Brazil alcohol ban hard for retailers to swallow
Government tries to limit TV advertising and sales along highways
By Andrew Downie | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the February 19, 2008 edition

São Paulo, Brazil - A decade after it introduced some of the toughest antitobacco laws in the world, Brazil is proposing similar legislation aimed at curbing growing rates of alcohol abuse.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to prohibit daytime alcohol advertising on radio and television. His government temporarily banned the sale of alcohol on federal highways earlier this month and aims to implement similar measures at urban gas stations.
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Mapping Estimated County-Level Income and Binge Drinking Among California Men
Psychiatr Serv 2008 59: 138

The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) (www.chis.ucla. edu) has been conducted biannually since 2001 and is the largest subnational household telephone interview survey in the United States. In 2005 there were completed responses for 43,020 adults, representing 29.7 million Californians. Among men, an estimated 3.2 million (24.7%) engaged in binge drinking.

We conducted an ecological study of CHIS’s estimated binge drinking rates per county and county group.

We asked whether aggregated estimates of individual demographic factors associated with nindividual binge drinking would explain some of the county-level variation in binge drinking rates. From the Web-based system, we extracted estimated binge drinking rates among specific demographic groups of men (less than 300% federal poverty level [FPL], 18–44 years, white, n postsecondary schooling, and married).
. . . . . .
The estimated percentage of men at less than 300% FPL was positively associated with the binge drinking rate at the county or countygroup level. The other four variables were not significant in the model.
. . . . . .
Using the same set of independent ariables, we found a positive multivariate relationship between the county- level percentage of lower-income men and the percentage of binge drinking among lower-income men.
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Figure 1 shows regional variation in income levels and the positive relationship between the percentage of men in a county with lower income and binge drinking rates among lower-income men.

The analyses and map are a unique application of available data that can be used to rapidly determine trends in health risks at county and state levels, which could inform prevention efforts.


Read Text - Requires a subscription to Psychiatric Services Online

Request Reprint E-Mail: mhaviland@llu.edu
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A possible role of social activity to explain differences in publication output among ecologists
Oikos, Online Early 8 Feb 2008


Publication output is the standard by which scientific productivity is evaluated.
Despite a plethora of papers on the issue of publication and citation biases, no study has so far considered a possible effect of social activities on publication output.

One of the most frequent social activities in the world is drinking alcohol. In Europe, most alcohol is consumed as beer and, based on well known negative effects of alcohol consumption on cognitive performance, I predicted negative correlations between beer consumption and several measures of scientific performance.

Using a survey from the Czech Republic, that has the highest per capita beer consumption rate in the world, I show that increasing per capita beer consumption is associated with lower numbers of papers, total citations, and citations per paper (a surrogate measure of paper quality). In addition I found the same predicted trends in comparison of two separate geographic areas within the Czech Republic that are also known to differ in beer consumption rates.

These correlations are consistent with the possibility that leisure time social activities might influence the quality and quantity of scientific work and may be potential sources of publication and citation biases.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: tomas.grim@upol.cz
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Summer Institute - Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction as a Global Problem
July 13 - July 25, 2008

Introduction

Courses, seminars and dialogues in Amsterdam on theories and concepts as they have been developed in the field of addiction studies. The Summer Institute on Addiction is an intensive two week summer programme, which focuses on the study of addiction across cultures and is taught by an international faculty team.

Professionals have the option to attend either one or both weeks.

The Institute welcomes individuals with a focused interest in addiction research and treatment, Master's and PhD students, NGO staff working on addiction-related issues, professionals in human services, practitioners, advocates and participants in other International School programmes.

Summer Institute Home Page

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Online Course - Drugs, Alcohol and Society

Course Title	Dates
JLS-303 N01L Drugs, Alcohol and Society	6/26/08-8/7/08
Instructor: Jeffrey Schaler

This course will examine the vailidity of ideas about addiction and their implications for public, social, clinical, and legal policy. In addition, it will examine in detail conflicting types of treatment for addiction, the efficacy of addiction treatment in general, First Amendment issues and court-ordered addiction treatment, criminal responsibility, Alcoholics Anonymous and religious-conversion experience, use of mind-altering drugs as religious activities and the ethics of attempts to protect people from themselves advanced by today's public health movement.

Distance Education at American University
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Change factors in depression and substance use treatment: a longitudinal integrative model
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 64 - 83


While psychotherapy efficacy has been largely supported, patient change processes across time are still less clear. This is specially true for complex clinical populations, such as dually diagnosed individuals.

A Latent Growth Model was tested to describe change in depression and substance use in patients from two Randomized Clinical Trials (RTCs). The model tested the impact of the alliance and four evidence-based change principles as predictors of symptomatic change during treatment and follow-up, in addition to advancing the premise that initial treatment matching to non-diagnostic patient characteristics improved the quality of the therapeutic alliance.

A good fit was found for a quadratic change function for both outcome measures, that is, symptoms decreased in a curve shape followed by a small increase. Full predictive models yielded acceptable fit. Patients high on subjective distress at treatment-entry benefited from affective-focused interventions in terms of their substance use. Matching patient coping style (externalizing vs. internalizing) with treatment focus (symptom change vs. insight-oriented) predicted a better alliance.

Effects of both relationship and interventions were found, as well as their interplay.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: carla.moleiro@iscte.pt
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Differences in mental health, substance use, and other problems among dual diagnosis patients attending psychiatric or substance misuse treatment services
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 54 - 63


The study investigates differences in dual diagnosis disorders among patients in psychiatric and in substance use treatment services.

Important clinical differences were found between dual diagnosis patients in psychiatry and substance use treatment services. Dual diagnosis patients in psychiatry services were more likely to have a psychotic illness: those in the inpatient psychiatry service had the most severe mental health problems, and were exposed to the greatest risks to their safety. Psychiatric outpatients were least likely to have an alcohol dependence disorder, although a high rate of drug use disorders (mainly involving cannabis) was found among the psychiatric inpatients. High rates of affective disorders and suicide risk were found among patients in all treatment services.

The term 'dual' diagnosis can be misleading. Dual diagnosis patients present with complex mental health, physical health, psychosocial disability, and safety needs, and the pattern of problems presented by dual diagnosis patients varies across different treatment services.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: v.manning@iop.kcl.ac.uk
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Treatment issues with substance use disorder clients who have mood or anxiety disorders
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 44 - 53



Co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders may complicate the impact of treatment. Oftentimes, substance treatment practitioners are not prepared to deal with both issues and may focus primarily on substance use disorders while the untreated mental health issues dilute treatment effectiveness. Research has yet to identify an effective treatment approach for clients with more severe substance use and less severe mental health problems.

To review the treatment literature and uncover the evidence base for clients who have more severe substance use and less severe mental health problems.

We identified 45 studies that met our criteria for inclusion and reviewed them for common themes and variations.

Based on this review of literature, the evidence supports concurrent or integrated treatment for clients with co-occurring substance use and mood or anxiety disorders. Substance treatment practitioners should anticipate that many of their clients have co-occurring disorders, screen for these, and plan on providing comprehensive treatment.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: james-a-hall@uiowa.edu

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When dual diagnosis means no diagnosis: co-occurring mental illness and problematic drug use in clients of alcohol and drug services in eastern metropolitan Melbourne
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 33 - 43


Most previous studies examining the prevalence of co-occurring psychiatric illness and problematic substance use in Australia have been population studies or focused on clients of psychiatric services. There is little literature on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in persons attending Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS).

This study attempted to estimate the incidence of mental health disorders in people treated at two ADS in Melbourne and to describe the mental disorders with which they present.

Psychiatric diagnoses were recorded in 42% of client records but rarely substantiated by further documentation. The most common diagnoses were mood disorders (31.5%). Only 4.9% clients were diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis. Personality disorders were not recorded. While 52.7% of clients were documented as receiving psychotropic medication (other than benzodiazepines), 29.3% of those had no documentation of a psychiatric diagnosis. Twenty-three per cent of clients had documented involvement with a Psychiatric Service.

An overall prevalence of 60% could be inferred by combining indicators from the records. Previous studies have suggested that recording of substance use in psychiatric histories is notoriously poor. This study indicates that the reverse is true, that is, psychiatric problems are poorly documented in ADS histories. Thus, the true prevalence of the problem is likely to be significantly underestimated.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: michael.cole@ausaid.gov.au
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The views of consumers and frontline workers regarding coordination among addiction and mental health services
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 21 - 32


Increasing co-ordination among addiction and mental health services is often recommended to improve service delivery for people with co-occurring addiction and mental health disorders.

Regarding their experiences in the addiction and mental health systems, and the development of a model of co-ordination in their community, this study compares the views of 16 consumers and 26 frontline workers to the current literature.

Consumers and frontline workers placed a higher priority on training workers and providing consumers with a welcoming place to go than on co-ordination. Consumers expressed concern about workers sharing client information. Consumers underscored the importance of peer support groups, and the formal system facilitating the development and maintenance of peer supports. Consumers offered suggestions for how the systems could more effectively obtain their input while frontline workers demonstrated disinterest in participating in planning initiatives.

Several of the findings are not reflected in the current literature. Funders and agencies might benefit from obtaining input from their local consumers and frontline workers as their views could influence the focus of community initiatives. Recommendations for future research are provided.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: kcalder@uwindsor.ca
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Dual diagnosis in inpatient physicians: prevalence and clinical characteristics
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 10 - 20



Despite evidence of dual diagnosis (DD) in impaired physicians, few studies have investigated its prevalence and clinical characteristics.

To assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of DD in a sample of inpatient physicians and to compare physician patients with DD to other inpatient physicians.

60 (20.6%) patients had DD, with the most common form of co-occurring disorders being alcohol dependence with mood disorder (46.4%). DD patients were more likely to be male. DD patients were more similar to patients with substance use disorders with regards to demographic variables and antisocial personality traits, but were more similar to patients with only a psychiatric disorder concerning severity and avoidant traits.

DD is a major cause of impairment in physicians and is associated with particular clinical and demographic characteristics. DD in physicians deserves attention to improve early detection, prevention and treatment strategies.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: 34598plp@comb.es
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Moving away from medicalised and partisan terminology: a contribution to the debate
Mental Health and Substance Use: dual diagnosis, Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 2 - 9



There is a growing awareness within both mental health and substance misuse services of the importance of co-existing problems. Clients with these co-existing problems impact upon a wide range of professionals, and often present major challenges due to their complex needs.

However, there is confusion about both terminology, and many of the underlying and treatment issues, related to these co-existing problems.

This paper examines some of these confusions and debates, arriving at the view that practice in the field will be enhanced by the adoption of a broad and inclusive definition of co-existing problems which avoids medicalised terminology such as 'dual diagnosis' or 'co-morbidity'. We argue that the term 'co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems' is consistent with a case formulation driven approach and adoption of this term will thus enhance practitioners' confidence in the detection, assessment and treatment of co-existing problems.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: r.d.b.velleman@bath.ac.uk
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ACUTE ALCOHOL INTOXICATION POTENTIATES NEUTROPHIL-MEDIATED INTESTINAL TISSUE DAMAGE AFTER BURN INJURY.
Shock. 29(3):377-383, March 2008.

This study examined whether acute alcohol (EtOH) intoxication before burn injury potentiates postburn intestinal tissue damage and whether neutrophils have any role in the damage under those conditions.

Male rats (~250 g) were gavaged with EtOH to achieve a blood EtOH level of approximately 100 mg/dL or with saline and received either approximately 12.5% or approximately 25% total body surface area (TBSA) burn or sham injury. Rats were killed at 4 or 24 h after injury, and various parameters were measured.

As compared with sham animals, burn injury alone (regardless of size) resulted in a significant increase in intestinal tissue myeloperoxidase (MPO; an index of neutrophil infiltration) activity and IL-18 levels 4 h after injury. Furthermore, rats receiving 25% TBSA, but not 12.5%, burn exhibited intestine edema. The IL-18 and MPO activity were normalized at 24 h after injury in rats receiving 12.5% TBSA burn, whereas these parameters remained elevated at 24 h in rats with 25% burn.

The presence of EtOH in rats at the time of burn injury exacerbated the levels of IL-18, MPO activity, and edema at 4 and 24 h after burn injury. Treatment of rats with anti-IL-18 antibodies or with antineutrophil antiserum prevented the increase in the above parameters after EtOH and burn injury, except that the depletion of neutrophils did not prevent the IL-18 increase.

In summary, these findings suggest that acute EtOH intoxication exacerbates postburn intestinal tissue damage after burn injury, and that it is, in part, neutrophil mediated.


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Reprint Request E-Mail: schwacha@uab.edu
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The Dose-Response Relationship of Adolescent Religious Activity and Substance Use: Variation Across Demographic Groups
Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 35, No. 1, 22-43 (2008)

This article addresses two inconsistent findings in the literature on adolescent religious activity (RA) and substance use: whether a dose-response relationship characterizes the association of these variables, and whether the association varies by grade, gender, ethnicity, family structure, school type, and type of substance.

Multinomial logistic regression analyses of a large, diverse data set of high school students in metropolitan Columbus, Ohio ( n = 33,007), found marked differences in alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use among youths who never, occasionally, or regularly participated in RA.

Weekly RA was consistently associated with less substance use, yet occasional RA sometimes was associated with greater use.

Four groups accounted for variations in the RA-substance use relationship: African American youths, younger White youths, 12th-grade White males, and 12th-grade White females.

Researchers should avoid assuming the RA-substance use relationship is dose-response and consider the implications of this complexity for theory and practice.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: steinman.13@osu.edu

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GLOBALIZATION AND HEALTH SESSIONS

American Public Health Association

135^th APHA Conference, Washington, DC Nov. 3-7, 2007

4289.0: Alcohol industry 101: Understanding the major players, Michele Simon, JD, MPH,

Michele Simon micheles@marininstitute.org

Download presentation ( Powerpoint)

Global Trade Events at APHA November 2007

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Quantitative chiral analysis of salsolinol in different brain regions of rats genetically predisposed to alcoholism
Journal of Chromatography B, Article in Press, Corrected Proof 17 Jan 2008


A method to determine the catecholamine content in putamen (CPU) and midbrain (MB) regions of the brain of alcohol-preferring rats (P) is presented with a focus on the low-level detection of S,R-salsolinol, a metabolite of dopamine and a putative alcoholism marker.

The developed strategy allows both quantitative profiling of related catecholamines and the enantiomeric separation and quantification of the S- and R-salsolinol isomers and their ratios. The described LC/MS strategy simplifies the current methodology that typically employs GC–MS by eliminating the need for derivatization.

The data also suggest an increase in the non-enzymatic formation of salsolinol as a consequence of ethanol exposure.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ymechref@indiana.edu
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The Price of Alcohol: A Consideration of Contextual Factors
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 30 (10) , 1734–1742


The current study considers the determinants of prices charged for alcoholic beverages by on-premise and off-premise outlets in Alaska.

Alcohol outlet densities, a surrogate measure for local retail competition, are expected to be negatively associated with prices while costs associated with distribution are expected to be positively related to prices. Community demographic and economic characteristics may affect observed local prices via the level of demand, retail costs borne by retailers, or the quality of brands offered for sale.

Outlet density per roadway mile was unrelated to price for both on- and off-premise establishments, either across or between beverage types. In contrast, overall distribution costs did appear to be related to alcohol price. The demographic and economic variables, as a group, were significantly related to observed prices.

More attention needs to be directed to the manner in which sellers and buyers behave relative to alcoholic beverages. Alcohol demand remains responsive to prices; yet, consumers have considerable latitude in determining the price that they pay for alcohol.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: andrew@prev.org

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Acute Alcohol Tolerance Is Intrinsic to the BK_Ca Protein, but Is Modulated by the Lipid Environment
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 8, 5090-5098, February 22, 2008


Ethanol tolerance, in which exposure leads to reduced sensitivity, is an important component of alcohol abuse and addiction. The molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood.

The BK_Ca channel plays a central role in the behavioral response to ethanol in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila .

In neurons, ethanol tolerance in BK_Ca channels has two components: a reduced number of membrane channels and decreased potentiation of the remaining channels .

Here, heterologous expression coupled with planar bilayer techniques examines two additional aspects of tolerance in human BK_Ca channels. 1) Is acute tolerance observed in a single channel protein complex within a lipid environment reduced to only two lipids? 2) Does lipid bilayer composition affect the appearance of acute tolerance?

We found that tolerance was observable in BK_Ca channels in membrane patches pulled from HEK cells and when they are placed into reconstituted 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylserine membranes. Furthermore, altering bilayer thickness by incorporating the channel into lipid mixtures of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine with phosphatidylcholines of increasing chain length, or with sphingomyelin, strongly affected the sensitivity of the channel, as well as the time course of the acute response.

Ethanol sensitivity changed from a strong potentiation in thin bilayers to inhibition in thick sphingomyelin/1,2-dioleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine bilayers.

Thus, tolerance can be an intrinsic property of the channel protein-lipid complex, and bilayer thickness plays an important role in shaping the pattern of response to ethanol. As a consequence of these findings the protein-lipid complex should be treated as a unit when studying ethanol action.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Steven.Treistman@umassmed.edu
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News Release - Researchers at Guze Symposium to explore links between alcohol and suicide

By Jim Dryden

Feb. 15, 2008 -- Experts in alcoholism and suicide from around the United States will present their research Feb. 21 at the 8th Annual Samuel B. Guze Symposium on Alcoholism at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This year's event focuses on "Alcohol, Suicide and Suicidality."
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Read Full News Release

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Association of Alcohol Dehydrogenase 2 and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Genotypes with Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels in Japanese Male and Female Workers
Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on January 23, 2008

The objective was to clarify the effect of alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotypes on the diabetic risk in Japanese workers.

In using two-way analysis of variance to manipulate ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes and alcohol intake (>70 g/week for men and >35 g/week for women), the FPG level after the adjustment for age, BMI, smoking habit, and another genotype was significantly higher in the men with ADH2^*1/1 genotype than in those with the other genotypes, but there was no significant difference in the FPG level between the men with and without ALDH2^*1/1 genotype.

In contrast, the women with ALDH2^*1/1 genotype had significantly lower FPG levels than those with the other genotypes, but there was no significant difference in the FPG level between the women with and without ADH2^*1/1 genotype. Also, a significant interaction between ethanol intake and ALDH2 genotypes was seen only in the women.

These findings suggest that genotypes of ADH2 and ALDH2 can modify the diabetic risk, irrespective of amounts of alcohol consumed. Also, there may be sex differences in the effect of these enzyme genotypes on glucose metabolism.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: winestem@med.akita-u.ac.jp

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Damping the Desire to Drink

By Greg Miller
ScienceNOW Daily News

14 February 2008

For some alcoholics, booze provides an addictive thrill. For others, alcohol is a balm for stress and anxiety. A new study identifies a drug that may be particularly effective for treating the latter group. The drug, which blocks receptors for a neurotransmitter involved in stress responses, substantially reduced cravings in a group of rehabilitating alcoholics.

The most widely used drug for treating alcoholism is naltrexone, which blocks feel-good opioid receptors in the brain. But recent research has found that naltrexone tends to work best for the roughly 20% of alcoholics who start drinking early--before age 25--and who get hooked on alcohol because of the kick they get from drinking, says Markus Heilig, a researcher at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, Maryland. The drug is less effective for the other 80% of alcoholics, who typically develop alcohol dependency later in life and drink mainly to relieve anxiety. Heilig and colleagues hypothesized that drugs that blunt stress responses in the brain might be more useful for treating this more common kind of addiction.

In a paper published online today in Science, the team describes experiments with a drug that blocks a receptor for substance P, a neurotransmitter involved in signaling pain and stress. The drug, known as LY686017, had proved safe in previous clinical trials for depression but hadn't been effective enough to continue development, Heilig says. The researchers selected 50 volunteers, all recovering alcoholics who'd scored high on a questionnaire that measures anxiety, and gave half a daily dose of LY686017; the other half got a placebo pill.

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Read Full News Release

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2006 Highlights: Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS)

This report presents summary results from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for 2006. The report provides information on the demographic and substance abuse characteristics of the 1.8 million annual admissions to treatment for abuse of alcohol and drugs in facilities that report to individual State administrative data systems [Table 1a].

This summary report is issued in advance of the full TEDS report for 1996-2006. It includes demographic data and all items from the TEDS Minimum Data Set. The full report also will include data from the Supplemental Data Set, State data, and State rates.
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Download Full Report (PDF)
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Neurokinin 1 Receptor Antagonism as a Possible Therapy for Alcoholism
Published Online February 14, 2008 Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1153813

Alcohol dependence is a major public health challenge in need of new treatments. As alcoholism evolves, stress systems in the brain play an increasing role in motivating continued alcohol use and relapse.

Here, we investigated the role of the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), a mediator of behavioral stress responses, in alcohol dependence and treatment.

In preclinical studies, mice genetically deficient in NK1R showed a marked decrease in voluntary alcohol consumption and had an increased sensitivity to the sedative effects of alcohol.

In a randomized controlled experimental study, we treated recently detoxified alcoholic inpatients with an NK1R antagonist (LY686017; n = 25) or placebo (n = 25).

LY686017 suppressed spontaneous alcohol cravings, improved overall wellbeing, blunted cravings induced by a challenge procedure, and attenuated concomitant cortisol responses. Brain functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to affective stimuli likewise suggested beneficial LY686017 effects.

Thus, as assessed by these surrogate markers of efficacy, NK1R antagonism warrants further investigation as a treatment target in alcoholism.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: markus.heilig@mail.nih.gov

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Drugs and Society in Africa
8TH BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Announcement & Call for Participation

The Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA), a leading non-profit organization devoted to research on psychoactive substance abuse and the prevention of substance-related health and social problems in Africa, announces its eighth biennial international conference. Researchers, health care professionals, policymakers, other experts and students interested in all issues related to alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs are invited to participate in this important conference.


Conference Announcement (DOC)
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Alcohol Group Pays $240,000 for Lobbying

Global Alcohol Producers Pays Akin Gump $240,000 in 2007 to Lobby World Health Organization

February 15, 2009

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - The Global Alcohol Producers Group paid Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld $240,000 in 2007 to lobby on alcohol-related issues at the World Health Organization.

The group spent $120,00 in the second half of 2007 to lobby the Washington-based WHO, according to a disclosure form posted online Tuesday by the Senate's public records office.

Global Alcohol Producers also paid Akin Gump $120,000 during the first six months of 2007 to lobby on the same issue.

Molson Coors Brewing Co., Constellation Brands Inc., Great Britain's SABMiller PLC, Japan's Asahi Breweries Ltd. and 12 other spirits companies are members of Global Alcohol Producers Group.

The trade group was formed to lobby the WHO as it prepared a report on ways to reduce alcohol-related injuries and deaths for the 2007 World Health Assembly.

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Read Full Article

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Alcohol Intake and Colorectal Cancer: A Comparison of Approaches for Including Repeated Measures of Alcohol Consumption.
Epidemiology. 19(2):258-264, March 2008.

In numerous studies, alcohol intake has been found to be positively associated with colorectal cancer risk. However, the majority of studies included only one exposure measurement, which may bias the results if long-term intake is relevant.

During follow-up, 868 members of the cohort experienced colorectal cancer. Baseline, updated, and cumulative average alcohol intakes were positively associated with colorectal cancer, with only minor differences among the approaches.

These results support moderately increased risk for intake >30 g/d and weaker increased risk for lower intake. The hazard ratio for baseline alcohol intake was 1.07 (95% confidence interval = 1.02-1.11) per 10 g/d increase, which was similar for updated and cumulative average alcohol intake.

Consistent moderate and high alcohol intake showed increased risk, and the relative risk decreased slightly with longer latency time. Alcohol frequency was positively associated with cancer risk among men with alcohol intake above 15 g/d.

Alcohol intake was positively associated with colorectal cancer, with minor differences among analytic approaches (which may be attributable to low intraindividual variation during follow-up).

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Request Reprint E-Mail: lct@niph.dk
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Drink giant's ads appear on YouTube... but it denies targeting teens
15th February 2008

Britain's biggest drinks firm is targeting young drinkers by placing commercials on YouTube - the website popular with teenagers.

Yet the boss of Diageo, which makes alcopop-style drinks such as Smirnoff Ice, insists it is not cashing in on the underage taste for alcohol.

Chief executive Paul Walsh yesterday denied claims from police that the drinks industry is to blame for Britain's binge-drinking culture.

However, the company later admitted using websites such as YouTube and MySpace, which have vast teenage audiences, to promote its best-selling alcopop.
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Read Full Article

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How stores pile alcohol high and sell it cheap 15th February 2008
15th February 2008


Supermarkets are selling alcohol at a loss to pull in customers.

They are offering shoppers savings worth millions, particularly around the time of sporting events and national holidays.

Evidence supplied to a Competition Commission inquiry suggests the big four - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - sold an estimated £100million worth of beer, wines and spirits below cost at the time of the World Cup in 2006.

Recent promotions of cheap lager and cider have brought down the cost of alcohol to below the prices charged for some bottled water.
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Read Full Article

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Drinks chief sceptical of tax on alcohol

By Alistair Gray
Published: February 15 2008

An increase in alcohol tax would do little to deter binge drinking, Diageo's chief executive said yesterday, amid rising concerns in the industry that the government will respond to campaign pressure by raising duty.
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Read Full Article

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Female drinkers also benefit from couples therapy

The latest in what family therapy experts have called an "impressive"¹ series of US studies on behavioural couples therapy for substance misuse found that the benefits extended to female drinkers. The approach differs from other family therapies in its focus on concretely changing behaviour so that the couple respond positively to each other, in particular so that every day the substance misuser’s partner rewards behaviour conducive to sobriety.

As previously documented in Findings (Nugget 10.2), the approach has benefited (both in terms of substance use problems and family life) men using alcohol, and men and women using primarily opiates or cocaine, but until this latest study had not been tested on female drinkers.
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Read Full Finding

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Predicting alcohol-related harms from licensed outlet density: A feasibility study

The overall aim of this feasibility study was to progress the development of an Australian model sensitive to local risk factors to help authorities determine appropriate liquor outlet densities for minimising alcohol-related harms within communities.

Download: Monograph_28.pdf

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Cut crime with drink tax, Gordon Brown told

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent

Last Updated: 1:21am GMT 15/02/2008

Alcohol should be made more expensive to cut down on violent crime, Gordon Brown's own advisers have suggested.

The Strategy Unit, which is part of the Cabinet Office, has also told him that increasing taxes on drinks would curb domestic violence and reduce traffic accidents and injuries in the workplace.

The recommendation is contained in a briefing paper. The unit's conclusions come amid growing political unease about the effects of cheap alcohol.

Shops selling lager more cheaply than water are fuelling violent crime and social disorder, a senior police officer said this week.

The 137-page report, entitled Achieving Culture Change: A Policy Framework was presented to Cabinet ministers last month.

The report says: "Alcohol consumption has been shown to be sensitive both to availability and price. Increasing the price of alcohol has the potential to reduce road accidents, work injuries, violent crime and abuse."

Ministers are studying the relationship between the price and consumption of alcohol, and are expected to report in the summer.
. . . . . .

Read Full Article
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Achieving Culture Change: A Policy Framework

This draft discussion paper looks at how government policy can be used to encourage particular courses of action and behaviour in cases where powerful cultural factors are at work. The traditional behaviour change approach has been to use a combination of incentives, legislation and regulation in an attempt to encourage and persuade the public into adopting different forms of behaviour.

However we know that these will be less effective at doing so where cultural factors – for example our attitudes, values, aspirations and sense of self–efficacy – are pointing in the opposite direction. This draft discussion paper sets out the state of knowledge about “culture change” and how this can be practically used to inform policy development. It is relevant to a wide range of government objectives, including educational attainment, social mobility and opportunity, healthy living, environmental sustainability, and maintaining thriving communities.

It was also recently discussed at a Strategy Unit lunchtime seminar, the slides from which are available below, together with the draft discussion paper.

• (Achieving) Culture Change: A Policy Framework [PDF 75KB, 7 pages]
• Achieving Culture Change (seminar) [PDF 74KB, 7 pages]

Read Strategic Work Area

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Prolactin response to fenfluramine in abstinent, alcohol-dependent patients
Addiction Biology Online Early 14 February 2008

It has been suggested that serotonin (5HT) function is abnormal in alcoholics even during abstinence. The prolactin response to fenfluramine (PRF) is generally believed to reflect the activity of the 5HT system and has been previously used to investigate 5HT activity in a variety of conditions, including alcoholism. The origin of the cortisol (CORT) response to fenfluramine is less clear.

The objectives of this paper are to examine the prolactin (PRL) and CORT response to dl-fenfluramine in a large cohort of males with alcohol dependence who had been abstinent for 3 weeks, and to compare this with an age-matched control group.

No significant difference was found in PRF between abstinent, alcoholic patients and controls (F = 2.7, d.f. = 1.115, P = 0.10). CORT response was significantly lower in abstinent alcoholics than in controls (F = 10.0, d.f. = 1.116, P = 0.002).

The results suggest no clear difference in 5HT function between abstinent alcoholics and healthy controls.

The reduced CORT response in abstinent alcoholics further supports evidence of hypofunction of the adrenocortical system in this group.

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A microdialysis study of extracellular levels of acamprosate and naltrexone in the rat brain following acute and repeated administration.
Addiction Biology 13 (1) , 70–79


Acamprosate and naltrexone are widely used in the treatment of alcoholism. However, numerous studies in rodents have shown differential effects of these compounds on alcohol consumption and/or relapse-like behavior following acute versus repeated administration.

In order to determine if these differential behavioral effects could be attributable to changes in extracellular levels of these compounds, we used in vivo microdialysis to monitor extracellular levels of acamprosate and naltrexone in the rat medial prefrontal cortex following acute and repeated intraperitoneal administration.

For acute treatment, animals received a single administration of acamprosate (100 or 300 mg/kg) or naltrexone (1 or 3 mg/kg). For repeated treatment, animals received once daily treatment with saline, acamprosate (300 mg/kg) or naltrexone (3 mg/kg) for 10 days before a subsequent challenge with the compound according to their respective pretreatment group.

Following acute administration, peak dialysate concentrations of each compound were dose-dependent, observed within 1 hour of administration, and were found to be in the low micromolar range for acamprosate and in the low to mid-nanomolar range for naltrexone.

Pretreatment with acamprosate, but not naltrexone, for 10 days resulted in higher dialysate concentrations of the compound relative to saline-pretreated controls.

Thus, repeated administration of acamprosate, but not naltrexone, results in augmented extracellular levels of the compound in the brain relative to saline-pretreated controls, which may explain the need for repeated administration of acamprosate in order to observe effects on alcohol consumption and/or relapse.

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Models and Signal Processing for an Implanted Ethanol Bio-Sensor
Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on, Volume: 55, Issue: 2, Part 1, pp. 6030613


The understanding of drinking patterns leading to alcoholism has been hindered by an inability to unobtrusively measure ethanol consumption over periods of weeks to months in the community environment.

An implantable ethanol sensor is under development using microelectromechanical systems technology. For safety and user acceptability issues, the sensor will be implanted subcutaneously and, therefore, measure peripheral-tissue ethanol concentration.

Determining ethanol consumption and kinetics in other compartments from the time course of peripheral-tissue ethanol concentration requires sophisticated signal processing based on detailed descriptions of the relevant physiology.

A statistical signal processing system based on detailed models of the physiology and using extended Kalman filtering and dynamic programming tools is described which can estimate the time series of ethanol concentration in blood, liver, and peripheral tissue and the time series of ethanol consumption based on peripheral-tissue ethanol concentration measurements.

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Alcohol losing out to drugs in addiction strategy, claims MSP

By IAN SWANSON
13 February 2008

SNP backbencher and former GP Ian McKee has called for a rethink of government policy linking drug and alcohol abuse.

The Lothians MSP believes Scotland's network of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams has led to a concentration on drugs at the expense of dealing with alcohol.

And he argues there is little logic in bracketing the two together after health chiefs estimated only around ten per cent of cases have both drug and alcohol problems.
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Hospitals treat 8,000 drunk children each year
By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Correspondent

13/02/2008

The number of school-age children needing medical treatment after binge drinking has soared by nearly 40 per cent in just six years.

New figures show 22 under-18s were admitted to hospital in England every day in the first full year after 24-hour drinking was introduced to pubs and bars.

The statistics come amid rising concern about the scale of alcohol abuse by teenagers.
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News Release - New work programme for NICE

Monday 11 February 2008 14:14
Department of Health (National)

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is being asked to develop new clinical and public health guidance as part of its 15th work programme.

The Institute's technology appraisal, clinical guideline and public health work programmes are referred by the Department of Health. Topics for referral include both new and emerging health technologies as well as drugs, devices and procedures that are already being used but there is variation in the way they are used.

Dawn Primarolo, the Minister with responsibility for Public Health and NICE said:

"This work programme shows the Government's continued commitment to ensuring that NICE tackles a wide range of issues that are important to the NHS and important to patients and their carers.

"NICE is being asked to produce guidance on severe mental illness in conjunction with substance misuse. We have also asked NICE to develop joint public health and clinical guidance on alcohol use disorders that will not only cover prevention and early identification but also initial management.

"As part of its technology appraisal programme, NICE will produce guidance on a number of new cancer drugs and a new drug for the treatment of venous thromboembolism."

The NHS is required to make drugs available throughout England and Wales where NICE advises that they are clinically and cost effective.

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Download New work programme for NICE (Text)
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