www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Consultation on the methods used to estimate alcohol-related hospital admissions for England has been opened by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO).

It was announced that the hospital admissions data would be reviewed when the Public Health Outcomes Framework was released earlier this year, stating ‚the preferred option is for an indicator based on just alcohol-related primary diagnoses, to minimise the risk of perverse consequences from any changes in coding practice so the indicator rewards local areas for good performance.‘

Hospital admissions data was formerly used to monitor ‚National Indicator (NI) 39‘ performance under ‚Local Area Agreements‘ (LAA). However LAAs were scrapped under the Government’s Localism agenda, although areas can still monitor hospital admissions data through the Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) site and are reviewed in the annual national alcohol statistics.

The Morning Advertiser reported that the trade is concerned that such data influences Government alcohol policies. Kate Nicholls, strategic affairs director at the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers said „Too often in the past we have seen alcohol-related statistics over-stated and over-played or used as a public health political football.“

Concerns may reflect alcohol-related admissions figures which now top over a million attributable admissions per year, attracting media headlines. Primary alcohol diagnosis admissions are however less than 200,000 per year. Alcohol-related admissions account for the impact of conditions such as hypertension where alcohol plays a key role in many cases. …

Download the consultation document here [pdf] and response form. NWPHO
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 06/13/12)

Comment: The industry isn’t pleased, let’s change the rules.

The latest annual statistics on alcohol for England 2012 have been released by the ONS, confirming a continuing rise in alcohol-related and primary alcohol attributable hospital conditions. Alcohol-related admissions rose 11% on the previous year with primary diagnosis conditions up 2.1%. Ns_logo

This comes despite falls since 2004 in the proportion of adults reporting drinking alcohol. Continuing admissions – many being long term conditions – are thought to be linked to decades of rising consumption prior to 2004. Additionally indications that amongst some groups, those who are drinking are drinking more.

Some key facts from the report include:

A 2.1% increase in primary diagnosis alcohol conditions (198,900 for 2010/11) since the previous year and a 40% increase since 2003 (142,000).
A 11% increase on alcohol-related admissions (based on attributable fractions) totalling 1,168,300 for 2010/11.This is more than twice as many as in 2002/03 (510,700). …
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 06/5/12)

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA and the Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA have published a declaration of the Swiss Health Foreign Policy. It was found in the Monthly e-Newsletter of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. Link: (31 pages, pdf)
Comment:
page 7: „Safeguarding of interests and coherence
In both domestic and foreign policy, Switzerland has a variety of objectives to pursue. For example, Switzerland wishes to reconcile its commitment to a liberal economic order with the interests of solidarity and global health. In the measures designed to achieve these objectives, therefore, the greatest possible coherence should be sought, synergies should be developed, and inevitable conflicts of interests should be openly addressed and re-solved via the existing political decision-making mechanisms.“

Comment: In domestic policy Switzerland has big problems pursuing these objectives. Regarding alcohol policy the inevitable conflicts between the liberal economy and the interest of the people is not openly addressed. The existing political decision-making mechanisms are not working because of a sort of „alcohol-dependency“ of the majority of politicians.

page 12: „Area of interest 1: Governance
Since its establishment, WHO has been the key agency and dominant international forum for health issues, especially in the normative area. However, the last ten years have seen the emergence of a large number of new state, private and mixed institutions, which have rapidly developed into significant actors in the health field, sometimes with massive financial resources. As a result, the global health architecture has become more complex, and governance at the global level more difficult. Switzerland has a substantial interest in an improvement of the effectiveness of global and international health cooperation. It is therefore seeking to promote more coherent interaction among the relevant actors from the sectors of health, development cooperation, humanitarian aid, human rights and other health-related policy areas, be it at the bilateral level – especially in relations with the EU, but also in bilateral development cooperation –, in multilateral bodies or in the context of the WHO reform process. …“

Comment: It seems as if the coordination between the two departments doesn’t work so well. Switzerland signed the Resolution at the WHO General Assembly 2010 on a Global Alcohol Strategy. But the department of Home Affairs didn’t act accordingly. Very few people in Switzerland know about this resolution. The medias didn’t report. In the new Law on Alcohol which is going to parliament there are no articles with effective measures included as proposed in that resolution. Responsible for this law is the Department of Finance.(!) The WHO-Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases in 2011 didn’t reach the people either. If the „existing political decision-making mechanisms“ are dominated by the interests of the alcohol industry, the population has no chance getting better alcohol related harm reduction.

Limiting alcohol to half a unit per day is best for health, say Oxford University researchers who analyzed the link between alcohol consumption and 11 chronic diseases and concluded 4,600 more lives would be saved every year if people in England were to cut the amount they drink to within this level.

They write about their findings in a BMJ Open paper that was published online on 30 May.
The lead author of the study was Dr Melanie Nichols of the BHF Health Promotion Research Group, in the Department of Public Health, at Oxford University. She told the press:

„People who justify their drinking with the idea that it is good for heart disease should also consider how alcohol is increasing their risk of other chronic diseases. A couple of pints or a couple of glasses of wine per day is not a healthy option.“ …
(Source: Medical News Today, 06/01/12)

Over the years, use of alcohol, excessive and prolonged, has been associated with various health hazards. With increasing clinical experience and research in the area, the association has become stronger and progressively more alarming. The evidence from different treatment settings viz. the outpatient department, inpatient setup, emergency department, and the consultation liaison services has linked the use of alcohol with a wide array of hazards to the physical and the psychological health of the users. The impact on psychological health extends beyond the users of alcohol to involve caregivers and other family members of users. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 05/21/12)

Alcohol advertising should be banned in Europe in a bid to drive down excess boozing and associated ill health across the continent, concludes an alliance of experts in a new policy brief.

Alcohol is Europe’s most persistent and devastating addiction problem, says the Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe – Reframing Addictions Project (ALICE-RAP), which brings together a network of over 150 researchers with expertise in many different aspects of addiction, including the social and economic impact. …

The briefing notes that the most effective and fairest policies are those which nudge people towards lower consumption, through price hikes, restrictions on availability, and advertising bans.

A minimum unit price, which the Scottish government announced its intention to introduce earlier this week, is supported by research, says the briefing. Scotland has opted for a 50 pence minimum unit price, while England is considering a 40 pence option. …

The evidence shows that alcohol adverts push people into higher and more harmful levels of consumption and trigger relapse among those trying to give up booze. Furthermore, it can encourage young people to start drinking, says the brief, which advocates a wholesale ban.

“Europeans drink more than twice the world’s average and alcohol represents the number one addiction problem in Europe today, greater than any other drug or gambling, “ said Dr Peter Anderson, Professor of Substance Use, Policy and Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, and co-leader of the project, speaking at the report’s launch yesterday.

“Our aim with this policy brief is to help decision makers across the EU and beyond break the negative pattern of harmful alcohol consumption and costs by providing much needed scientific input to the discussion, which has long been dominated by the alcohol industry lobbyists,” he added.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) onmedica.com, 05/17/12

Comment: Unfortunately many politicians do not like scientific input.

One in eight deaths of UK adults under the age of 64 is caused by alcohol, an international conference on tackling problem drinking has heard.

The social cost of alcohol abuse has been estimated to be £240 a year for each European, with the annual bill for the NHS alone being £2.7 billion.

A major conference of addiction specialists from across the world is meeting at Newcastle University and organisers have called for England to follow Scotland and set a minimum price per unit.

They have also demanded a ban on advertising alcohol.
Too easy: Prof Eileen Kaner from Newcastle University said the government had to be bolder about tackling cheap alcoholl

In Europe, alcohol consumption is more than twice the global average and it represents the biggest addiction in the UK, greater than any illegal drug or gambling.

(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) dailymail.co.uk, 05/16/12

According to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health, Australia could yield economic and health benefits by reducing its overall national yearly alcohol consumption.

In 2008, researchers estimated the economic benefits Australia could achieve in health, production and leisure, if the annual per capita consumption of alcohol would be reduced to a designated average yearly target of 6.4 liters per capita.

They discovered that reducing the annual per capita alcohol consumption by just 3.4 liters would save Australia’s health sector $789 million. The saving would be the result of one-third fewer cases of disease, deaths, lost working days and home-based production loss days. …
(Source: Medical News Today, 05/20/12)

our Online-Comment: Yes, this would be an advisable target for many other countries too. But politicians are more listening to the alcohol industry which is not willing to lose profit.

The Iranian Ministry of Health says the consumption of alcoholic beverages has reached alarming levels in the southern areas of Tehran.
Shargh Newspaper reported on Tuesday that senior ministry official Bagher Larijani said: “According to reports from physicians and hospitals in the southern Tehran area, the spread of alcohol consumption is very concerning.”
He added: “Action regarding consumption of alcohol has become more pressing that ailments such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”

The ministry also announced that it has only limited data regarding alcohol addiction, however, their research indicates there are two million addicts in the population, including alcohol addicts.

Previously, the head of the Task Force against Smuggling announced that alcohol smuggling was a $730-million-a-year business, and only a quarter of that is discovered and confiscated by the government.
Source: Google Alcohol News, 05/17/12) Radio Zamaneh/fluechtlingshilfeiranev2010.wordpress.com, 05/17/12

In 2010, the UK Government’s Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network (RDAN) was set up with representatives of the alcohol industry and health organisations. Acknowledging that RDAN does not advance public health objectives, the health groups withdrew from RDAN in 2011. This editorial argues that social responsibility deals as in RDAN and the European Alcohol Health Forum will be significantly undermined unless Corporate Social Responsibility is consistent in all activities across the whole sector. … (Editorial in „Addiction“ by DR ADRIAN BONNER &
PROFESSOR SIR IAN GILMORE)
Source: Alcohol Reports, 05/15/12) onlinelibrary.wiley.com, 05/15/12