www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Want to enjoy a mimosa with Sunday morning brunch at a chic restaurant on Las Olas Boulevard?
Sorry. You have to stick with the orange juice only. That champagne bottle can’t be uncorked.
Unlike many other cities in South Florida from Miami Beach to Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale prohibits alcohol from being sold before noon on Sundays. Restaurateurs and bar owners are mounting an effort to change that longstanding ordinance. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/01/11) weblogs.sun-sentinel.com, 01/01/11 with our Online-Comments: When this law was decided, the lawmakers had the intention to prevent alcohol problems. The best measure is to rise prices, the second best to limit availability of the product. At the end the restriction on Sunday was left. From a christian point of view there are several reasons to prevent alcohol problems. Today alcohol marketing has troubled our clear view on what is necessary for our society, so every group which has a profit from alcohol sales opposes any restriction. But the people in general would have more social costs to pay and less quality of life. (an other one pending)

Introduction: The alcohol and tobacco industry sell products that can be dangerous to our health. For this reason, governments take action by, for example, raising taxes, enforcing age limits, prescribing warning labels and restricting advertising and sponsoring.
Literature shows that the “industry”—the alcohol and tobacco companies—have traditionally worked closely together, sharing information and concerns about regulation. They have used similar arguments to defend their products in order to prevent or delay restrictions being placed on them (Bond, et al. 2010).
The intention of this brochure is to inform professionals about the attempts made by the alcohol industry to influence alcohol policy globally and to subsequently arm them against the industry’s methods to prevent effective policies from being made. (Source: EUCAM, 01/02/11) „The seven key messages of the alcohol industry“ (pdf) Comment: Very often public health professionals who are not involved in alcohol control policy are not informed what’s happening in this field. And in the political debate they are helpless. This brochure could make a difference.

Polk County, Fla.’s County Commission will ask state legislators to allow it to seek a 1 percent tax on retail alcohol sales to pay for substance abuse treatment and related services.
News Chief reported Dec. 16 that the Polk County Commission is modeling its effort after an initiative in Miami-Dade County, where commissioners won legislative approval to pursue a local option food and beverage tax to finance services for the homeless, including drug and alcohol treatment. Polk County would like an alcohol tax to fund substance use treatment services for all residents in need. (Source: Join Together, 12/20/10)

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)

VANCOUVER – Alcohol is the cheapest drug in B.C., says a report released Thursday by the Centre for Addictions Research, which recommends a hike in liquor prices to reduce illness and injuries.
At the same time, researchers at centre at the University of Victoria recommend setting up a type of safe-drinking program offering free alcohol to homeless alcoholics to reduce their use of hazardous sources such as rubbing alcohol or mouthwash.
It can cost as little as 58 cents for a single-serving drink in B.C. liquor stores, meaning it costs as little as $2.32 for an average woman to exceed national guidelines for daily consumption and as little as $2.80 for an average man, said the report. The report authors looked at the price of every one of the 5,506 products on liquor store shelves in the province and the price of a standard drink ranged from 58 cents to $994.
„There’s quite a lot of very cheap drinks out there,“ said lead researcher Tim Stockwell. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 12/17/10) winnipegfreepress.com, 12/16/10