www.alkoholpolitik.ch

– does the prevention paradox apply?
According to the prevention paradox a majority of alcohol-related problems in a population can be attributed to low to moderate drinkers simply because they are more numerous than heavy drinkers, who have a higher individual risk of adverse outcomes. We examined the prevention paradox in annual alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and alcohol-related problems among adolescents in 23 European countries.
Survey data from the 2007 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) among 16-year-old students were analysed.
A total of 38 370 alcohol-consuming adolescents (19 936 boys and 18 434 girls) from 23 European countries were included.
The upper 10% and the bottom 90% of drinkers by annual alcohol intake, with or without HED, and frequency of HED, were compared for the distribution of 10 different alcohol-related problems. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/18/11)

An experimental drug to treat alcohol dependence has shown promising results in three clinical trials in Denmark. The company is now submitting the drug for approval in Europe, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The drug, nalmefene, was tested for its effectiveness in reducing a person’s craving for alcohol. Unlike current drug treatments for alcoholism, nalmefene can be taken with alcohol. Nalmefene blocks a craving mechanism that is regulated by the brain’s opioid receptors, according to the article. Other currently available drugs that treat alcoholism discourage drinking by causing unpleasant side effects when a person drinks even a little bit of alcohol. … (Source: Join Together, 06/16/11)

People who own guns are twice as likely to binge drink and to drink and drive, compared with those who don’t own firearms, a new study finds.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis found that heavy alcohol use was most common among firearm owners who also engaged in behaviors such as carrying a firearm for protection against other people, and keeping a firearm at home that was both loaded and not locked away. The study included the results of a telephone survey of more than 15,000 people in eight states.
In the journal Injury Prevention, the researchers conclude that firearm ownership and specific firearm-related behaviors are associated with alcohol-related risk behaviors. … (Source: Join Together, 06/16/11)

Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 2011- The European Union is the heaviest drinking region in the world. Therefore, in Europe we suffer from the highest alcohol related problems. It is estimated that 58 million adults in the EU drink at risky levels, and 23 million are alcohol addicted. Alcohol constitutes the primary risk factor for accidents, injuries and violence. Approximately half of the deaths attributable to alcohol are from injuries.
This issue is being addressed at the 3rd European injury prevention conference, organised by EuroSafe in cooperation with the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council. Today stakeholders in the prevention of accidents and injuries from Europe and other continents meet in Budapest to exchange, debate and discuss the latest results in injury research, policies and practices. … (Source: Eurocare, Active Press Release, 06/16/11)

The latest survey of Ontario adults from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows increasing rates of daily drinking and cannabis use and high levels of psychological distress. The results of the 2009 CAMH Monitor survey, the longest running survey tracking mental health and addiction indicators among adults in Ontario, were published today.
The proportion of adults reporting daily drinking increased from 5.3% in 2002 to over 9% in 2009. The average number of drinks consumed weekly among drinkers has also increased from 3 drinks to 4.6 drinks, and the proportion of adults exceeding low-risk drinking guidelines remains at elevated levels (22%). However, there were also some encouraging findings: there was a significant decline in binge drinking from 12.6% in 2006 to 7.1% in 2009, and the decline was evident especially among young adults, from 24% to 11.5%. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/13/11)

Number 1 / 2011 (Alcohol Reports, 06/13/11)
Alcohol policy is becoming a truly global issue (PDF)
The rise of the total abstinence model. Recommendations regarding alcohol use during pregnancy in Finland and Denmark (PDF)
The effects of missing data when surveying alcohol habits (PDF)
Alcohol-related mishaps on weekends in Reykjavík (PDF)
A window to alcohol problems and politics in Africa. Kettil Bruun Society Meeting in Uganda (PDF)

Number 2 / 2011 (Alcohol Reports, 06/13/11)
In control and out of control. The discourse on intoxication among young Finnish women in the 1980s and 2000s (PDF)
Risky drinking of alcohol in Sweden: A randomized population survey comparing web- and paper-based self-reports (PDF)
The Drinking Habit Survey revival (PDF)

Drinks giant Diageo is to fund alcohol training for 10,000 midwives as part of the Government’s controversial Responsibility Deal. The training programme will be run by the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK (Nofas-UK) to encourage midwives to highlight the risks of drinking during pregnancy.
But the news made the headlines amidst criticism that the alcohol industry be funding such initiatives, with reports from the BBC, Guardian, Independent and The Daily Mail.
Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, said: „It is deeply worrying that alcohol education is being paid for by the drinks industry, as it is then unaccountable and not necessarily based on evidence or public health guidance.“ Professor Ian Gilmore said, „To really make a difference, education and information must be backed-up by tougher action on the price, availability and marketing of alcohol.“ (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 06/13/11)

Migraine is a neurovascular disease that affects about 15% of the western population. Compounds in foods and beverages (chocolate, wine, citrus, etc) considered as migraine triggers include tyramine, phenylethylamine and possibly histamine and phenolic compounds. Avoiding those triggers may significantly reduce the frequency of migraines in some patients. However, only a small percentage of patients in one study became headache-free simply by excluding those foods, epidemiological studies are pointing out that genetic factors may be an underlying cause. … (Source: Medical News Today, 06/13/11)

More international informations. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/13/11)

The Coalition to Ban Alcohol Ads from Public Property organized a lively grassroots rally in Los Angeles City Hall Plaza this morning to send a message to the L.A. Board of Public Works that promoting alcohol on city-owned bus benches was a really bad idea. The Board heard the concerns and agreed by asking for a full ban on all alcohol ads in the new contract. The contractor, Martin Outdoor Media, LLC quickly agreed. There will be no alcohol ads on 6,000 L.A. city-owned bus benches. This will reduce youth exposure to messages that are feeding an epidemic of underage alcohol consumption and harm. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 06/13/11) prnewswire.com, 06/10/11