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Teenagers in the USA who regularly use networking web sites are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs, says a survey carried out by CASA Columbia (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University), titled the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents.
In this 16th annual back-to-school survey, teens aged from 12 to 17 years were asked, for the first time, whether they used Facebook, MySpace or other social networking web sites regularly (on a typical day). 70% said they do spend some time each day on a networking site, compared to 30% who don’t. The survey found that: … (Source: Medical News Today, 26.8.11)

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)

Strenuous exercise significantly increases the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) caused by transient immune dysfunction. Naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds present in food such as non-alcoholic beer (NAB) have strong anti-oxidant, anti-pathogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties.
To determine whether the ingestion of non-alcoholic beer polyphenols for three weeks prior to the Munich Marathon would attenuate post-race inflammation and decrease URTI incidence. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/25/11) Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercice, May 2011 Volume 43

The Drug Foundation today expressed surprise that the Justice and Electoral Committee recommended only tinkering to the Alcohol Reform Bill, saying that many thousands of submitters had expected much greater improvements to the Bill.
The Committee received an unprecedented 8,822 written submissions, and in-fact had to split themselves in half in order to hear from the more than 352 oral submitters.
“The vast majority of submitters urged the Committee to strengthen the Bill, particularly asking for tougher controls over alcohol advertising and an increase to the price of alcohol, which were measures first recommended by Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s Law Commission report,” said Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/25/11) drugfoundation.org.nz, 08/25/11 Read Full Bill

In view of September’s summit on non-communicable diseases where world leaders will meet at the United Nations in New York, the BMJ raises serious concerns regarding the „powerful sway“ of the tobacco, alcohol, food and drug industries as international governments prepare to agree global targets to cut avoidable deaths from chronic diseases. … (Source: Medical News Today, 08/25/11)

A large-scale survey was conducted in 2008 in north west England, a region with high levels of alcohol-related harm, during a regional ‚Big Drink Debate‘ campaign. The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of how alcohol consumption would change if alcohol prices were to increase or decrease.
A convenience survey of residents (>18 years) of north west England measured demographics, income, alcohol consumption in previous week, and opinions on drinking behaviour under two pricing conditions: low prices and discounts and increased alcohol prices (either ‚decrease‘, ’no change‘ or ‚increase‘). … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/24/11) BMC Public Health 2011, 11:664; doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-664

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewing company, has signed a landmark partnership with Google aimed at taking over our computer screens – and marketing to our children. The advertising deal is estimated to reach at least 103 million minors under the age of 18 per month, plus several million more underage youth between the ages of 18 and 20 worldwide. Heineken ads will be concentrated on Google’s YouTube and will involve homepage takeovers and pre-roll ad slots. YouTube receives about 490 million visitors per month, of which an estimated 21% are under age 18. Other alcohol advertisers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (Bud Light) have previously bought standard YouTube pre-roll ad space, but no alcohol company has ever entered into such an extensive deal that will reach so many young people. (Source: Alcohol Justice, 08/24/11)

City Council Votes 11-1 to Prohibit Alcohol Ads on Bus Benches
On August 19, 2011, the Los Angeles City Council approved a 10-year contract that prohibits alcohol ads on 6,000+ bus benches. “The impact of underage drinking on Los Angeles is devastating, taking young lives and creating enormous financial costs,” stated Council Member Richard Alarcón. “I’m proud that the City of Los Angeles has chosen to prohibit alcohol advertisements on City bus benches — it is the responsible choice for Los Angeles and sends an important message that the City does not condone or promote underage or irresponsible drinking.” Next step: Alarcón introduces a motion to prohibit alcohol ads on all city-owned & controlled property. For the press release, click here. (Source: Alcohol Justice, 08/24/11)

A new report from Alcohol Concern looks at how children and young people are at risk of being exposed to alcohol marketing and pro-drinking messages via the internet.
‚The report reveals the growing importance to alcohol companies of social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook and video sharing sites such as YouTube as a means of promoting their products, and the inadequacies of online age verification pages aimed at preventing under 18s from accessing content intended for adults.
It also highlights the frequent practice of users of SNSs posting pictures and descriptions of themselves drinking and being drunk, and asks why so many of us choose to publicise our alcohol consumption in this way.‘ (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 08/23/11)

More than 100 bodegas across the city were busted for selling alcohol to underage customers during a three-day sting by the State Liquor Authority.
The State Liquor Authority visited 212 stores beginning Monday, sending six young men and women inside while a state investigator looked on. At 123 of the undercover visits – or about 58% – the decoys, ages 18 to 20, successfully bought booze.
Of the bodegas visited by the SLA, the Bronx had the highest citation rate. Thirty-eight of the 48 stores – about 79% – sold alcohol to underage spies in the borough. Manhattan wasn’t far behind with 75% of the bodegas selling to customers under the age of 21. …
The state mailed violations to the 123 stores for selling alcohol to minors. First-time offenders face $2,500 fines. Repeat offenders can be slapped with fines of up to $10,000. Business owners can lose their liquor licenses after a third offense. (Source: Join Together, 08/23/11) nydailynews.com, 08/19/11