www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Study 1 was a randomized controlled trial. Study 2 was a cohort study.
Sixteen science students (laparoscopic novices) participated in study 1. Eight laparoscopic experts participated in study 2.
All participants were trained on the Minimally Invasive Surgical Trainer Virtual Reality (MIST-VR). The participants in study 1 were randomized to either abstain from alcohol or consume alcohol until intoxicated. All study 2 subjects freely consumed alcohol until intoxicated. Subjects were assessed the following day at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM on MIST-VR tasks.
Assessment measures included time, economy of diathermy use, and error scores. …
Excessive consumption of alcohol appeared to degrade surgical performance the following day even at 4 PM, suggesting the need to define recommendations regarding alcohol consumption the night before assuming clinical surgical responsibilities. Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/19/11)

Doctors who had a lot to drink the previous day appear to have impaired skills when performing surgery, researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland, reported in the journal Archives of Surgery after carrying out simulation tests. The authors wrote that alterations in some surgical skills were observed in virtual reality simulator tests carried out one day after excessive alcohol consumption. (Source. Medical News Today, 04/18/11) our Online-Comment: This could be the content of one of the many medical TV-Series.

Political and economic transition is often blamed for Russia’s 40% surge in deaths between 1990 and 1994 (the Russian Mortality Crisis”). Highlighting that increases in mortality occurred primarily among alcohol-related causes and among working-age men (the heaviest drinkers), this paper investigates a different explanation: the demise of the 1985-1988 Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol Campaign. We use archival sources to build a new oblast-year data set spanning 1970-2000 and find that: (1) The campaign was associated with substantially fewer campaign year deaths,
(2) Oblasts with larger reductions in alcohol consumption and mortality during the campaign experienced larger transition era increases, and (3) Other former Soviet states and Eastern European countries exhibit similar mortality patterns commensurate with their campaign exposure. The campaign’s end explains between 32% and 49% of the mortality crisis, suggesting that Russia’s transition to capitalism and democracy was not as lethal as commonly suggested. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 15.4.11) iis-db.stanford.edu, March 2011) Comment: Amazing how clever Gorbachev and his staff reduced total consumption. Our governments could learn a lot.

Hospitalizations for alcohol have been trending upward on campus this year, with spikes at fraternity houses, freshman dorms and among the sophomore class. In fall quarter alone, there were 33 cases of Stanford students being transported to the emergency room for alcohol-related incidents, according to Ralph Castro, manager of the Substance Abuse Prevention Program at Vaden Health Center.
To date, a total of 48 students have been transported to the hospital, an increase from the 42 transports in the previous academic year. In winter quarter alone, there were 15 cases—six freshmen, three sophomores, five juniors and one senior. Transports were divided fairly evenly between men and women. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 04/04/11)

A behavioral economic analysis.
More than 3/4 of U.S. college students report a heavy drinking episode (HDE; 5 (for men) and 4 (for women) drinks during an occasion) in the previous 90 days. This pattern of drinking is associated with various risks and social problems for both the heavy drinkers and the larger college community.
The results suggest that increasing drink prices and morning academic requirements may be useful in preventing heavy drinking among college students. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/30/11)

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Five students from Kings Fork Middle School were suspended Friday and recommended for expulsion after officials say they violated the school system’s alcohol policy. The students involved were three 7th Graders and two 8th Graders.
According to a school spokesperson, the incident involving alcohol took place Friday morning as the students were riding on a school bus on their way to school.
After arriving at school, one of the students became sick and went to the Nurse’s Office. That student was transported by ambulance to the emergency room at Obici Hospital. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/26/11) fox43tv.com, 03/25/11

Doesn’t having a beer in the afternoon when you’re at work sound pretty cool? Sure it does — but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Drinking at work is apparently getting more popular, especially in Silicon Valley workplaces, Bloomberg reported March 13.
Companies like Crowdflower, Tello, Twitter, and Yelp all reported making alcohol in some form available to their employees on a fairly constant basis – in some cases, 24/7.
Twitter keeps its employee fridge stocked with nonalcoholic drinks, plus beer and wine. „We treat employees as adults,“ said Twitter spokeswoman Jodi Olson, „and they act accordingly.“ (Source: Join Together, 03/18/11) Comment: A new study in Switzerland shows that the additional alcohol-related employee costs at workplaces are one Billion Swiss Francs a year.

Twelve York County convenience stores are no stranger to selling alcohol to underage drinkers; two Fort Mill and one Tega Cay convenience store also have allowed some underage drinkers to purchase alcohol, records show.
For those illegal sales, each of those stores failed recent compliance checks conducted by York County law enforcement. Topping the list with three violations is a Fort Mill convenience stop.
“Our highest violator is Fairway Fuel,” Corree Carelock, prevention director of Rock Hill’s Keystone Substance Services, said of the convenience store located at 1290 Tom Hall St. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/17/11) heraldonline.com, 03/16/11

Fifty-six pilots working for Indian airlines have failed alcohol tests in the last two years, according to a list issued by the civil aviation ministry.
Ten pilots were fired after they failed tests, including one who was found over the limit on two occasions, according to the list released by Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi in parliament Thursday.
The fifty-six pilots worked for the state-owned national carrier Air India, as well as private airlines Jet Airways, Indigo, SpiceJet, GoAir, and Kingfisher.
Twenty-three pilots from India’s top airline company Jet Airways failed their tests, but the airline did not sack any of them, putting them on suspension and subjecting them to a pay cut instead. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 03/14/11) google.com, 03/10/11

ll residential colleges held mandatory meetings on Monday night to discuss each college’s response to the recent campus-wide moratorium on hard alcohol and to inform students about the circumstances that led up to the administrative action.
Each college was given the freedom to specify its own enforcement policies, definition of a private party and other aspects of moratorium that were mentioned in the letter from Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson on Feb. 24. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/11/11) media.www.ricethresher.org, 03/11/11