www.alkoholpolitik.ch

On November 22, 2010 the World Health Organization (WHO) released its annual Health report on financing health systems and universal coverage. The report recommends governments to raise the taxes on tobacco and alcohol to help pay for healthcare of millions of people who are unable to afford it worldwide.
The need for guidance in this area has become all the more pressing at a time characterized by both economic downturn and rising health-care costs, as populations age, chronic diseases increase, and new and more expensive treatments
become available. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter Winter 2010 )

Cheap supermarket deals on alcohol are short-termist and damaging to alcohol brand building, while helping to reduce the value of Christmas to the alcohol industry.  That’s the view of research company Mintel as a new study showed that spending on alcohol in the fourth quarter declined from £11.5bn in 2009 (probably 2008, htm) to £10.4bn in 2009, costing the industry over a billion pounds in lost revenue. It forecasts a bigger drop this year…. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 12/03/10) morningadvertiser.co.uk, 12/03/10

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) manages the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) scheme. This is a
computerised health information system designed to collect clinical and administrative data on discharges from over 60
acute hospitals in Ireland. This article reports on an analysis of HIPE data on discharges, including deaths in hospital, of cases with an alcohol-related diagnosis in the years 2005–2008, in order to assess the burden of alcohol-related morbidity on Irish hospitals. It is important to note that, because the HIPE scheme does not record attendances at emergency departments, using HIPE data to assess the impact of alcohol use on acute hospital services can lead to an under-estimation of the true extent of the burden. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 11/30/10) drugsandalcohol.ie / Drugnet automn 2010

Greater Manchester will be debating the imposition of a minimum price for alcohol this Friday.
If carried through it would create a bye-law requiring pubs, restaurants, supermarkets and off licences to price alcoholic drinks based on the number of units they contain,at the moment that would see a minimum price of 50p per unit.
Translated into relevant figures, Mancunians drinkers would find themselves paying at least £4.50 for a bottle of wine, £6 for a six-pack of lager and £14 for a 700ml bottle of whisky. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/28/10) insidethem60.journallocal.co.uk, 11/23/10 our Online-Comment: To avoid people travelling outside Manchester to get cheaper alcohol the Prime Minister could start with a national law which brings up prices. He has just put the responsibility to the local communities.
Everybody would have the profit from a lower alcohol consumption by reduced alcohol-related social costs. The meaning of the measure is to convince people to drink less. Also the poor. Than they can pay higher prices as well. Those who drink much less, have the most profit. Better than minimal prices would be to put taxes on the drinks which could be used for covering the social costs, prevention and rehabilitation.

Problematic drug and alcohol use has a profound impact on society. From the personal and social harms to the financial costs of drug-related crime and medical treatment, this is a burden that is increasingly hard to bear not only economically, but morally and socially. Moreover it is one that may increase as we enter a period of economic hardship. There is a constant need for new insights, and … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 11/24/10) thersa.org, November 2010

More states and local communities are allowing sales of hard liquor and other alcohol on Sunday, USA Today reported Nov. 18.
In 2002, 22 states allowed Sunday liquor sales. Now, only 14 states and the District of Columbia do not allow Sunday liquor sales.
Some communities that permitted Sunday alcohol sales already, have changed starting hours for selling alcohol to earlier in the day. Michigan made it legal this month to sell alcohol as early as 7 a.m., while Arizona in July pushed legal starting hours from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. (Source: Join Together, 11/23/10) our Online-Comment: The state gets some little tax money and the Public has more social costs to pay. The balance is negative in most cases. The profit is at the alcohol industry.

Public transport officials in Austria are looking across the border as Germany has become entangled in a heated debate over the possible introduction of a „drink and ride“ limit for passengers.
Criminologist Christian Pfeiffer told the Berliner Kurier newspaper today (Fri) the implementation of a legal limit for passengers may slash damage costs and the number of violent incidents.
Especially public transport operators in the country’s capital Berlin have registered a dramatic rise of costs caused by trams, buses and underground trains which are damaged and dirtied. Some officials linked the development to boozing passengers. They also appealed on politicians to step in over the soaring number of fights among drunken passengers. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 23.11.10) austriantimes.at, 11/19/10

Islamic Gov’t Denies Religious Motivation
Turkey’s Islamist-rooted conservative government introduced another 30% tax hike on alcohol in late October, drawing protests from drinkers, cafe owners and beverage producers.
The price of alcoholic beverages has shot up 129% since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power eight years ago. By contrast, the Consumer Price Index rose 79% during the same period.
A one-litre bottle of raki now costs about $35. That’s a lot to pay in a country where the minimum annual wage is around $400 and the average monthly income is around $1000. More and more Turks are opting for beer and wine, which are cheaper than the traditional raki.
“There has been a 34% decrease in alcohol consumption from 2003 to 2008,” reports a study by the Bahcesehir University’s research centre BETAM. “Parallel to the tax hikes, sale prices are increasing and consumption is decreasing.” BETAM’s study shows that the government successfully boosted its revenues by almost 50% in the last seven years by imposing and consistently increasing the Special Consumption Tax on alcoholic beverages…. (Source: Google Alcohol News,11/20/10) weaselzippers.us, 11/19/10 our Online-Comment: Most of the people commenting here didn’t understand the result of the tax rise: Consumption of alcoholic beverages went down 34%! We could have the same effect in Europe if our governments would have the courage to do the same. And we would also save a lot of money for alcohol-related social costs and enjoy more quality of life. But Europeans are not informed and cannot protest when the governments are under the pressure of the alcohol industry. That’s our „freedom“!

It took more than $2 million dollars in campaign donations, but Big Alcohol emerged victorious at the Massachusetts ballot box: 52% of voters approved Measure One to repeal the state’s 6.25% sales tax on alcoholic beverages. This narrow majority will cost the state of Massachusetts more than $100 million in revenue, while simultaneously increasing the costs of alcohol-related harm that the state must cover...Read More.

The Social Democrats have proposed that all new cars sold in Sweden be equipped with ignition locks to prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver is intoxicated.
The proposal, presented in the Riksdag on Friday, also calls for buses and trucks to come with the devices as well. According to the party, one in four traffic fatalities could be prevented with mandatory ignition locks.
The party’s traffic committee chairman Anders Ygeman is in favour of the government’s proposal on ignition locks as an alternative to revoking driving privileges for drunk driving offenses.
However, the Social Democrats want to go one step further with even more stringent legislation, including seeking an exemption from the EU that would allow Sweden to introduce ignition locks in all new cars. (Source: Alcohol Report, 11/16/10) thelocal.se, 11/15/10