www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Over the years, use of alcohol, excessive and prolonged, has been associated with various health hazards. With increasing clinical experience and research in the area, the association has become stronger and progressively more alarming. The evidence from different treatment settings viz. the outpatient department, inpatient setup, emergency department, and the consultation liaison services has linked the use of alcohol with a wide array of hazards to the physical and the psychological health of the users. The impact on psychological health extends beyond the users of alcohol to involve caregivers and other family members of users. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 05/21/12)

Trocken an der Themse: Ausgerechnet Offizielle, Sportler und Sponsoren aus dem Wodka-Land Russland müssen bei den Olympischen Spielen in London auf Alkohol verzichten. Das habe die Regierung in Moskau angeordnet, berichtete die Tageszeitung Kommersant. Offiziell hieß es, Alkohol sei nicht mit den olympischen Werten vereinbar. Der wahre Grund sind aber offenbar Alkoholexzesse im Russischen Haus während der Winterspiele 2010 in Vancouver, die mit als Grund für das schlechte Abschneiden der russischen Mannschaft gelten. ….
(Quelle: Google Alkohol News, 22.5.12) sportal.de, 21.5.12 (siehe auch im englischen Teil)

Alcohol advertising should be banned in Europe in a bid to drive down excess boozing and associated ill health across the continent, concludes an alliance of experts in a new policy brief.

Alcohol is Europe’s most persistent and devastating addiction problem, says the Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe – Reframing Addictions Project (ALICE-RAP), which brings together a network of over 150 researchers with expertise in many different aspects of addiction, including the social and economic impact. …

The briefing notes that the most effective and fairest policies are those which nudge people towards lower consumption, through price hikes, restrictions on availability, and advertising bans.

A minimum unit price, which the Scottish government announced its intention to introduce earlier this week, is supported by research, says the briefing. Scotland has opted for a 50 pence minimum unit price, while England is considering a 40 pence option. …

The evidence shows that alcohol adverts push people into higher and more harmful levels of consumption and trigger relapse among those trying to give up booze. Furthermore, it can encourage young people to start drinking, says the brief, which advocates a wholesale ban.

“Europeans drink more than twice the world’s average and alcohol represents the number one addiction problem in Europe today, greater than any other drug or gambling, “ said Dr Peter Anderson, Professor of Substance Use, Policy and Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, and co-leader of the project, speaking at the report’s launch yesterday.

“Our aim with this policy brief is to help decision makers across the EU and beyond break the negative pattern of harmful alcohol consumption and costs by providing much needed scientific input to the discussion, which has long been dominated by the alcohol industry lobbyists,” he added.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) onmedica.com, 05/17/12

Comment: Unfortunately many politicians do not like scientific input.

One in eight deaths of UK adults under the age of 64 is caused by alcohol, an international conference on tackling problem drinking has heard.

The social cost of alcohol abuse has been estimated to be £240 a year for each European, with the annual bill for the NHS alone being £2.7 billion.

A major conference of addiction specialists from across the world is meeting at Newcastle University and organisers have called for England to follow Scotland and set a minimum price per unit.

They have also demanded a ban on advertising alcohol.
Too easy: Prof Eileen Kaner from Newcastle University said the government had to be bolder about tackling cheap alcoholl

In Europe, alcohol consumption is more than twice the global average and it represents the biggest addiction in the UK, greater than any illegal drug or gambling.

(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) dailymail.co.uk, 05/16/12

Alcoholic drinks will be banned at any event organized by the Russian delegation in which athletes or delegation officials participate, Kommersant reported, citing information from the minutes of a meeting led by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, the official in charge of the team’s trip to London.
Kozak representative Ilya Dzhus confirmed the information to Kommersant. „Olympic values are not commensurate with using alcohol,“ he said.

The ban applies to the Russian Olympic Committee, the Sochi 2014 organizing committee, the All-Russian Association of Summer Olympic Sports and the company Bosco di Ciliegi, the official outfitter of the Olympic team.

But a federal official in the meeting with Kozak suggested that organizers can make alcoholic beverages available at parties for their corporate clients and sponsors, as long as athletes or members of the official delegation do not participate. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) The Moscow Times, 22 May 2012

Starting this weekend, the Long Island Rail Road is banning alcohol on overnight weekend trains out of Penn Station. The pilot program is an effort to curb disorderly passengers and attacks on train crew members.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) nbcnewyork.com, 05/19/12

The Tories are urging legal action against minimum alcohol pricing, despite supporting the Scottish Government plan.
The party wants other EU states to challenge the policy to ensure a quick decision on whether it meets free trade rules.
The Alcohol Minimum Pricing Bill will enforce a 50p per unit floor price on units of alcohol, pushing up the cost of cheaper, stronger drinks.
The bill is expected to clear the final parliamentary hurdle in a vote at Holyrood on Thursday.
Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: „This is not an attempt to thwart the Bill but rather to ensure that every effort is made to determine whether the measure is legal.“
His party agreed to back the policy after securing a voluntary commitment by the Scottish Government to notify the European Commission (EC) of its plan.
The EC might not give a ruling unless there is a challenge from one of the 27 EU member states, said Mr Carlaw. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) news.stv.tv, 05/20/12

INVITED SEMINAR, 23 FEBRUARY 2012, LONDON by Rand Corp.
PROVISIONAL SCOPE AND PURPOSE
In the context of growing policy interest in pricing policy as a tool to address alcohol harms, researchers from the European Commission co-financed by the ALICE RAP project1 and RAND Corporation, organised an invitation-only meeting of policy-makers and researchers working on alcohol pricing and related issues.
The meeting aimed to address some of the specific questions policy-makers in the UK are confronting as they consider policy options. With a focus on excise taxation, minimum pricing, restrictions on promotions and discounts, and bans on below cost sales, some of the specific questions for discussion included:
· the implications of the various policy options for different segments of the population;
· the impact of different policies on fiscal revenue;
· pass-through from tax changes to consumer prices;
· the effects of pricing approaches on the use of other substances like tobacco and illicit drugs, illegal alcohol consumption, cross-border trade, etc.
· the difference for on- and off-trade sales of different pricing policies. ….
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 05/18/12) alicerap.eu

According to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health, Australia could yield economic and health benefits by reducing its overall national yearly alcohol consumption.

In 2008, researchers estimated the economic benefits Australia could achieve in health, production and leisure, if the annual per capita consumption of alcohol would be reduced to a designated average yearly target of 6.4 liters per capita.

They discovered that reducing the annual per capita alcohol consumption by just 3.4 liters would save Australia’s health sector $789 million. The saving would be the result of one-third fewer cases of disease, deaths, lost working days and home-based production loss days. …
(Source: Medical News Today, 05/20/12)

our Online-Comment: Yes, this would be an advisable target for many other countries too. But politicians are more listening to the alcohol industry which is not willing to lose profit.

The Iranian Ministry of Health says the consumption of alcoholic beverages has reached alarming levels in the southern areas of Tehran.
Shargh Newspaper reported on Tuesday that senior ministry official Bagher Larijani said: “According to reports from physicians and hospitals in the southern Tehran area, the spread of alcohol consumption is very concerning.”
He added: “Action regarding consumption of alcohol has become more pressing that ailments such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”

The ministry also announced that it has only limited data regarding alcohol addiction, however, their research indicates there are two million addicts in the population, including alcohol addicts.

Previously, the head of the Task Force against Smuggling announced that alcohol smuggling was a $730-million-a-year business, and only a quarter of that is discovered and confiscated by the government.
Source: Google Alcohol News, 05/17/12) Radio Zamaneh/fluechtlingshilfeiranev2010.wordpress.com, 05/17/12