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Alcohol industry called upon to take more effective action!
Ahead of the next Alcohol and Health Forum meetings, public health experts and NGOs in the Forum have issued an Open Letter to its members calling upon the alcohol industry to take responsibility for their share of the problems caused by their products in Europe.
The EU Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF) will meet this Thursday and Friday under the auspices of the new Director General, Ms. Paola Testori Coggi. These meetings will mark the beginning of a new era in the Forum.
There have been several positive outcomes of the Forum, in terms of discussions and reports produced. Furthermore, it has increased action and coordination among NGOs.
However, the NGOs in the Forum feel that it could achieve a lot more if the economic operators have not been continously trying to divert attention into unproductive areas. see Open Letter: eurocare_openforum20101117b

This European Youth Organisation has started with a Newsflash, reporting on new developments in alcohol politics:
Newsflash of this week brings you updates on what’s the connection between alcohol and energy drinks. Besides that you can read about Active’s premier at Alcohol and Health Forum featuring Adrian Farner Rogne; you can take a short trip to the past and visit our seminar in Berlin held in the end of October 2010 and check out what’s going on in the field of Active’s press releases.

Draft Programme datet 11/05/10
Some headlines: WHO-Resolution, FASD-actions, The RAYPRO web resource, The (mystery) buyer, EU Alcohol Strategy implementation

A Catholic diocese in southern India has used a Marian rosary procession as an opportunity to campaign against alcohol abuse among its people.
Some 1,000 people attended the Nov. 13 convention and a procession at Kodencherry, a Catholic stronghold in Kozhikode district of Kerala state. They recited the rosary and carried placards urging people to quit alcohol in the major parish of Thamarassery diocese. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/15/10) ucanews.com, 11/15/10 our Online Comment: I think the Catholic Church all over the world should stand up against the power of the alcohol industry, which makes us „passive drinkers“, as the WHO said. There is a great need for political action, according to the global alcohol strategy of the WHO resolution in May.

30 Million underage youth view beer ads on Super Bowl Sunday.
Help Marin Institute fight back against Big Alcohol advertising during TV Sports events with our Free The Bowl contest. The more alcohol ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink.
10.7 million underage youth drink; 7.2 million binge drink. Our Free the Bowl video contest empowers youth (ages 10-20) to make original „counter-beer-ads“ to speak out against bombarding youth with beer ads during TV sports events like the Super Bowl. Help us launch our 2011 Free The Bowl contest on November17th—and give youth video a voice.
Anheuser-Busch InBev spends over $14 million on Super Bowl beer ads. Your donation can help counter that power. (Source: Marin Institute, 11/11/10)

Phusion Projects, LLC, which makes the alcoholic energy drink Four Loko — known to college students as „blackout in a can“ — has suddenly gotten „serious“ about alcohol abuse and underage drinking on college campuses.
On Nov. 4, company founders sent a letter to about 300 college presidents, deans, and alcohol counselors with information about its products. They offered to help subsidize alcohol education programming, and sought to work with college representatives to address alcohol abuse and underage drinking, which they described as “both a fundamental priority and an ultimate responsibility that we share with the entire alcoholic beverage industry.” … (Source: Join Together, 11/10/10)

…Says BMA Scotland.
The BMA in Scotland today (Wednesday 10 November 2010) called on the Conservatives, Liberal Democrat and Labour MSPs to reconsider their opposition to minimum pricing as they prepared to debate the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill for the final time. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/10/10)

Within the framework of the European Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF) a 3rd Open Forum will be held in Brussels (Centre Albert Borschette) on 19 November 2010 from 10h00 till 17h00.
The Open Forum is an opportunity for exchange of information and discussion with a broader range of interested parties than the EAHF membership. It also provides networking possibilities among stakeholders who wish to contribute to the reduction of alcohol-related harm.
The 3rd Open Forum presents the European Alcohol and Health Forum’s work, and provides an update of policy developments in the Europe and internationally. Topics for debate will be the Social Cost of Alcohol, Information to Consumers and Responsible Selling and Serving. (Source: EU-events update, 11/10/10)

Four Loko Amid the buzz about Four Loko, recent tragedies on college campuses and new efforts by state regulators to ban alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs) have taken center stage. It turns out another state had already banned alcoholic energy drinks — by not permitting distribution of the products in the first place.
Utah — not Michigan, as we previously reported — was the first state to ban alcoholic energy drinks.
The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control „listing committee“ researched alcoholic energy drinks and elected to keep them off the list of acceptable products for sale, Deseret News reported Oct. 29. (Source: Join Together, 11/09/10)

This week, CNN, CBS, and NBC covered recent disturbing events involving partying teenagers getting sick after consuming alcoholic energy drinks: sweet, high-alcohol, caffeinated, beverages, now dubbed „black-out in a can.“
After throwing up and passing out, college students are winding up in hospital emergency rooms while the federal government delays action.
Meanwhile, the manufacturers refuse to take any responsibility and continue to aggressively market these dangerous products nationwide.
Last November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched an investigation into the safety of adding caffeine to alcohol. After nearly a year, what are they waiting for?
Tell the head of the FDA, Commissioner Margaret Hamburg (a medical doctor), and her boss, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that it’s time to ban these products once and for all. (Source: Marin Institute, 11/08/10) Take Action!