www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Substance abuse and addiction have a profound impact on all sectors of society. They are major contributors to a wide range of health and social problems, including domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, crime, chronic health problems, increased mortality, higher healthcare costs, and lost productivity.
The real economic impact of substance abuse is difficult to quantify empirically because there are both direct and indirect consequences…. According to our analysis, a total of $7.3 billion in allocations can be attributed to substance abuse; representing a per-capita share of $1,145. Most of Indiana’s funding is allocated to address the consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use rather than to prevent or reduce its occurrence.
For every dollar Indiana spends on services dealing directly or indirectly with substance use, 66 cents are used for healthcare, while only 1 cent pays for prevention/intervention initiatives. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 12/17/10)

Raising prices on alcohol and tobacco products through taxation is a proven strategy to stem their respective use. As nearly 25% of the U.S. population uses alcohol and cigarettes concurrently, it is important to know whether increasing cigarette prices may impact alcohol use–a ‘cross-price effect.‘
This study examines the effects of changes in state cigarette prices on current, binge, and heavy drinking patterns among demographic groups. Six years of cross sectional data are pooled from the 2001-2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys (BRFSS), a nationally representative household telephone survey conducted annually with random samples of adults 18 years of age and older.
Preliminary findings indicate that each $1 increase in cigarette price is associated with an 8% increase in the predicted odds of drinking in the past month (p< .05) and a 7% increase in heavy drinking (p<.1). For binge drinking there was no significant effect in preliminary analyses. ... Source: Alcohol Reports, 12/17/10)

New research indicates that ingesting moderate amounts of alcohol may increase an individual’s risk of amphetamine abuse.
* Amphetamines are part of a large group of drugs known as stimulants, which are commonly misused in the United States
* A new study shows that the amount of alcohol consumed may increase the likelihood of developing drug abuse
* These results indicate that there is a possible link between drinking and other drug abuse, which can be used in helping define treatment challenges. (Source: Medical News Today, 12/17/10) Comment: And one reason more to undertake effective alcohol prevention according to the WHO Alcohol-Strategy.

President Obama declared December National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) blog, Of Substance, reported Dec. 2.
According to Obama’s proclamation, thousands of Americans lose their lives to „drunk, drugged or distracted driving“ every year. Obama described drugged driving as a „growing problem“ and specifically pointed to the danger of driving under the influence of prescription drugs as well as illicit drugs. He referred to distracted driving — texting or using electronics while driving — as „life-threatening,“ and recommended the Distraction.gov website as a prevention tool.
Obama said the federal government had taken several steps to prevent impaired driving. The government has banned its employees from texting while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working with law enforcement nationally to increase identification of drunk drivers during the holidays, and the ONDCP will be educating the public about the increased incidence of drugged driving. (Source: Join Together, 12/09/10)

… between injection drug users (IDUs) and non-IDUs who report sexual partnerships with IDUs.
Conclusions: Greater prevalence of sexual risk behaviors among non-IDUs who report partnerships with IDUs, compared to IDUs themselves, suggests a potential mechanism for spread of HIV beyond the IDU population. Interventions to reduce HIV transmission should address alcohol consumption among non-IDUs who report sexual partnerships with IDUs, and methamphetamine use and the propensity of having sex when high among IDUs. (Source: BMC Public Health 2010), 10:676doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-676 Published: 5 November 2010

A statewide commission will urge legislators to create a drug czar to oversee drug and alcohol addiction programs.
Healthcare costs associated with alcohol and drug abuse amounted to $3.2 billion during 2006 in Oregon – while 70 percent of people who were incarcerated had a substance abuse problem. Attorney General John Kroger made this quite clear when he spoke to a legislative health policy committee recently. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/17/10) thelundreport.org, 11/15/10

The government is planning to raise the drinking age to 21, up from 18 years. The law also restricts sale of alcohol in supermarkets and other public premises.
Even Nacada is not clear on what happens on November 27 when the law is expected to come into effect.
The new law on alcoholic drinks, expected to come into effect next weekend, will be implemented in nine months but some aspects take immediate effect.
The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (Nacada) says the renewal or issuance of new liquor licences has been put on hold until the new Act comes into effect. Reacting to media reports last week claiming there was uncertainty and confusion on effecting of the new law, Nacada — in a Sunday advertisement — says the government will give the sector a transition period of nine months to adapt to the new law. The law will become effective as soon as the implementation date is gazetted by the Minister for Internal Security. (Source: Alcohol Report, 11/16/10) Daily Nation, 11/15/10

Disturbing trends in drug and alcohol use in the Berkeley Unified School District as well as low rates of violence, crime and physical and mental health issues were outlined in results from the 2010 California Healthy Kids Survey, presented Wednesday at a district Board of Education meeting.
The self-reported data – collected from students in grades five, seven, nine and 11 – showed that Berkeley students, except fifth graders, smoke marijuana on a regular basis at twice the national and state rates and have been high or drunk on school property at double or more than double the state rate. However, students binge drink and smoke cigarettes at levels less than or comparable to state and national rates. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/15/10) dailycal.org, 11/15/10

Alcohol is the most damaging drug to the drinker and others overall, heroin and crack are the second and third most harmful, Professor David Nutt and colleagues wrote in the medical journal The Lancet today. When all factors related to self harm and harm to others are considered, alcohol comes out top. The authors explain that drugs, including tobacco products and alcohol are major contributors to damage to individuals as well as society as a whole.
The harms that are caused by drugs need to be comprehensively assessed so that policy makers can be properly advised regarding health, social care and policing, the authors write; not an easy undertaking because drugs can cause damage in so many different ways. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/1/10) our online-comment: For many decades alcohol has been called the socio-medical problem No.1. This study is just an additional piece of proof. But a very valuable one, as it comes in a time when governments are not willing to implement the new alcohol strategy of the World Health Organization (May 2010), even if they signed it, because they are under permanent pressure of the global alcohol industry. This sort of corruption costs human tragedies and lives every day and the people is not able to protest as it is not informed.
(see press release by Active, 11/03/10)

Increasing numbers of Iraqi military and police personnel are using drugs and alcohol while on duty, raising questions about their ability to maintain order once American troops leave in 2011, the New York Times reported Oct. 24. According to the Times‘ sources, in high-risk areas of the country, as many as 50 percent of soldiers and police, including their commanders, use drugs and alcohol to cope with fear, stress, and boredom. (Source: Join Together, 10/26/10)