www.alkoholpolitik.ch

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Several hundred concerned citizens and people with developmental disabilities marched Friday on the state Capitol in support of raising the alcohol tax to help fund services they need.
The dime-a-drink legislation would raise an estimated $215 million. Maryland alcohol taxes are among the lowest in the nation, and the legislation has wide support. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 02/12/11) wbaltv.com, 02/12/11 our Online-Comment: Those critical to a tax rise on alcohol should remember that they are paying a life long without beeing asked the awful amount of alcohol related social costs each year with taxes and insurance premiums. If alcohol taxes could reduce alcohol consumption the total burden of alcohol related harm would decrease too. Therefor higher alcohol taxes are a good investment, especially for moderate consumers.

Although national spending on mental health and substance abuse grew between 1986-2005, it accounts for a shrinking part of the part of the pie, according to an analysis of public and private spending on health care done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Average annual substance abuse spending grew 4.8 percent and mental health spending grew by 6.9 percent during the study period, according to a Feb. 3 press release from SAMHSA. Overall spending on health care, however, grew by 7.9 percent. In 2005, spending on behavioral health care totaled $135 billion, or 7.3 percent, of the $1.85 trillion spent on all health care in the U.S. (Source: Join Together, 2/09/11)

Alcohol consumption has risen in Canada while controls have been eroded, a situation that may increase an already high burden of harms that include acute and chronic disease, trauma and social problems.
Giesbrecht and colleagues present evidence for a comprehensive response that includes restructured alcohol prices, controlled availability, curtailed marketing, lowered legal limits on blood alcohol concentration, improved access to services for high-risk drinkers and public education. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 02/07/11)

A population health perspective. Editorial in
Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Vol. 27, 2010 ( 5 ), Helsinki, published by the Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues (NVC). The journal is supported by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), (Finland), the National Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research, (SIRUS), (Norway), the Swedish National Institute of Public Health and the Danish National Board of Health. The Swedish alcohol monopoly supports the journal with subscriptions. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 02/03/11) nordicwelfare.org Comment: Very important review on todays situation in alcohol politics.

While a select class of wealthy Vietnamese men like nothing more than cracking open a bottle of Johnnie Walker with their mates at a karaoke bar, the vast majority of alcohol consumed here is home-made “rice wine” served in re-used plastic water bottles.
But tastes are changing as the middle class grows and Diageo, the global drinks group, has forked over £33m for a stake in a local vodka maker as it seeks to tap into the growing fondness for higher quality but affordable Vietnamese brands. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/27/11) blogs.ft.com, 01/27/11 Comment: Not one word about the impact of rising alcohol consumption in a developing country, the Public Health aspect.

Legislation paving the way for Sunday alcohol sales in grocery and convenience stores has been filed in the state Senate
New Gov. Nathan Deal says he will sign legislation for Sunday alcohol sales in stores if bill comes to his desk
Deal’s predecessor, Sonny Perdue, had pledged to veto a Sunday alcohol sales bill and previous legislation stalled in the Republican-led General Assembly. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/26/11) mysouthwestga.com, 01/25/11 our Online Comment: It’s good for business. Always the profit to the alcohol industry and the social costs, the harm to the people. But they are so stupid blind.

Maryland may raise alcohol taxes for the first time since 1972 by a dime a drink, Delmarvanow.com reported Jan. 14.
Maryland last raised its tax on beer and wine in 1972, and its tax on spirits 54 years ago, in 1957. Its wine tax ranks 37th-lowest in the nation, its beer tax 44th, and its tax on spirits 47th.
Some legislators said the tax could partially offset the state’s $1.6 billion deficit and reduce alcohol abuse and alcohol-related costs. (Source: Join Together, 01/20/11)

I read with great interest earlier, this BBC News article about the Coalition Government’s plans to bring in a minimum price for alcohol in England and Wales.
In the Coalition Agreement, it was stated that: „We will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price“. Ministers are now fleshing out their proposals to make this a reality.
It will work by banning shops and bars from selling drinks for less than the tax paid on them. It is hoped that this will send a signal that the Government is clamping down on the sale of extortionately cheap alcohol. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/19/11) johnmarkcole.blogspot.com, 01/18/11 our Online Comment: It is fine to have an ideology. Then you don’t need thinking.
There is a lot of talking about personal freedom. What about my freedom when the alcohol industry forces me to pay a life long the huge alcohol related social costs? The World Health Organization has mentioned that we all are Passive Drinkers. We all suffer from the harm of alcohol consumption. Taxes are ridiculous low.
Everybody is free to consume according to its income. Drinking alcohol is not a human right. It is better to fight for jobs with an income which enables everybody to live a decent life, instead of giving cheap alcohol to keep the poor calm and down.
What about my personal freedom, when the media do not give the necessary information I need to discuss this matter and ask for the right measures to be taken by the government, because they are alcohol lobbyists? Did you know that in May 2010 the World Health Organization accepted with all 193 votes of the member states a resolution on a global alcohol strategy? In it the alcohol related harm on society and the evidence based measures for harm reduction are listed. Governments only had to implement those proposals, but instead they try everything which wouldn’t harm the alcohol industry. The industry keeps the profit, society pays the social costs in money and in life, etc.

State governments closely regulate the sale of liquor in 18 states in this country. In these „control“ states, the government limits access in an effort to protect public health and limit alcohol-related costs. But there’s increasing pressure to privatize, in spite of research that shows „control“ systems work well.
Just ask Paul A. Stroup, III, Chief Exeutive Officer of the alcohol beverage control board in Mecklenburg County, N.C. In an editorial published Jan. 9 in The Charlotte Observer, Stroup laid out a pretty convincing rationale for not privatizing liquor in his state: … (Source: Join Together, 01/18/11)

…designed to punish poor people for the crime of getting hammered.
“Minimum alcohol pricing” sounds like such an inoffensive idea. No one is likely to go to the barricades, far less to the wall, in order to “Smash Minimum Alcohol Pricing!” So in the interests of political honesty and clarity, and with an eye for encouraging some people to consider going to the barricades over this latest Lib-Con measure, I think we should start referring to “minimum alcohol pricing” by its true name. This is a Sin Tax, pure and simple, designed to punish people, specifically poor people, for the crime of occasionally wanting to get hammered and have fun. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/18/11) blogs.telegraph.co.uk, 01/18/11 Comment: Typical arguments of a liberal. Many comments, some positive ones.