www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The Addiction editorial by Robin Room, Jürgen Rehm and Charles Parry point out that this year the United Nations General Assembly sessions,will hold a special session on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), emphasizing the importance of addressing such diseases in order to reduce the global burden of illness.
Together with smoking, diet and physical inactivity, consumption of alcohol is among the four most important risk factors for non-communicable disease (NCD). Alcohol consumption, especially heavy consumption, impacts on cancer, liver cirrhosis and stroke. To reduce the burden of NCD, effective alcohol policies should be implemented locally, nationally and internationally, argues the authors. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/17/11)

In 1956, the American Medical Association declared alcoholism a „disease.“ More than half a century later, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has proclaimed addiction, including alcoholism and „process“ addictions like gambling, to be the same.
According to the ASAM’s definition, published on the group’s website on Monday, addiction is a „primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.“ This clarification, which was based on consultations with more than 80 experts, is aimed in part at de-stigmatizing addictive disorders.
That’s an admirable goal. The scientific evidence shows that addiction is rooted in distinct brain changes, just like other mental illnesses such as depression (though in both instances, the same changes are not found in all people with the conditions). The research does clearly show that evidence-based treatment is far more effective at resolving drug abuse problems than law enforcement efforts like incarceration. There’s no justification for treating people with addiction any differently than other patients. (Source: Join Together, 08/18/11) healthland.time.com, 08/16/11

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has released a new definition of addiction highlighting that addiction is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavioral problem involving too much alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex. This the first time ASAM has taken an official position that addiction is not solely related to problematic substance use. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11)

The purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review of cost-benefit studies on pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments of alcohol dependence (AD).
A literature search was performed in multiple electronic bibliographic databases. The search identified seven psychotherapy studies from the USA and two pharmacotherapy studies from Europe. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/16/11)

—Results From a Multicenter Cross-sectional Study
To assess alcohol use and problem drinking among university students in the German Federal State of North Rhine–Westphalia (NRW) and to examine the associated factors.
A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 universities in 2006–2007 in NRW by a standardized questionnaire and 3,306 students provided information (response rate of 88%). Problem drinking was measured by the CAGE questionnaire. …
Overall, heavy drinking and problem drinking are common among university students in this sample. Intervention programs should be designed for students at a particularly high risk. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/14/11)

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

Ministers from all three governing parties said there are many issues needing more urgent attention than regulating alcohol without clear research showing its consumption is a serious national problem.
Some members of Zimbabwe’s Cabinet are distancing themselves from reports that the government is drafting a tough national alcohol policy that will regulate the sale of beer and other intoxicating beverages with sales forbidden after noon on Sundays. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) voanews, 08/8/11 Comment: Now we can see that many politicians in Western World are on the same level as in Zimbabwe.

Koforidua, Aug 9, GNA – Dr Eugene Dordoye, a psychiatrist with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has suggested that alcohol should be declared a public health hazard. He said alcohol intake was resulting in many diseases claiming lives but because alcohol was not a national health issue its related diseases were not being measured. Dr Dordoye, who spoke to the GNA after addressing a five- day Youth Alive Camp in Koforidua, said alcohol effects were measured by the psychiatric hospitals because of its known effects on mental health. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) ghananewsagency.org, 08/10/11

The Finnish Customs and Finnish State Railways (VR) are planning closer inspection of express train services between Finland and Russia. A scanning of an entire train was tested for the first time in Helsinki on Tuesday.
Currently on-board train inspections are carried out using sniffer dogs in addition to a manual check of all possible hiding places. This procedure is time consuming and often ineffective. …
Chief Inspector Kai Vehmersalo of the National Customs Board says the use of scanners could improve the search for illegal immigrants in addition to consignments of contraband tobacco, alcohol and drugs hidden in isolated train compartments. However, the cash for scanners is not yet on the financial timetable in either country. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) yle.fi, 08/9/11

An online course that demonstrates the consequences of excessive drinking appears to significantly reduce the most common types of alcohol-related problems among freshman, including binge drinking and sexual assault. The program, called AlcoholEdu for College, has students imagine themselves in real-life situations, such as being with a friend who drinks too much and goes wild, and asks them what they would do. … (Source: Join Together, 08/15/11)