www.alkoholpolitik.ch

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)

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)

City Council Votes 11-1 to Prohibit Alcohol Ads on Bus Benches
On August 19, 2011, the Los Angeles City Council approved a 10-year contract that prohibits alcohol ads on 6,000+ bus benches. “The impact of underage drinking on Los Angeles is devastating, taking young lives and creating enormous financial costs,” stated Council Member Richard Alarcón. “I’m proud that the City of Los Angeles has chosen to prohibit alcohol advertisements on City bus benches — it is the responsible choice for Los Angeles and sends an important message that the City does not condone or promote underage or irresponsible drinking.” Next step: Alarcón introduces a motion to prohibit alcohol ads on all city-owned & controlled property. For the press release, click here. (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)

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)

The Addiction editorial by Robin Room, Jürgen Rehm and Charles Parry point out that this year the United Nations General Assembly sessions,will hold a special session on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), emphasizing the importance of addressing such diseases in order to reduce the global burden of illness.
Together with smoking, diet and physical inactivity, consumption of alcohol is among the four most important risk factors for non-communicable disease (NCD). Alcohol consumption, especially heavy consumption, impacts on cancer, liver cirrhosis and stroke. To reduce the burden of NCD, effective alcohol policies should be implemented locally, nationally and internationally, argues the authors. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/17/11)

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has released a new definition of addiction highlighting that addiction is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavioral problem involving too much alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex. This the first time ASAM has taken an official position that addiction is not solely related to problematic substance use. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11)

by Fiona Ryan, Director of Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcohol-related issues.
WE LOVE TO talk about Ireland’s alcohol culture – it allows us to speculate about how we drink and why we drink, without ever actually doing anything about it.
We can engage in romantic notions of the dark Celtic soul, or question if as a nation we just have an addictive personality. In the meantime, one person dies every seven hours from an alcohol-related cause. Alcohol is the biggest killer of young people in Ireland and 100,000 kids – enough to fill Croke Park and then some – are impacted by their parents’ drinking. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) businessinsider.com, 08/10/11

Koforidua, Aug 9, GNA – Dr Eugene Dordoye, a psychiatrist with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has suggested that alcohol should be declared a public health hazard. He said alcohol intake was resulting in many diseases claiming lives but because alcohol was not a national health issue its related diseases were not being measured. Dr Dordoye, who spoke to the GNA after addressing a five- day Youth Alive Camp in Koforidua, said alcohol effects were measured by the psychiatric hospitals because of its known effects on mental health. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 08/15/11) ghananewsagency.org, 08/10/11

Holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries or damage done by their intoxicated customers can reduce motor vehicle deaths, homicides, injuries, and other alcohol-related problems, according to the Community Preventive Services Task Force. The independent, nonfederal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts has determined that commercial host liability, otherwise known as dram shop liability, can be an effective intervention for reducing alcohol-related harms. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 08/10/11) finanznachrichten.de, 10.8.11