Eurocare Updates

During an OECD Health Ministerial meeting in Paris on 7-8th October, ministers will discuss how to enhance quality, reduce waste and promote healthy lifestyles.

Copenhagen and Moscow, 13 September 2010. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Commission have adopted a joint declaration to strengthen policy dialogue and technical cooperation on public health.

The umbrella term, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), describes the consequences that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy.

7 September 2010. The restriction of hours and points of sale of alcoholic beverages is an effective means of prevention a study by Addiction-Info Switzerland shows.

Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) 3 September 2010 -- The sixtieth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa ended on Friday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, after adopting five resolutions aimed at improving the health situation in the African Region including a strategy on the reduction of the harmful use of alcohol.

Russian duties on cigarettes are among the lowest in Europe, nevertheless it did not stop the Russian Finance Minister to urge the public to smoke and drink more.

The European Commission's Communication on alcohol, and the WHO framework for alcohol policy – Analysis to guide development of national alcohol action plans.

01 September 2010 -- A study published today in the scientific journal Addiction argues that privatising Sweden's government monopoly on the sale of alcohol will significantly increase alcohol-related violence and other harms. Depending on the type of privatisation, experts predict that total alcohol consumption in Sweden will increase by 17 - 37%, with thousands more alcohol-related deaths, assaults, and drunk driving offences per year and up to 11 million more days of sick leave.

Russians drink about 18 litres of pure alcohol a year[1] (which is equivalent of 38 litres of vodka), a habit that kills half a million people a year and is a major factor in population decline. An estimated 51% of production is on the black market, with factories running illegal night shifts and huge supplies of moonshine called samogon distilled in villages, where it acts as a second currency.

Today, August 17, the Danish company Carlsberg published their result of the first half of 2010, which shows a dramatic increase from 2.8 billion Danish krone in first half of 2009 to 4,5 billion Danish krone in first half of 2010.