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To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Alcohol News - 14/2011





Life through my Lens (Denmark) - Portrait Series: Adolescent Drinking
No one in Denmark knows what the drinking age is. I’ve asked multiple people. At first, I heard 18 to buy beer and get into clubs. Then, someone said at 15 they can buy beer and at 18 they can buy liquor and get into clubs. And then someone else told me they thought it was 16 to buy, but there was no law against consuming alcohol at any age.
Stockholm News (Sweden) - Expect more licensed premises in Stockholm
Since the Swedish alcohol law was changed at the new year, the number of applications for a liquor license has increased substantially in Stockholm. The Permit Unit usually receives around 100 applications for a full year, but after barely three months has received more than 50.
Baltic News Network (Latvia) - Government approves excise tax rise to cigarettes, gasoline and alcohol
Today, March 29, the government of Latvia approved increasing excise tax rate to cigarettes, strong spirits and gasoline.
Herald Sun (Australia) - Welfare linked to Northern Territory alcoholism
THE severe beating of a woman in Alice Springs is a poignant but all too common symbol of a town in crisis. For months local business owners and residents have been speaking out against the sharp increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and crime in the Red Centre.
BCM (Russia) - Vladimir Putin speaks out against sharp rise in prices on alcohol in Russia
Speaking at the meeting of the Government Presidium on Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that a sharp hike in excise duties and, accordingly, the price of alcohol would be unacceptable. He criticized the initiative of the Ministry of Finance to raise excise taxes on alcohol and said that a surge of prices on alcohol products will not resolve the problem of alcoholism, but will only promote using substitutes, increase the demand for counterfeit products and lead to the resurgence and growth of moonshine making.
WalesOnline (Wales) - Obesity and alcohol cost Welsh NHS £150m a year
The true cost of Wales’ problem has been laid out in an academic study commissioned by the Assembly Government.Around £73m is spent treating and combating obesity each year while between £69.9m and £73.3m is spent dealing with excessive alcohol consumption.
New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) - Experts' breakfast beer worry
It's nicknamed the "breakfast beer" but alcohol watchdogs are hoping a new Kiwi brew to be launched early on a weekday morning is nothing but a fizzer.
Irish Independent (Ireland) - Forces of nature cannot break free of alcohol's tight marking
I met a woman a few months ago who was employed in the addiction industry in America. She wasn't of addictive tendency herself but she had read all the studies, seen all the reports and had a lot of ideas on how the world could be a better place and how we all could be better people.
Huffington Post (USA) - Heavy Drinking Remains A Constant On College Campuses
Times may change, but some things stay the same -- and on college campuses, it's the presence of alcohol. New findings have emerged, however, in how alcohol consumption effects students.
The Independent (UK) - TV alcohol advertising ban proposed
A bid to impose a total ban on alcohol advertising on television has been launched in Parliament. The legislation, proposed by GP and Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, would also prevent alcohol brands being used to sponsor sporting and cultural events.
EurekAlert - Bad mix: Heavy beer drinking and a gene variant increases gastric cancer risk
Heavy beer drinkers who have a specific genetic variant in the cluster of three genes that metabolize alcohol are at significantly higher risk of developing non-cardia gastric cancer, according to research presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.
Mail & Guardian Online (South Africa) - Govt eyes overhaul of alcohol industry
If the government gets its way, the alcohol industry could be in for a massive overhaul. But whether the strict new regulations being proposed will be implemented effectively and result in less harmful drinking remains to be seen.
swissinfo.ch (Switzerland) - Alcohol and tobacco still part of growing up
Swiss schoolchildren’s consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis has remained stable in the past four years, despite prevention measures, nationwide figures reveal.
Eureka! Science News - Underage binge drinking can create lasting brain changes
Adolescents represent the majority of people who binge drink. This may come as a surprise to some, but recent surveys indicate that episodes of heavy alcohol drinking within the previous two weeks are reported by 12 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, 28 percent of 12th grade seniors and 44 percent of college students.
The Portugal News (Portugal) - Two million youths at risk of liver disease
Portugal’s Society of Hepatology has announced that up to “two million” Portuguese adolescents are at risk of contracting liver disease because of their drinking habits.