Alcohol

All states and territories have made it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter or higher. Despite these laws, nearly 12,000 people nationwide during 2008 were killed in crashes involving drivers or motorcycle riders with BACs of .08 or higher. That would be equal to about 30 jumbo jets crashing each year.

Congressmen Jack Kingston and Gene Taylor introduced H.R. Bill 5958, which would allow military personnel who are 18 and on active duty to purchase and drink beer and wine at certain locations on military installations. CADCA sent a letter to Congressmen Kingston and Taylor expressing its concerns with the bill and urged them to reconsider moving forward with this legislation.

Youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines declined by 48 percent between 2001 and 2008, according to a new study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Marin Institute reported this week that Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MI), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have joined forces in a recent letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calling on the agency to make public its findings from an investigation into possible health risks posed by energy drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine.

When the surgeon general talked, Roanoke coalition members listened. And, they implemented. And, they changed.

Binge-drinking teenagers may be putting themselves at risk for future osteoporosis and bone fractures, according to researchers at Loyola University Health System. The new study found binge drinking disrupts genes involved in the bone formation of rats. The study is published in the July-August issue of the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

On the same New Mexican desert grounds where today's space-age missiles are tested, 10,000-year-old arrowheads have been found and the city of Hatch is known as the "Green Chile capital of the world." Unfortunately, New Mexico has long ranked among the states with the highest per capita number of alcohol-related crashes, with Native Americans and Hispanics having higher-than-average rates. But this is changing due to a host of policy and environmental approaches.

While heavy student drinking has been implicated in recent disturbances and tragedies on college campuses, few schools and communities have united successfully in curbing alcohol access, a new study suggests. Researchers noted that most colleges are not implementing community-based approaches, which have been found to be effective in reducing college drinking. The study was reported in Health Behavior News Service.
 

Guam's Acting Governor Dr. Mike Cruz today signed into law the Ramon Oberiano Act which raises the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. The measure, which takes effect immediately, has been dubbed a success by coalitions in Guam which played a major role in getting the measure passed.

College students are more likely to drink and drive after they reach the legal drinking age of 21, according to researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

Retailer TJ Maxx acted swiftly to remove a series of drinking games from stores shelves after a Boston Globe reporter spotted the games and contacted the parent company asking why games titled "Drink Like a Fish" and "Drink Til You Drop" were on display next to graduation gifts.

July 4th falls on a Sunday this year, giving families a three-day weekend to celebrate, which also means that more people will be on the roads. Coalitions can play a big role in helping to prevent impaired driving and underage drinking through environmental strategies, social norming activities and by working with local police on enforcement activities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed a 4th of July Impaired Driving Prevention Planner to help community organizations plan their prevention efforts.

A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments were 11 percent higher during the Memorial Day weekend than they are on an average day.

With slogans some say are more memorable than their food such as "Yo quiero Taco Bell" and "Think Outside the Bun," Southern California-based fast food chain Taco Bell may have unknowingly created their most indelible campaign with two new summer beverages.