www.alkoholpolitik.ch

This supplement provides up-to-date estimates of the numbers (and percentages) of new cancer cases in the UK that are attributable to factors that have been established by international consensus as potentially avoidable causes of the disease. It therefore offers a useful guide to the relative importance of different preventive interventions.

Excluded from consideration are factors that, although known to be effective in reducing the risk of numerically important cancers, do not offer acceptable or practical preventive strategies at present. Early and multiple childbearing (to prevent breast cancer) and the widespread use of anti-androgen drugs (to prevent prostate cancer) come under this category. What remains is a limited number of important factors that can, at least to some extent, be affected by personal or political choices. The most important among these is continuation of the significant reduction in tobacco exposure. Next in importance are reductions in obesity and in heavy alcohol consumption, and certain other dietary changes. Each of these four main strategies for cancer control would also substantially reduce the burden of other non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular, diabetic, renal and hepatic disease. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 12/08/11) BJC British Journal of Cancer, 12/06/11
Comment: Today, a part of the Swiss parliament (chamber of the cantons) has refused to enter into discussion of a new law on prevention. Prevention should be private. The lobbyists have worked well. (Source: parlament.ch, 12/08/11)

Russia’s winemaking industry should be developed to help tackle widespread alcohol abuse, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.
“Winemaking is one of the branches that should be developed and contribute to the eradication of alcoholism. Countries where this branch is strong, have no problems with alcohol abuse,” the president said at a meeting with the governor of Russia’s southern Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachev. Medvedev said problems with alcohol abuse stem from “other drinks.” … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/27/11) Comment: Wine producing countries have no alcohol-problem. Very funny.

Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE 2011) figures have been released, drawing media attention to areas with highest rates of harm and a continuing upwards national trend. Total alcohol-related admissions for England reached over one million in 2009/10; an increase of 879 alcohol-related admissions per day compared to five years ago.
The figures indicate that over the five years to 2009/10 there has been a 24.6% increase in the number of people being admitted to hospital due to alcohol specific conditions. However LAPE now includes data indicating there are more than six million people over 16 in England who do not drink alcohol. Patterns of abstention relate strongly to ethnicity as estimates range from 6.4% of adults in Mid Devon to 48.0% in London’s Newham borough. Other reported findings include: … (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 08/25/11)

by Fiona Ryan, Director of Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcohol-related issues.
WE LOVE TO talk about Ireland’s alcohol culture – it allows us to speculate about how we drink and why we drink, without ever actually doing anything about it.
We can engage in romantic notions of the dark Celtic soul, or question if as a nation we just have an addictive personality. In the meantime, one person dies every seven hours from an alcohol-related cause. Alcohol is the biggest killer of young people in Ireland and 100,000 kids – enough to fill Croke Park and then some – are impacted by their parents’ drinking. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) businessinsider.com, 08/10/11

Holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries or damage done by their intoxicated customers can reduce motor vehicle deaths, homicides, injuries, and other alcohol-related problems, according to the Community Preventive Services Task Force. The independent, nonfederal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts has determined that commercial host liability, otherwise known as dram shop liability, can be an effective intervention for reducing alcohol-related harms. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 08/10/11) finanznachrichten.de, 10.8.11

According to a study published online by BJS (British Journal of Surgery), the risk of an acute pancreatitis attack can be increased by drinking just one 4cl measure of spirits, however, wine or beer do not appear to have the same effect.
The Karolinska Institute in Sweden conducted a study, in which researchers followed 84,601 people aged between 46 to 84 years from the general population in Vastmanland and Uppsala for an average of ten years, during which time 513 developed acute pancreatitis. … Source: Medical News Today, 08/6/11)

Commentary on Laslett et al. (2011).
In their paper, Laslett et al. [1] have done a service not just to the research community, but to the millions of people who are affected by alcohol production, distribution and consumption every day in every corner of the world. In brief, the authors have provided a national-level assessment of how the drinking of individuals can affect the social fabric of a society. The impact is widespread and significant in terms of psychological, physical, social and economic costs. Negative effects from others’ drinking were reported by over 70% of Australians in the past year, with 51% experiencing serious adverse effects. Although Australia may not be representative of countries with lower levels of per capita income and alcohol consumption, the article raises some fascinating questions about the ways in which alcohol-related problems are defined, conceptualized, measured, and controlled. For example, what other legally available consumer product (tobacco, automobiles, gambling, etc.) has a comparable negative impact on the majority of the population of an advanced industrialized country? … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/8/11)Addiction, 106, 1612–1613 onlinelibrary.wiley.com, 2011

A report by doctors at New York’s Bellevue Hospital describes how 11 young people—10 of them under the legal drinking age of 21—were rushed to the emergency room after drinking the “alcopop” Four Loko. Some of the patients ended up in potentially deadly situations, according to NY1. One patient fell onto the subway tracks, another was unconscious at school, and a third was found alone in a park…. (Source: Join Together, 08/3/11)

MORE than 4,000 Irish people could be suffering from an „invisible“ serious brain injury caused by alcohol abuse, according to research.
It suggests one quarter will die from the little-known condition and another 1,000 will need long-term nursing care, at a cost of tens of millions of euro a year.
The research said there were no national policies in relation to alcohol-related brain injury and no public awareness of it. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/1/11)

Underage drinking and associated problems have profound negative consequences for underage drinkers, their families, their communities, and society as a whole. Underage drinking contributes to a wide range of costly health and social problems, including motor vehicle crashes (the greatest single mortality risk for underage drinkers); suicide; interpersonal violence (e.g., homicides, assaults, rapes); unintentional injuries such as burns, falls, and drowning; brain impairment; alcohol dependence; risky sexual activity; academic problems; and alcohol and drug poisoning. On average, alcohol is a factor in the deaths of approximately 4,700 youths in the United States per year, shortening their lives by an average of 60 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] Alcohol-Related Disease Impact [ARDI] software, 2009b). … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/21/11)