www.alkoholpolitik.ch

says BMA Scotland.
Commenting in advance of the cross party meeting of politicians to discuss areas of consensus on alcohol policy, Dr Brian Keighley, Chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said: „I am pleased that the political parties are coming together to discuss alcohol policy but it will not be possible to reach consensus until public health is put before party politics…“ (Source: Medical News Today, 8/4/10)

San Francisco Day of Action, SF City Hall Rally. Join labor, youth, firefighters, treatment, prevention, and health-care providers on Wednesday, August 4 at 10:00 a.m. on the Polk Street steps of San Francisco City Hall for a press conference and rally in support of the City’s proposed Charge for Harm ordinance. This local precedent-setting measure seeks to recover an estimated $17.7 million in annual alcohol-related costs from a fee that would be assessed to alcohol wholesalers and others. (Source: Marin Institute, 7/29/10)

„A health advocacy group is hoping to use this year’s election to pressure General Assembly members into passing a ‚dime a drink‘ liquor tax increase to help pay for health care for the disabled and poor. Maryland Citizens‘ Health Initiative sent out letters Monday to all candidates running for the state Senate or House of Delegates, urging them to sign a pledge supporting the tax. The group said they plan to direct voters to call candidates who don’t respond to the pledge. The letter wasn’t sent to gubernatorial candidates Gov. Martin O’Malley or his Republican challenger, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.“ (Source: Medical News Today, 7/21/10)

While many have implicated heavy student drinking in recent disturbances even tragedies on college campuses, few schools and communities have united successfully in curbing alcohol access, a new study suggests. For instance, news reports described a history of hard drinking by the University of Virginia lacrosse player charged with murdering his former girlfriend in May. Administrators perceive student drinking as a major concern, but they focus a lot on individual interventions and campus-based alcohol restrictions, and not enough on toughening community policies, said Toben Nelson, Sc.D., a study author and University of Minnesota researcher. (Source: Medical News Today, 7/21/10)

The greatest and most costly failure of the medical profession and public health community is their failure to explain to the American people that addiction to alcohol and other drugs is a disease.
Against the scientific knowledge we now have, physicians’ refusal to give alcohol- and other drug-addicted patients the same medical care and attention they provide individuals with other chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes is inconsistent with their Hippocratic oath to “prescribe regimen for the good of my patients…and never to do harm to anyone.” The harm due to this long term failure of the medical profession and public health community is measured in untold lives lost and ruined and the incalculable human misery of families, friends and colleagues of alcoholics and drug addicts. (Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 7/19/10)

Newsletter online with important information from Europe and the European Union.

The Australian Drug Foundation is astonished to see not one mention of alcohol and other drugs in all thirteen recommendations from the House of Representatives inquiry into the impact of violence on young Australians. The report, Avoid the Harm – Stay Calm, is due to be released today.
„The report states that the links between alcohol and violent behaviour have been well established, so we can’t understand why there’s no mention of alcohol and other drugs in any of the recommendations,“ said John Rogerson. (Source: Medical News Today, 7/16/10) with our online-comment: In Switzerland it took years, till the political authorities accepted officially that alcohol is one of the main reasons of violence. Even public health professionals were afraid to speak about it. Now the wind has changed. Fortunately.

MillerCoors recently announced a new marketing campaign it calls a “bottle cap and can tab collection program,” for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to earn “rewards” such as tickets to concert and professional sporting events. But is this really a good way to help vets? Studies show alcohol over-consumption is on the rise among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Doesn’t MillerCoors have more common sense than to make veterans drink Miller High Life in order to “win” “rewards?” – High Life for Vets? – Study: Alcohol Use Among Veterans (Source: Marin Institute, 7/12/10)

To support a proposed new local fee on alcohol sales, the San Francisco Controller’s office commissioned a „nexus study“ to analyze the actual costs incurred by the city from alcohol use. Titled, The Cost of Alcohol to San Francisco – Analyses Supporting an Alcohol Mitigation Fee, the recently-released study found $17.7 million in direct unreimbursed expenses for alcohol-related harm. These expenses were incurred by community behavioral health services, fire department emergency medical transport, San Francisco General Hospital, and the Sheriff’s department. Because the study only considered health costs, excluding crime and other costs, $17.7 million is a very conservative amount. (Source: Marin Institute, 7/12/10)

Alert by Marin Institute: Don’t Let Big Alcohol Take Advantage of New Dietary Recommendations. New Guidelines on Alcohol consumption Threaten Public Health & Safety
TAKE ACTION:
Join Marin Institute in submitting your comments to the federal government on the Alcohol Section of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS — THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2010
– We are especially concerned that despite the Report’s caveats, the industry will use the new recommendations to promote alcohol consumption and increased consumption.
– We ask that the Committee revise the Report and subsequent Guidelines to send a much more cautionary, evidence-based message regarding alcohol consumption to the public.
-We specifically ask that the new Guidelines maintain the formulation of 2/1 per-day consumption of alcohol for men and women, respectively.
To read the entire alcohol section of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Report:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/D-7-Alcohol.pdf
To read Marin Institute’s complete comments:
https://www.marininstitute.org/site/images/stories/pdfs/dietary_guidelines_letter.pdf