www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Teenagers in the USA who regularly use networking web sites are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs, says a survey carried out by CASA Columbia (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University), titled the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents.
In this 16th annual back-to-school survey, teens aged from 12 to 17 years were asked, for the first time, whether they used Facebook, MySpace or other social networking web sites regularly (on a typical day). 70% said they do spend some time each day on a networking site, compared to 30% who don’t. The survey found that: … (Source: Medical News Today, 26.8.11)

Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE 2011) figures have been released, drawing media attention to areas with highest rates of harm and a continuing upwards national trend. Total alcohol-related admissions for England reached over one million in 2009/10; an increase of 879 alcohol-related admissions per day compared to five years ago.
The figures indicate that over the five years to 2009/10 there has been a 24.6% increase in the number of people being admitted to hospital due to alcohol specific conditions. However LAPE now includes data indicating there are more than six million people over 16 in England who do not drink alcohol. Patterns of abstention relate strongly to ethnicity as estimates range from 6.4% of adults in Mid Devon to 48.0% in London’s Newham borough. Other reported findings include: … (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 08/25/11)

In view of September’s summit on non-communicable diseases where world leaders will meet at the United Nations in New York, the BMJ raises serious concerns regarding the „powerful sway“ of the tobacco, alcohol, food and drug industries as international governments prepare to agree global targets to cut avoidable deaths from chronic diseases. … (Source: Medical News Today, 08/25/11)

A large-scale survey was conducted in 2008 in north west England, a region with high levels of alcohol-related harm, during a regional ‚Big Drink Debate‘ campaign. The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of how alcohol consumption would change if alcohol prices were to increase or decrease.
A convenience survey of residents (>18 years) of north west England measured demographics, income, alcohol consumption in previous week, and opinions on drinking behaviour under two pricing conditions: low prices and discounts and increased alcohol prices (either ‚decrease‘, ’no change‘ or ‚increase‘). … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/24/11) BMC Public Health 2011, 11:664; doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-664

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewing company, has signed a landmark partnership with Google aimed at taking over our computer screens – and marketing to our children. The advertising deal is estimated to reach at least 103 million minors under the age of 18 per month, plus several million more underage youth between the ages of 18 and 20 worldwide. Heineken ads will be concentrated on Google’s YouTube and will involve homepage takeovers and pre-roll ad slots. YouTube receives about 490 million visitors per month, of which an estimated 21% are under age 18. Other alcohol advertisers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (Bud Light) have previously bought standard YouTube pre-roll ad space, but no alcohol company has ever entered into such an extensive deal that will reach so many young people. (Source: Alcohol Justice, 08/24/11)

A new report from Alcohol Concern looks at how children and young people are at risk of being exposed to alcohol marketing and pro-drinking messages via the internet.
‚The report reveals the growing importance to alcohol companies of social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook and video sharing sites such as YouTube as a means of promoting their products, and the inadequacies of online age verification pages aimed at preventing under 18s from accessing content intended for adults.
It also highlights the frequent practice of users of SNSs posting pictures and descriptions of themselves drinking and being drunk, and asks why so many of us choose to publicise our alcohol consumption in this way.‘ (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 08/23/11)

The Portman Group, the industry’s social responsibility body, is to monitor and report on the industry’s progress on the voluntary labelling pledge.
The pledge to provide responsible drinking information on 80 per cent of alcohol labels on UK shelves by 2013 was set out as part of the Government’s controversial Responsibilty Deal earlier this year.
In a press release, the Portman Group said they would monitor and report publicly on the industry’s progress towards the labelling goal. They are contacting all companies who signed up to the pledge asking them to re-affirm their commitments. A database summarising the pledges, companies and brands involved will be published at a later date. … (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 08/22/11) Comment: The Portman Group will like this job as labelling is not much preventive.

New EU regulations could force the Norwegian government to overturn its current ban on alcohol advertising.
Labour’s (Ap) long hard-fought battle to retain the ban on advertising booze is now hanging by a thread following statements by the EU. Norway will not be exempt from the new European Union TV Directive (AVMSD).
European Commission Vice-President, Neelie Kroes wrote to the government saying it has no choice but to adopt it.
Deputy Foreign Minister Erik Lahnstein said to NRK this was an example of uncommon EU “plainspeaking”.
“The EU says it is consideration for the internal market that weighs heaviest, not Norwegian public health arguments. This puts the government in a difficult situation.” … (Source: Alcohol Reports-News, 08/22/11) theforeigner.no, 08/18/11 our online-comment: The European Union seems to be an economical union only. Not a union for the people. I hope Norway finds a way to resist.

Over an average British person’s lifetime, 5,800 pints of beer are consumed, plus 8,700 glasses of wine, 2,900 bottles of cider, 5,808 shots of spirits, 1,452 cocktails, 1,452 glasses of liquor, and 1,452 glasses of champagne – the equivalent of 456 drinks annually. The typical Brit also experiences 726 hangovers over a lifetime. £962 are spent annually on alcohol, or £58,201 ($93,000) by the time they die.
Below are some highlighted statistics from the survey:
The average Brit consumes alcohol at least three nights each week … (Source: Medical News Today, 08/19/11) our online-comment: In this study it is not included, what everybody pays a life time for alcohol-related social costs. We should not forget this.

As we prepare to send kids back to classrooms for another school year, it’s important to equip parents and caregivers with the tools for talking with their children about alcohol. This issue is especially personal for me because my beautiful 15-year-old daughter, Alisa Joy, was killed by an underage drunk driver. While the pain of losing a loved one to drunk driving is devastating, we at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are committed to educating families about how to prevent such needless tragedies.
Teen alcohol use kills 6,000 young people each year, more than all other illegal drugs combined. However, research shows that three out of four teens say their parents are the number one influence on their decisions about alcohol. So it makes sense to provide parents with the tools to effectively harness their tremendous influence. … (Source: Join Together, 08/19/11)