Alcohol News - 7/2021

Sante Publique France (France) - Modelling the number of avoidable new cancer cases in France attributable to alcohol consumption by following official recommendations: a simulation study
This simulation study of the French general population predicted that perfect adherence to the French government's alcohol consumption guidelines (no more than 10 standard alcoholic drinks per week and two per day) would prevent almost 16,000 cancer cases per year.
Read more

The Conversation (Nigeria) - Alcohol use is worryingly high among Nigerian students: here’s who is most at risk
In most parts of Nigeria, there’s very little control over the sale and distribution of alcohol. It’s available in small and portable packaging and people of any age can buy it. It’s not uncommon for bars to be situated near schools.
Read more

Business Tech (South Africa) - Cape Town moves ahead with new alcohol laws
Western Cape premier Alan Winde says that the province plans to introduce further regulations around the sale of alcohol in an effort to curb abuse.
Read more

BBC News (UK) - Covid: Worries about parents' drug and alcohol use soar
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of children needing help because their parents are misusing drugs and alcohol, a charity says.
Read more

BBC News - 'My mum was an alcoholic and it was a massive secret'
Growing up with a parent who has a drinking problem can profoundly affect children in many ways. Children of alcoholics are more likely to suffer from depression, struggle in school, and experience abuse and violence at home. Many find that they are still deeply affected by their parent's drinking as adults - like Becky Ellis Hamilton.
Read more

CNY Central - CNY doctor sees significant increase in liver disease patients related to alcohol abuse
Since the pandemic shutdowns started in March, hospitals have seen an increase in patients with liver disease by as much as 50 percent, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Read more

The Scotsman (Scotland) - Coronavirus in Scotland: Alcohol sales drop during pandemic but concerns over increase in ‘home alone’ drinking
While alcohol consumption as a whole reduced, charities raised concerns about increases among those who were already drinking more heavily.
Read more

The Print - Alcohol abuse can change male DNA for three months after stopping, says NIMHANS study
Excessive consumption of alcohol, resulting in alcohol use disorder (AUD), alters DNA in men, and these changes can persist for at least three months during both complete withdrawal and reduction in consumption, suggests a new study from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.
Read more

CITY - Mental health disorders and alcohol misuse more common in LGB people
Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are significantly more likely to have mental health conditions and report alcohol and drug misuse than heterosexual people according to a new study.
Read more

University of Sheffield - New study reveals how the first lockdown impacted alcohol consumption
A new report from the University of Sheffield has revealed the impact the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic has had on alcohol consumption in Scotland and England.
Read more

The BMJ - Ian Hamilton: Alcohol related deaths are on the rise, but we remain a nation in denial
The UK is stuck in a deadly catch-22 where access to help for alcohol addiction is harder, while people drinking at hazardous levels have increased their consumption, writes Ian Hamilton.
Read more

Broadview Magazine - More older women are drinking too much. A new sobriety movement aims to help
I could never stop at just one. I always had at least two glasses of red wine. Often three. Sometimes four. Occasionally I could polish off an entire bottle in an evening. How did it come to this?
Read more

SurvivorNet - Should Every Bottle of Alcohol Carry a Cancer Warning? The New Push From Major Public Health Organizations
With so many sheltering in place at home worldwide during the pandemic, people are drinking at home more than they otherwise might; health organizations want Congress to act: By putting cancer warning on alcohol labels. Medscape reported the news, writing: “The proposal is outlined in a Citizen Petition issued to the Treasury department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau.”
Read more

Movendi International - African, European Communities Denounce European Union External Action Collusion with Big Alcohol, Make 3 Requests for Change
We are community-based and civil society groups from Africa, Europe and around the world and we wish to express our deep concern about revelations that the European Union External Action is encouraging and even part-funding the alcohol industry to interfere in public policy making of a sovereign country, in this particular case South Africa.
Read more

SHAAP - Alcohol monopolies
Scotland has made progress in reducing harm from alcohol and an important part of that approach has been attention to regulating the price, availability and marketing of alcohol, known as the World Health Organization's ‘Best Buys’.
Read more

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs - Partners or Opponents? Alcohol Industry Strategy and the 2016 Revision of the U.K. Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines
The present case adds new insights into the political strategies of alcohol industry actors to undermine public health, providing evidence of confrontational tactics. It draws attention to the failure of self-regulatory regimes to incorporate basic public health messaging.
Read more

Alcohol Research Group (USA) - CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES TO LET YOUNG WOMEN KNOW ALCOHOL CAUSES BREAST CANCER
Seventy-five percent of women are unaware that drinking alcohol increases their risk of developing breast cancer, yet in the United States, there are approximately 19,000 cases of alcohol-attributable breast cancer each year.
Read more