www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Drivers in South Africa could soon be banned from drinking any alcohol at all before getting behind the wheel.
John Motsatsing, chief director of road transport regulation in the Department of Transport, said the government was seriously considering a zero alcohol limit for all drivers.
“Irrespective of how many drinks you’ve had, you cannot judge if you are over the alcohol limit, because you are not an expert,” he said. “So why can we not say no drinking at all if you are driving?
“We are going to do away with the alcohol limit. We are drafting a document and will put it out for public comment.”
At least 203 people were killed in road accidents during the Easter weekend, according The Road Traffic Management Corporation. It is estimated that almost half of all weekend motor vehicle crash victims at public hospitals are injured as a result of abuse of alcohol. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/2/11) iol.co.za, 5/1/11

DrugScope, the national membership organisation representing the drug sector, has today responded to the release of figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which show that 79,360 people who claim Incapacity Benefit (IB) have either a drug or alcohol dependency.
The DWP figures show that of the total number of IB claimants (2,082,570, figures from August 2010), 1.8 per cent (37,000) have a drug dependency and 2 per cent (42,360) an alcohol dependency. However, a drug or alcohol dependency alone would not make someone eligible to receive IB. Martin Barnes, Chief Executive of DrugScope, said:
„Most people with a drug or alcohol dependency also have physical or mental health problems which can affect their ability to work. While a drug or alcohol dependency can be extremely debilitating, it does not of itself give an entitlement or ‚passport‘ to benefit, which may be suggested by the publication of today’s figures. People with drug or alcohol problems must satisfy all the conditions for benefit entitlement, including proof of incapacity, and may be required to undergo a medical examination to determine eligibility. (Source: Medical News Today, 04/26/11)

Final Report in Series 1
The growing financial cost of drug and alcohol abuse puts tremendous pressure on every social sector. The present report, part of a larger Family Funding Study project, is final in the series that examined the cost of drug and alcohol abuse to West Virginia’s criminal justice, healthcare, education, welfare, and workforce systems. This final summative report incorporates estimates from all these sectors as well as includes data from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) and the Commission on Drunk Driving prevention (CDDP). … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/21/11) prevnet.org

A Loyola University Health System study has found another reason to not binge drink alcohol. Binge drinking, researchers found, could change the body’s immune system response to orthopaedic injury. „This tremendously complicates the trauma care of these patients,“ said bone biologist John Callaci, PhD, senior author of the study.
The study, which was based on a rodent model, is being published in the April 20, 2011 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, now available online.
An earlier study in the American Journal of Orthopedics found that 41 percent of patients with fractures and dislocations had alcohol in their blood and 30 percent were legally drunk. (Source: Medical News Today, 04/18/11)

Analysis of data from Ireland’s Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) scheme has revealed a considerable increase in alcohol liver disease (ALD) morbidity and mortality between 1995 and 2007. The rate/100,000 adults (aged ≥15) increased by 190% from 28.3 in 1995 to 28.2 in 2007.
Over two-fifths (43%) of all discharges were aged 50–64 years; 6% were 15–34 years old, 35% were 35–49 years old and 16% were aged ≥65 years. There were considerable increases in age-specific rates especially among younger age groups, albeit from a low base; the rate of ALD discharges increased by 247% for 15–34 year olds and by 224% for 35–49 year olds. This is a worrying trend but is not surprising as survey data have shown that 18–29-year-old drinkers have the highest … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/18/11) (Full text is payable)

The Swansea University study warned the true cost of both could be even higher.
Those at the sharp end dealing with the effects of alcohol and obesity say they are growing problems, and affecting people at a younger age. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Jewell said both were „preventable health issues“ and people had to take responsibility for their own actions.
The research, commissioned by the assembly government, put the cost of obesity to the NHS in Wales at £73m and excessive alcohol consumption at between £69.9m and £73.3m. This works out as between £25 and £29 a person in Wales for obesity and about £24 a person for alcohol. … (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 04/11/11) bbc.co.uk, 03/31/11 Comment: Total social cost will be much higher for alcohol.

Excessive alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1) and was responsible for approximately 79,000 deaths and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the United States each year during 2001–2005.* Binge drinking, … was responsible for more than half of these deaths and for two thirds of YPLL . More than half of alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinks. Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) (objective no. 26-11c) called for reducing the prevalence of binge drinking among adults . An overarching national health goal is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. .. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/26/11) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC cdc.gov, 01/14/11

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)

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)

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)