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DEADLY DRINKING
Vodka consumption is one of the main
reasons why a quarter of Russian men die
before the age of 55, according to a study
of more than 150,000 people over the
course of a decade by the Russian Cancer
Research Centre, WHO and the University of
Oxford. 'Russian death rates have
fluctuated wildly over the past 30 years as
alcohol restrictions and social stability
varied under presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin,
and Putin, and the main thing driving these
wild fluctuations in death was vodka,' said
Professor Sir Richard Peto of Oxford
University.
Alcohol and mortality in Russia:
prospective observational study of 151,000
adults at www.thelancet.com
METH MESSAGE
Although methamphetamine remains a
‘minor player’ on the European drug scene,
it has the potential to cause ‘significant’
harm ‘even at a relatively low prevalence’,
according to a new report from EMCDDA.
While there are longer-term entrenched
patterns of methamphetamine use in the
Czech Republic and Slovakia, increased
rates of use are also being reported in
Germany, Latvia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus,
says
Exploring methamphetamine trends in
Europe
. ‘New injection trends’ among groups
of gay men in London and elsewhere (
DDN
,
April 2013, page 6) is also a ‘phenomenon
that requires close monitoring’, it states.
Report at www.emcdda.europa.eu
HOME GROWN
More needs to be done to address the
growing problem of domestic drug
consumption in Afghanistan, according to
UNODC. The country saw a record opium
crop last year (
DDN
, December 2013, page
5) and now has more than a million opiate
addicts, a ‘national tragedy’ according to
UNODC executive director Yury Fedotov. ‘For
too long the threats of illicit drugs, crime
and corruption have been neglected in
efforts to shore up the security and stability
of Afghanistan,’ he said. ‘We need to
ensure that these issues are made national
priorities.’
DRY DAYS
Nearly 17,500 people signed up for last
month’s Dry January, says Alcohol Concern
– four times as many as the previous year.
‘Many participants are telling us through
social media that this month has been a
life changing experience for them,’ said the
charity’s director of campaigns, Emily
Robinson. ‘They’ve had lightbulb moments
about the way they drink and why. We’re
incredibly proud to be able to help people
make changes which we hope will have a
lasting, positive impact for them.’
Legislation banning the sale of below-cost alcohol is to come into
force in April, subject to Parliamentary approval, the government
has announced.
The Home Office has issued guidance on the ban, which was first
announced last summer following a consultation on the government’s
alcohol strategy (
DDN
, August 2013, page 4). The announcement
angered many health campaigners who had instead wanted to see a
minimum price per unit of alcohol.
Below-cost sales bans are seen as an unsatisfactory compromise
by organisations calling for a minimum unit price, as well as
unnecessarily difficult to calculate. ‘Cost’ is defined as ‘the level of
alcohol duty for a product plus value added tax payable on the duty
element of the product price’, says the guidance. According to the
document, a 440ml can of 4 per cent lager could not be sold for less
than 41p, or a 9 per cent can for less than £1.16. A 70cl bottle of 37.5
per cent vodka, meanwhile, would cost at least £8.89 and a 750ml
bottle of 12.5 per cent wine £2.41.
The government’s response to its alcohol strategy consultation also
dropped plans to ban multi-buy promotions, and businesses will still be
able to offer ‘buy one get one free’ deals as long as the total purchase
price ‘is not below the aggregate of the duty plus VAT permitted price
for each product comprised in the package’. The ban will be enforced
by local authorities, trading standards officers and the police, although
the guidance recommends that ‘enforcement officers only check the
prices of heavily discounted alcohol products’ rather than all alcohol on
sale at the premises.
‘The idea that banning below-cost sales will help tackle our problem
with alcohol is laughable,’ said Alcohol Concern chief executive Eric
Appleby. ‘It’s confusing and close to impossible to implement. On top
of this, reports show it would have an impact on just 1 per cent of
alcohol products sold in shops and supermarkets, leaving untouched
most of those drinks that are so blatantly targeted at young people.
The government is wasting time when international evidence shows
that minimum unit pricing is what we need to save lives and cut crime.’
Guidance on banning the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty plus
VAT: for suppliers of alcohol and enforcement authorities in England and
Wales at www.gov.uk
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| February 2014
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News |
Round-up
NEWS IN BRIEF
Government bans
below-cost alcohol sales
KEEP WATCHING:
The ‘devastating costs’ of the
current approach to drug control – in ‘lives lost to
violence, people subjected to long prison terms,
barriers to health, harm to families and
communities, and damage to the rule of law’ – are
continuing to mount, says Human Rights Watch’s
World report 2014
. ‘It is time to chart a new course,’
says the organisation, which last year adopted a
policy calling on governments to look at alternative
approaches to the drug trade, including the
decriminalisation of personal use and possession.
Document at www.hrw.org
‘The idea that
banning below-
cost sales will
help tackle our
problem with
alcohol is
laughable.’
ERIC APPLEBY