www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Abstract:
Aims: Minimum alcohol prices in British Columbia have been adjusted intermittently over the past 20 years. The present study estimates impacts of these adjustments on alcohol consumption.
Design: Time series and longitudinal models of aggregate alcohol consumption with price and other economic data as independent variables.
Setting: British Columbia (BC), Canada.
Measurements: Data on alcohol prices and sales for different beverages were provided by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch for 1989 to 2010. Data on household income were sourced from Statistics Canada.
Findings: Longitudinal estimates suggest that a 10% increase in the minimum price of an alcoholic beverage reduced its consumption relative to other beverages by 16.1% (P<0.001). Time series estimates indicate that a 10% increase in minimum prices reduced consumption of spirits and liqueurs by 6.8% (P=0.004), wine by 8.9% (P=0.033), alcoholic sodas and ciders by 13.9% (P=0.067), beer by 1.5% (P=0.043) and all alcoholic drinks by 3.4 % (P=0.007).
Conclusions: Increases in minimum prices of alcoholic beverages can substantially reduce alcohol consumption.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/10/12) Full Report (pdf)

Alcohol consumption has risen in Canada while controls have been eroded, a situation that may increase an already high burden of harms that include acute and chronic disease, trauma and social problems.
Giesbrecht and colleagues present evidence for a comprehensive response that includes restructured alcohol prices, controlled availability, curtailed marketing, lowered legal limits on blood alcohol concentration, improved access to services for high-risk drinkers and public education. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 02/07/11)

National efforts to curb substance abuse in Canada are seeing a return on investment, according to a recent report, Marketwire reported Oct. 12. The report was prepared by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), the only nongovernmental agency in the country with a legislative mandate to reduce alcohol- and other drug-related harm. The CCSA receives a significant amount of public funding through Health Canada. (Source: Join Together, 10/14/10)

Campers cannot possess or consume liquor during the Victoria Day long weekend in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.Campers cannot possess or consume liquor during the Victoria Day long weekend in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks. (CBC)
Campers are banned from possessing or drinking alcohol in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks this May long weekend. Parks Canada is banning booze from May 21 at 7 a.m. MT to May 24 at noon in front-country campgrounds in the national parks.
The ban comes after complaints about rowdy campers, and follows the lead of provincial parks in Alberta.
„It’s a response to visitor feedback and complaints and we’re following through, taking some steps here to hopefully provide everybody with a great experience,“ said Heidi Perren, prevention co-ordinator for Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks. (Source: Google alcohol news, 5/24/10) cbc.ca, 5/12/10

A premium vodka sold in a bottle shaped like a skull has been banned from sale in Ontario, Canada, where officials are concerned that the packaging could appeal to children, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported May 18.
Crystal Head Vodka, created by Canadian actor Dan Akyroyd, was rejected by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario — a semipublic entity with limited regulatory powers and a monopoly on retail liquor sales in Ontario. (Source: Join Together, 5/21/10)

Quebec will be joining the rest of Canada by lowering its legal blood-alcohol level for motorists from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. The decision is in line with the Quebec Road Safety Task Force’s recent recommendations. The move also came on the heels of the death of seven people in car accidents over one weekend in Quebec. (Source: Join Together, 12/14/09)

Officials in Canada are considering changing the law to allow police to conduct random roadside Breathalyzer tests for drunk driving, rather than only for-cause tests, the Montreal Gazette reported Oct. 24.
A number of other countries — but not the U.S. — allow random DWI testing of drivers, but Canada has banned the practice for 40 years. Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson wants to change the law, but said he needs to discuss the proposal with provincial officials first. (Source: Join Together, 10/26/09)

A Canadian man with a long history of drunk driving has been sentenced to life in prison for running down and killing a woman in a wheelchair. A Quebec judge imposed the sentence on Roger Walsh, 57, who struck and killed Anee Khudaverdian, 47, while driving drunk. Walsh had 18 previous convictions for driving while impaired as well as 114 previous convictions on a variety of other offenses. (Source: Join Together, 9/11/09)

Health and life insurance firms in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom hold at least $4.4 billion in investments in companies that manufacture tobacco products, according to an article in the June 4, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Physorg.com reported June 3 that researchers from the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard School of Medicine found that insurance companies continue to invest in tobacco companies; the same group of researchers published an article in 1995 that reported similar results. (Source: Join Together, 6/9/09) (with our comment)

Add to Technorati Favorites
Add to Mr.Wong

Excessive drinking accounts for at least half of all alcoholic drinks consumed in Canada, according to a new study from the University of Victoria’s Center for Addictions Research. Researchers said that 54 percent of alcoholic drinks consumed by Canadians were quaffed while exceeding the recommended limits of three drinks per day for women and four drinks per day for men (10 drinks total weekly for women, 20 for men). Among 15-to-24-year-olds, about 80 percent of alcohol consumption was excessive. The study authors also found that 10 percent of drinkers consumed 53 percent of all alcoholic drinks. (Source: Join Together, 4/16/09) Comment: Previous studies showed very similar figures for USA and Switzerland.