancer. The outcome of this round table was clear: drinking alcohol can cause different types of cancer, such as cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, oesophagus, breast, colorectum and liver.
In the discussion that followed, attention was also drawn to the potential beneficial effects of alcohol.
In an attempt to break down the misunderstandings about the effects of alcohol on health, the president of the MAC, Mr Alojz Peterle, has sent out a letter to his colleagues in the European Parliament. This letter aims to provide a balanced vision on the relationship between alcohol and health, based on the latest scientific insights.
Click to read the Short version of the letter or if you want to download the Extended version.
(Source: Eurocare Newsletter January-February 2011)