www.alkoholpolitik.ch

The alcohol-infused whipped cream on the shelves of liquor stores in Massachusetts is 15 percent alcohol and it has health officials worried. It comes in flavors like chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. Each can costs $14. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 11/29/10) boston.cbslocal.com, 11/29/10

It took more than $2 million dollars in campaign donations, but Big Alcohol emerged victorious at the Massachusetts ballot box: 52% of voters approved Measure One to repeal the state’s 6.25% sales tax on alcoholic beverages. This narrow majority will cost the state of Massachusetts more than $100 million in revenue, while simultaneously increasing the costs of alcohol-related harm that the state must cover...Read More.

Supporters of a successful Massachusetts ballot initiative to repeal the state’s year-old 6.25 percent sales tax on alcohol outspent opponents by more than 10 to 1, the Boston Globe reported Nov. 4.
The Beer Distributors of Massachusetts alone donated more for Question One on the state ballot than did opponents of the measure. In all, supporters of eliminating the tax raised more than $2 million, while the Committee Against Repeal of the Alcohol Tax raised not quite $200,000. (According to the No on 1 Campaign, the fundraising margin between supporters and opponents was 15 to 1.)
The fundraising led to an ad blitz that helped narrowly win repeal; supporters garnered 52 percent of the votes on Nov. 2. (Source: Join Together, 11/05/10)

Massachusetts voted to repeal a 6.25 percent alcohol tax, and Washington has blocked at least one measure seeking to privatize liquor distribution. Meanwhile, California approved Prop. 26, possibly negating efforts to require the alcohol industry, among others, to pay for the harm caused by their products. (Source: Join Together, 11/03/10)

Ads Enticing Them to Drink. Youth Demand State Ban on Alcohol Ads on Their “School Buses”.
Boston, MA (March 15, 2010) — Demonstrators will gather March 16th, 2010, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Boston Common, across from the State House, to show public support for ending alcohol advertising on state property, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which serves as the public transit system for Greater Boston.
Brought together by the Supporting an Alcohol-Ad Free Environment – Massachusetts coalition (SAFE-MA), youth and community supporters will protest against the MBTA’s use of T trains—which serve as “school buses” for 9,600 Boston youth—to promote alcohol use. By this action, they hope to gain additional support from The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, who will decide March 17th, 2010 whether to advance HB 1113: an act prohibiting alcohol advertising on Commonwealth property, introduced by Representative Martin J. Walsh (D – 13th Suffolk). (Source: Marin Institute, 3/15/10)

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)

Massachusetts consumers may soon be able to order wine online and have it shipped directly from out-of-state wineries after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the state’s latest attempt to control such shipments.
The Associated Press reported Jan. 15 that the court ruled that a 2006 law that forced larger winemakers to choose between selling through retailers or getting a license to ship directly to consumers was a violation of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The law was carefully crafted to exempt wineries located within Massachusetts from the requirement by making it applicable only to companies that produce 30,000 gallons of wine or more per year.(Source: Join Together, 1/19/10)

Words Used To Describe Substance-Use Patients Can Alter Attitudes, Contribute To Stigma
Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of health care professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have found that health professionals‘ answers to survey questions about a hypothetical patient varied depending on whether he was described as a „substance abuser“ or as „having a substance use disorder.“ Their study will appear in the International Journal of Drug Policy and has been released online. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/14/10)

The Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit alcohol advertising on all state-owned property, including the transit system,.. (Source: Join Together, 9/9/09)

A new Massachusetts tax on liquor, wine and beer went into effect this weekend, but the state’s alcohol sellers are working to reinstate a longtime sales-tax exemption on alcoholic beverages. As part of a budget-balancing plan, state lawmakers raised the Massachusetts sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent, and also applied the tax to alcoholic drinks along with other goods and services. Backers expect the alcohol tax to raise up to $80 million in annual revenues for the state. (Source: Join Together, 8/4/09)