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Two barmen from the Irish Republic are due to go on trial for the manslaughter of a British man who died from acute alcohol intoxication. The landmark prosecution against Gary Wright and Aidan Dalton will begin in County Tipperary on Wednesday.
They are charged with unlawfully killing a guest at the Hayes Hotel in Thurles on 1 July 2008.
It is the first case of its kind under the liquor liability laws in Ireland. In England it is an offence to ‚knowingly sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk‘ but is punishable by a fine only. (Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 5/4/11) bbc.co.uk, 5/3/11

Excessive alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1) and was responsible for approximately 79,000 deaths and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the United States each year during 2001–2005.* Binge drinking, … was responsible for more than half of these deaths and for two thirds of YPLL . More than half of alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinks. Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) (objective no. 26-11c) called for reducing the prevalence of binge drinking among adults . An overarching national health goal is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. .. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 03/26/11) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC cdc.gov, 01/14/11

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), a project by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, recently announced its latest update of state-by-state alcohol policies. The update reports developments in 29 current APIS policy topics for the year 2009. You can visit the APIS website to obtain details on these and other important policy developments across the country. Many of these changes are consistent with the goals of reducing alcohol-related death and injury in the general population and reducing underage drinking and its consequences. (Source: Marin Institute, 03/09/11)

On New Year’s Day 2009, there were an estimated 1,980 emergency department visits involving underage drinking, compared to 546 such visits on an average day. That accounts for a staggering 263% increase according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning. (Source: Medical News Today, 12/31/10)

A Massachusetts woman whose 17-year-old daughter died after a night of drinking has sued seven people in connection with the death, including five of her friends under the age of 18. Taylor Meyer went out drinking after a high-school football game in October 2008, attending hourse parties and ending up at an abandoned airport. Sometime during the night, Meyer wandered off into a nearby swamp; her body was found in the water three days later. (Source: Join Together, 1/29/10)

Excessive sway during quiet standing is a common and significant consequence of chronic alcoholism, even after prolonged sobriety, and can lead to fall-related injury and even death. A new study of residual postural instability in alcohol-abstinent men and women shows that alcoholics improve with prolonged sobriety, but the improvement may not fully erase the problem of instability. (Source: Medical News Today, 12/21/09)

Two new reports demonstrate the need for a comprehensive set of measures to be put in place to combat problem drinking, AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today.
The British Medical Association (BMA) recently released an expert report: „Under the Influence: The damaging effect of alcohol on young people“.
The report coincides with the release today of research by The National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) which shows that risky alcohol consumption caused the death of 32,696 Australians in the 10 years from 1996 to 2005, and 813,072 Australians were hospitalised due to alcohol-caused injury and disease over the same period. This is a 30% rise in alcohol-caused injury and disease in ten years, and the trend is set to continue, according to NDRI.
(Source: Medical News Today, 9/22/09)

Abstaining from alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of depression according to a new study published in Addiction journal. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/1/09) Online-Comment: (pending) Why people with possible physical or psychical diseases were not excluded like former alcoholics? This problem is known since those many false studies on heart diseases. Isn’t it just a study to get a sensational headline again for alcohol marketing? The German press already brought an article without mentioning the restrictions. Of course we could also argue, abstainers are depressed because of a society which didn’t learn anything about alcohol in 100 years and still allows the alcohol industry to terrorize it with disease, death, poverty and harm.

WHO-Publication Report online
The European Region is the WHO region with the highest alcohol intake in the world. Both per capita consumption and the disease burden from alcohol are twice the world average. Alcohol is the third-largest risk factor for death and disability in the Region and the largest risk factor among young people.