www.alkoholpolitik.ch

There is an urgent need for a comprehensive and well funded global response to the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) which are increasing global demand for alcohol by means of sophisticated supply and marketing techniques, and to the TNCs’ front organizations which are working to impede the development of effective policy.
Alcohol-related harm is a global issue requiring a strong global response. While some brands of alcohol retain local and national imagery, the reality, particularly for spirits and beer, and increasingly for wine, is very different. These are now the output of enormous transnational corporations, which for the past two decades have engaged in a process of consolidation and expansion, with the result that the global alcohol market is now dominated by a handful of large corporations. (by Sally Casswell, Auckland, one of the leading public health specialists on alcohol.) Source: Alcohol Reports, 5/2/11) onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Almost six million people die from tobacco use and 2.5 million from harmful use of alcohol each year worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
The WHO report on non-communicable diseases—including diabetes, cancer and respiratory and heart diseases—says that a large percentage of these conditions could be prevented by reducing tobacco and alcohol use, eating a healthier diet and exercising more. …
Alcohol-related deaths account for 3.8 percent of all deaths worldwide, according to the report. More than half of these deaths occur from non-communicable diseases including cancer, heart disease and liver cirrhosis. …
To reduce harmful alcohol use, WHO recommends a number of measures including increasing excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, regulating availability of alcoholic beverages (including minimum legal purchase age), restricting exposure to marketing of alcoholic beverages through marketing regulations or comprehensive advertising bans, and treatment of alcohol use disorders and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful drinking. (Source: Join Together, 04/27/11)

There is growing pressure for the government to tighten up New Zealand’s alcohol laws following a report into the death of a teenager from binge drinking.
Sixteen-year-old James Webster died from acute alcohol poisoning after attending a party in Auckland’s Grey Lynn in May last year.
Coroner Gordon Matenga recommended in the report that parents and schools develop alcohol awareness programmes to improve education around the issue.
However principals and health promotion experts have said this morning that it will take more than education to tackle the problem. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/25/11) tvnz.co.nz, 04/21/11 Comment: This is what has to be said to most governments in the western world.

Recommendations to reduce harm
This research project seeks to examine the impact of white cider on dependent drinkers. It examines the history, production and taxation of white cider, and considers the implications for future taxation, health and homelessness policies. (Quelle: Alcohol Policy UK, 04/21/11)

The latest IAS Alcohol Alert is available from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS). The issue’s headline article attacks the Government’s alcohol policy, emphasising dissatisfaction over the Responsibility Deal, below cost ban and decision to stick with the current drink-drive limit. The Alert also reviews key alcohol policy news and developements over recent months including a slight fall in alcohol-related deaths, licensing act changes, and predicted rises in alcohol-related admissions. Full article index here.

Political and economic transition is often blamed for Russia’s 40% surge in deaths between 1990 and 1994 (the Russian Mortality Crisis”). Highlighting that increases in mortality occurred primarily among alcohol-related causes and among working-age men (the heaviest drinkers), this paper investigates a different explanation: the demise of the 1985-1988 Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol Campaign. We use archival sources to build a new oblast-year data set spanning 1970-2000 and find that: (1) The campaign was associated with substantially fewer campaign year deaths,
(2) Oblasts with larger reductions in alcohol consumption and mortality during the campaign experienced larger transition era increases, and (3) Other former Soviet states and Eastern European countries exhibit similar mortality patterns commensurate with their campaign exposure. The campaign’s end explains between 32% and 49% of the mortality crisis, suggesting that Russia’s transition to capitalism and democracy was not as lethal as commonly suggested. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 15.4.11) iis-db.stanford.edu, March 2011) Comment: Amazing how clever Gorbachev and his staff reduced total consumption. Our governments could learn a lot.

The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval to a 50 percent increase to the sales tax on alcohol starting July 1.
The bill and companion legislation would raise $87 million for the state, to be split among mental health initiatives and education. Under the plan crafted by the House Ways and Means Committee earlier Saturday, the Developmental Disabilities Administration would receive $15 million from the boon. More than $47.5 million would be used for school construction and another $21 million was previously earmarked in the state budget for schools.
If approved by the Senate, the legislation would represent a major victory by health and education advocates, who have seen their efforts to raise alcohol taxes rebuffed for decades by the powerful state liquor lobby.
The Senate had previously approved a bill that would increase the sales tax on alcohol by 1 percent per year, from the state’s standard 6 percent until it hit 9 percent. The House, in a vote, just before 11 p.m. Saturday night, opted to move straight to 9 percent. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/10/11) thedailyrecord.com, 04/09/11

It is known that taxation on alcohol products may effectively reduce the alcohol consumption. However, whether alcohol taxation may lead to a decrease in alcohol attributed disease mortality (ADM) has been inclusively.
We conducted this time-series analysis to assess the effect of alcohol tax policy intervention in 2002 on rate of ADM in Taiwan. … This study demonstrated that alcohol taxation policy may pose favorite influences on the time trend of ADM rate in Taiwan, and such influence was most noteworthy in young and middle aged men. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/06/11) springerlink.com, 04/01/11

A behavioral economic analysis.
More than 3/4 of U.S. college students report a heavy drinking episode (HDE; 5 (for men) and 4 (for women) drinks during an occasion) in the previous 90 days. This pattern of drinking is associated with various risks and social problems for both the heavy drinkers and the larger college community.
The results suggest that increasing drink prices and morning academic requirements may be useful in preventing heavy drinking among college students. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/30/11)

Excessive alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1) and was responsible for approximately 79,000 deaths and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the United States each year during 2001–2005.* Binge drinking, … was responsible for more than half of these deaths and for two thirds of YPLL . More than half of alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinks. Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) (objective no. 26-11c) called for reducing the prevalence of binge drinking among adults . An overarching national health goal is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. .. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/26/11) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC cdc.gov, 01/14/11