Alcohol News - 1/2023

YLE News (Finland) - Report: Alcohol abuse a "big problem" in Finland, main cause of preventable deaths
Alcohol was found to be the biggest cause of preventable deaths in 15 welfare regions across Finland, suicide was the biggest factor in 5 regions and ischemic heart disease in three.
Read more

BBC (United Arab Emirates) - Dubai scraps 30% alcohol tax and licence fee in apparent bid to boost tourism
Dubai has scrapped its 30% alcohol tax in an apparent bid to boost tourism. It will also stop charging for personal alcohol licences - something residents who want to drink at home must have.
Read more

National Observer (Canada) - Canada should resolve to make alcohol more expensive in 2023
If you’re like millions of holidayed-out Canadians, you’re probably planning to cut back on your alcohol consumption this month. This is an unalloyed good given the numerous health benefits associated with reducing or eliminating the consumption of alcohol.
Read more

Economy Next (Sri Lanka) - Sri Lanka hikes excise duty on alcohol by 20-pct
Sri Lanka has increased the excise duty on liquor by 20 percent and will go in to effect from midnight today, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.
Read more

GOV.uk (UK) - Christmas and New Year’s booze ban for 1,800 alcohol-tagged offenders
Around 1,800 offenders are wearing alcohol tags over the festive period as part of the government’s drive to protect the public from drink-fuelled crime.
Read more

Washington Post (USA) - The Pandemic Drinking Binge Just Keeps Going
The arrival of Covid-19 and the societal disruptions that accompanied it understandably drove a lot of Americans to drink.
Read more

Independent.ie (Ireland) - Calls for laws protecting children from alcohol marketing amid claims Diageo is number four advertiser to Ireland’s children
Alcohol Action Ireland is calling for legislation to protect children from “harmful alcohol marketing practices” to be commenced.
Read more

The Guardian (France) - ‘A trend is starting’: France leading way in alcohol-free drinks boom
When Nicole, a retired executive assistant, began preparing her new year get-togethers with family and friends, her first purchase was an artisan bottle of French alcohol-free gin.
Read more

NBC News (USA) - Resolved to cut drinking in the new year? How government can help
Many Americans will attempt a Dry January or make a New Year’s resolution to cut back on drinking for the longer term. Those who succeed can benefit in various ways, including reduced calorie consumption, better sleep, improved brain health and lowered risk of being injured in a fall or other accident.
Read more

The Age - Somewhere between sober and a drinking problem: Why I need Dry January
You wake dry-mouthed, with a dull drumming behind your eyes. What happened last night? Did your friend catch that passive-aggressive dig you made, or are you inventing an expression their face didn’t make?
Read more

University of Helsinki - Early prenatal alcohol exposure affects genes involved in embryonic development
Alcohol exposure in early pregnancy can change gene function during the tightly regulated embryonic development, and consequently cause developmental disorders - especially neurodevelopmental disorders.
Read more

The Times of India (India) - Addiction to alcohol cannot be equated with unsound mind: Supreme Court
Upholding the conviction and life imprisonment sentence to a man who killed his two minor sons in 2009 in the national capital, the SC on Wednesday rejected his defence that he was was of unsound mind being a habitual drunkard, and said that addiction to alcohol cannot be equated with unsound mind to escape prosecution in a criminal case.
Read more

WHO Europe - No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health
The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well documented. The World Health Organization has now published a statement in The Lancet Public Health: when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.
Read more

The Lancet Public Health - Health and cancer risks associated with low levels of alcohol consumption
As such, no safe amount of alcohol consumption for cancers and health can be established. Alcohol consumers should be objectively informed about the risks of cancer and other health conditions associated with alcohol consumption.
Read more

The Lancet Public Health - Effect of alcohol during pregnancy: a public health issue
Alcohol is a known teratogen and associated with a range of adverse outcomes for pregnant women and children exposed in utero.
Read more

Politico (USA) - Alcohol abuse spiked during the pandemic. Treatment hasn’t kept up.
As states locked down in 2020, many of them moved to help restaurants and small businesses by making it easier to sell booze.
Read more

Nordic Welfare Centre - Alcohol and drug prevention in the Nordic countries – A conference report
In a world where drug use is on the rise and new variants are frequently discovered and produced, the need for effective prevention is stronger than ever.
Read more

Capital Daily - ‘One drink is the same mortality risk as one cigarette,’ UVic researcher says
“People generally think alcohol is benign like food and soft drinks except it's more fun,” said Tim Stockwell, founding director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at UVic.
Read more

NordAN (Sweden) - Lower risk of alcohol disorders in top footballers but only from 1960s onwards
Elite male football players have a lower risk of alcohol and drug related disorders than men from the general population, but this protective effect was seen only for those who first played in the 1960s and later, not for players from earlier eras, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ.
Read more