Authors: M. Petticrew, N. Douglas, P. D’Souza, Y.M. Shi, M.A. Durand, C. Knai, E. Eastmure, N. Mays Title: Community Alcohol Partnerships with the alcohol industry: what is their purpose and are they effective in reducing alcohol harms? Journal: Journal of Public Health, pp. 1–16, doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdw139 Abstract: Background:  Local initiatives to reduce alcohol harms are common. One Read More →

Research suggest that YouTube music videos promote positive associations with alcohol use. In the study “F*ck It! Let’s Get to Drinking—Poison our Livers!”: a Thematic Analysis of Alcohol Content in Contemporary YouTube Music Videos, researchers examine and describe the portrayal of alcohol content in popular YouTube music videos. This study shows that several alcohol companies adopt marketing strategies Read More →

Recent research by Witteman et al (2015) has indicated that the presence of alcohol cues such as the portrayal of the drug and drinking behaviour induced physiological cue reactivity and craving in alcohol dependence through a conditioned appetitive response. The study “Cue reactivity and its relation to craving and relapse in alcohol dependence: a combined laboratory Read More →

Authors: Jurriaan Witteman, Hans Post, Mika Tarvainen, Avalon de Bruijn, Elizabeth De Sousa Fernandes Perna, Johannes G. Ramaekers & Reinout W. Wiers Title: Cue reactivity and its relation to craving and relapse in alcohol dependence: a combined laboratory and field study Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2015, 232(20): 3685–3696. Abstract: The present study investigated the nature of physiological cue Read More →

Authors: Gallopel-Morvan,Spilka, Mutatayi, Rigaud, Lecas & Beck Title: France’s Évin Law on the control of alcohol advertising: content, effectiveness and limitations Journal: Addiction, 2016, 10.1111/add.13431. Abstract: Aims: To assess the effectiveness of the 2015 version of the French Évin Law that was implemented in 1991 with the objective of protecting young people from alcohol advertising. Design: Data were Read More →

The more brand-specific alcohol advertising that young drinkers are exposed to, the higher their consumption of those brands, according to a new study led by researchers from the School of Public Health and School of Medicine. The study, in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, found an association between past-year exposure to advertising, measured Read More →

In recent years the Dutch government gave  a € 6.6 million grant to Heineken for so-called development aid in Africa. Prime Minister Rutte praised Heineken in September 2015 during a speech to the UN, because of the purchase of beer barley from local farmers in Africa.

Research journalists of the Dutch television-program Zembla studied the impact of the € 1.3 million grant Heineken received from the Dutch government for the acquisition of two state breweries in Ethiopia.

Who benefited? The advantage for Heineken is obvious: net sales rose sharply and the company now controls 30% of the Ethiopian beer market. But that does not apply to the Ethiopian government: Heineken currently pays – despite increased sales – less income tax than before the acquisition in 2011. In addition, Heineken also paid much less wage tax. That’s because since the acquisition of the two breweries, 699 Ethiopians were fired by Heineken.

The impact on poverty in the country and on the beer barley farmers who participate is unclear. The latter have a higher yield and a better price, but may only supply the breweries of Heineken. An expert of the IMF judges the results of the Dutch policy as a lose-lose-win situation. A loss for the Ethiopian treasury, a loss for the personnel of the breweries and a win for Heineken.

Source: Zembla.vara.nl via our colleagues at STAP the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy.

Alcohol-content-based taxation or minimum unit pricing (MUP) are both predicted to reduce health inequalities more than taxation based on product value (ad valorem taxes) or alcohol tax increases under the current system (excise duty plus value added tax) in England, according to research published this week in PLOS Medicine. Petra Meier of the University of Read More →

Author: Nathan Critchlow, Crawford Moodie, Linda Bauld, Adrian Bonner & Gerard Hastings Title: Awareness of, and participation with, digital alcohol marketing, and the association with frequency of high episodic drinking among young adults Journal: Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy (2015): 1-9 Abstract Aims: To explore the association between awareness of traditional and digital marketing, participation Read More →

Since the end of August 2015, the European Commission has held a public consultation to determine whether and how the directive around taxes on alcoholic beverages should be adopted to reduce fraud and abuse. The consultation is closing November 27th. The consultation of the Committee is part of the “Better Regulation” agenda, through which the Read More →