Medscape (Sweden) - Alcohol Abuse More Detrimental to the Female Brain
Alcohol abuse appears to be much more detrimental to the female brain than to the male brain, new research suggests. Investigators from the multidisciplinary Gothenburg Alcohol Research Project in Sweden found that after 4 years of excessive drinking, women experienced the same loss of serotonergic function that occurred in men who had been abusing alcohol for 12 years.
Read more The Local.se (Sweden) - Half of Swedes 'unsure' if they have driven drunk
Some 46 percent of Swedes are uncertain whether they have drunk too much when they get behind the wheel, according to a new survey carried out by a major insurance company.
Read more Stockholm News (Sweden) - Police: We can’t get rid of pub violence
The police can not reduce pub violence more than marginally. This because of Swedish drinking culture and the availability of alcohol. Efforts are now concentrated on keeping such crime at a "reasonable" level.
Read more Baltic Business News (Estonia) - Researcher: Estonia should triple alcohol excise duty
Indrek Saar writes in his doctor’s thesis that the alcohol taxation rate that was introduced in 2009 is notably below the optimum level.
Read more The Guardian (UK) - Alcohol-induced liver problems soar among young adults
There has been a huge increase in the number of young adults treated in hospital for serious liver problems brought on by drinking too much, NHS figures show.
Read more American Medical News - Avoiding alcohol in adolescence may reduce breast cancer risk
Drinking alcohol during adolescence has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, especially for girls with a family history of the disease, a study says.
Read more RTE.ie (Ireland) - Alcohol tops drug-related deaths
Alcohol accounted for the greatest number of drug-related deaths in Ireland between 2004 and 2009.
Read more The Atlantic (Italy) - A Sobering Look at Alcohol: 10-Year Study Finds High Death Rate
A number of studies in the past few years have suggested health benefits from drinking small or moderate amounts of alcohol. This can encourage people to look at alcohol almost as if it's medicine. A recent study of alcohol use in Italy paints a much more sobering picture.
Read more CBC.ca (Canada) - B.C. drunk-driving law could be overturned
The B.C. Supreme Court is expected to rule Wednesday on whether the province's tough new drunk-driving law violates constitutional rights. Described as the strictest impaired driving law in Canada, the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act's automatic roadside driving prohibition clause allows police to issue roadside suspensions, impound cars and levy fines in the hundreds of dollars for drivers with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 or higher.
Read more The Economist (Scotland) - The battle of the bottle
SATURDAY nights in most British cities are high-spirited, but in Glasgow they are the stuff of legend. Some 75,000 people stream through its streets, crowding into pubs and clubs. After the bouncers push their last all-but-senseless clients out of the door, and the last punch-up outside a chippy is dispersed by the Strathclyde police, pavements lie deserted under a dense coating of fag ends and glass shards. Over a thousand people will have been admitted to accident and emergency units.
Read more Fin24 (South Africa) - Minister calls for alcohol ban at functions
Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has called on her government colleagues to lead by example and ban alcohol at all state functions, City Press reported on Sunday.
Read more New Zealand Herald (Australia/New Zealand) - Fetal harm warnings likely for alcohol labels
Alcoholic drinks in New Zealand and Australia could soon carry health warnings aimed at pregnant women and their unborn babies. The Australian Government indicated this week that it will aim for compulsory warnings in two years as part of a transtasman agreement on food labelling standards.
Read more RIA Novosti (Ingushetia) - Ingushetia MPs seek alcohol ban on Thursdays, Fridays
Lawmakers of Ingushetia’s outgoing parliament voted for the first reading of a bill to ban alcohol sales in the predominantly Moslem Russian republic on Friday, the local government’s spokeswoman said.
Read more Irish Independent (Ireland) - Alcohol locks and tracking devices planned for drivers who flout law
DRIVERS who repeatedly flout road-traffic laws face the prospect of having tracking devices and alcolocks installed in their vehicles.
Read more ABC Online (Australia) - Declaring homes alcohol free could reduce violence
For some, it's an everyday reality - the walls are smashed as a fist goes through or there are holes or marks where a chair has been thrown.
Read more The Independent (UK) - Editor-At-Large: Let's sober up – and stand up to booze industry bullies
It's that time of year again – pubs and pizzerias full of gurning office workers wearing paper hats and pulling crackers, downing house plonk by the bucket load, all in the name of seasonal good cheer. Later there'll be puke in the gutters and piss on the back walls of buildings up and down the land.
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