Alcohol News - 31/2023

Euronews (France) - France loses more money from tobacco and alcohol use than it gains in taxes, new report says
A new report has found that the cost to public finances related to alcohol and tobacco use exceeds any money the state gains from taxes on those products.
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Ministry of Health (New Zealand) - Pregnancy warning labels required on alcoholic drinks
Packaged alcoholic drinks produced from today will need to carry a warning label that alcohol can cause harm to unborn babies. “New Zealand Food Safety wants to support pregnant people to be able to make the right health choice for themselves and their babies,” said New Zealand Food Safety deputy-director general Vincent Arbuckle.
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News Medical (USA) - Are there sex-based differences in the contemporary burden and trends of alcohol-related mortality in the US?
In a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, a group of researchers analyzed the trends and disparities in alcohol-related mortality in the United States (US) from 1999 to 2020, considering factors like sex, age, race, ethnicity, and geographic region.
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Nutrition Insight - Does alcohol cause hypertension? Study finds even low consumption heightens blood pressure
A study with 19,548 participants across the US, Japan and Korea has found adverse health effects of drinking alcohol regularly as blood pressure increases over the years, even for those not suffering from hypertension.
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IAS (UK) - Alcohol duty reform commences today
The alcohol duty reform, which sees duty based on the strength of products, starts today and coincides with an increase in duty rates. There will be a temporary 18-month easement period in which all wines of strength 11.5-14.5% will use an assumed strength of 12.5%.
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IAS Blog - Keeping up with Alcohol Brand Promotion: How ‘The Kardashians’ use reality TV to promote their alcohol business interests
In October 2022, season 2 of ‘The Kardashians’ started to receive press attention due to the amount of branding for Kardashian family-owned businesses in the programme, with many viewers complaining due to the amount of alcohol promotion occurring in the show [15], particularly in regard to Kendall Jenner’s (one of the family members) tequila brand, ‘818’.
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ADF - Minimum unit pricing vs ‘big alcohol’ profits
We’ve previously written about how the alcohol industry, or ‘big alcohol’, uses tactics to downplay the health risks of drinking. They do this because the industry wouldn’t sell as much alcohol if drinking levels decreased.
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Time - What Prohibition Can Teach Us About Drug and Alcohol Policy Today
It’s widely understood today that drinking while pregnant is harmful for the fetus. But the link between alcohol and the health of infants wasn’t as well known in the 1930s, when prohibition was repealed in the U.S. and all sorts of people, pregnant women included, began drinking again.
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NordAN (Norway) - Empowering local politics with IOGT Norway's alcohol prevention campaign
In light of the upcoming local elections in Norway, scheduled for 11th September 2023, IOGT Norway aims to encourage and guide individuals passionate about making a difference in their community's alcohol policy. They provide resources for a safer local environment, focused on alcohol prevention and raising awareness.
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NordAN - Effective alcohol policy advocacy across political ideologies
In the complex sphere of alcohol policy advocacy, we consistently engage in a quest armed with scientifically-backed evidence and data, aiming to manifest a positive societal change. The clarity of our mission is unquestionable, as is our commitment. However, have we given due attention to the nuances of political ideologies that play a crucial role in determining policy outcomes?
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