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• Marin Hosts Town Hall Meeting on the $38 Billion CA Alcohol Problems Drain Annually
  The Marin Institute held a news conference and town hall meeting to release the disturbing findings of its landmark report, 'The Annual Catastrophe of Alcohol in CA.'
• Britain Could Consider Curbs on Alcohol Promotion
  Public health officials in England have warned establishments that sell alcohol that their lackluster performance on voluntary guidelines to restrict alcohol promotions could lead to tougher laws on sales.
• Massachusetts May Lift Restriction on Alcohol Sales on Golf Courses
  Massachusetts soon may cease being one of only two states that prohibits golfers from purchasing alcoholic beverages on golf course grounds.
• Family Meals Have Greater Protective Effect on Girls
  University of Minnesota researchers have found that while middle-school girls who share regular family meals see beneficial effects throughout their teenage years on substance-using behaviors, boys do not experience the same effects from a regular family presence at the dinner table.
• Baseball Star's Story a Home Run for Addiction Treatment
  As exemplified by MLB Slugger Josh Hamilton, individuals who have drug addictions can become productive citizens, if given the chance.
• Loud Music in Bars Encourages Heavier, Faster Drinking
  Shedding further light on the relationship between music and drinking behavior, a study from French researchers has found that loud music played in bars appears to encourage patrons to drink more and faster.
• University Will Welcome New Students with Alcohol Lessons
  New students arriving at the University of Virginia this summer have the option to participate in the university's first-ever orientation session devoted specifically to alcohol abuse.
• Adults Provided Free Alcohol to 40 Percent of Underage Drinkers, SAMHSA Report Finds
  Adults over the age of 21, including a substantial number of parents and guardians, are contributing to the underage drinking phenomenon by supplying free alcohol to young people.
• Anheuser-Busch Says Sale Will Not Slow Sports Marketing
  Executives at Anheuser-Busch say they do not expect the beer maker's aggressive sports marketing and sponsorships to be affected by Belgian company InBev SA's takeover of the brewer.
• British Authorities Credit Health Messages for Drop in Youth Drug Use Rates
  Department of Health leaders in England are attributing decreases in drug experimentation rates among the nation's young teenagers to a well-financed campaign on drugs' dangers.
• AA Members Remain Highly Reliant on Coffee, Cigarettes
  The coffee pot and the cigarette remain prevalent symbols in the 12-Step recovery moment, although some theorize that use of cigarettes may pose a risk to recovery outcomes for members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
• Youth Urge Nebraskans to Take Action on Alcopops
  Two youth-led news conferences are planned to urge the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to properly classify flavored alcoholic beverages, or alcopops, as distilled spirits according to state statute.
• Long Fight to Regulate Alcopops Faces Key Hearing in Nebraska
  A Nebraska youth alcohol-prevention group has been grappling with state lawmakers, regulators and the alcohol industry for years to get alcopops classified as liquor, not beer, and the rollercoaster process will make a key stop on July 31 as the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission will hold a hearing on the classification issue.
• London Officials Ask Retailers Not to Sell Alcohol to Customers Under Age 21
  Facing an epidemic of youth binge drinking, the mayor of London and other officials are backing a call for supermarkets and other "off-license" alcohol retailers to refrain from selling beer, wine and liquor to customers under age 21.
• SABMiller Website Includes Info on Drunk Driving, Binge Drinking
  A new website launched by multinational brewery company SABMiller features experts talking about a wide range of alcohol-related subjects, including drunk driving, binge drinking, health and parenting.
• U.K. Health Official Wants Zero Tolerance for Alcohol Use by Young Drivers
  Drivers ages 17 to 20 should not be allowed to legally operate motor vehicles with any detectable level of alcohol in their bodies, according to Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer in England.
• Anheuser-Busch Agrees to InBev Buyout
  The largest brewer in the U.S., iconic Anheuser-Busch, will sell out to Belgian rival InBev for $52 billion.
• Study Says Bingeing Worse at Colleges with Big Drinking Culture, Lax Rules
  The college environment plays a key role in student binge drinking, researchers say, with bingeing rates higher at schools that have a strong drinking culture, few alcohol-control policies, weak enforcement, and easy access to alcohol.
• Underage Overconsumption of Alcohol Targeted in France
  French youth are not demurely sipping wine in Paris cafes: rather, experts say, they are drinking more like their U.S. counterparts and bingeing with the intention of getting drunk.
• New Report Details Innovative Ways to Help Teens Struggling with Drugs, Alcohol and Crime
  In this national fellowship report, project directors from the first 10 Reclaiming Futures sites share the lessons they learned in creating and implementing a model for helping teens in trouble overcome drugs, alcohol and crime.
• Early Drinking Initiation and Illicit Drug Use
  The earlier a person begins drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to have ever used other drugs illicitly, according to an analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey.
• FTC Supports Self-Regulation of Alcohol Industry Ads
  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that 92 percent of alcohol advertising meets the industry's self-imposed threshold on limiting underage exposure to beer, wine and liquor ads and urged that the industry expand self-regulation standards to event sponsorships as well as TV and Internet ads.
• Men, Women Get Different Benefits, Risks from Drinking
  A large study of alcohol use by men and women shows that gender plays a large role in the health benefits and risks associated with drinking.
• Almost Half of Hawaiian Bars, Restaurants Serve Drinks to Underage Customers
  Far more bars and restaurants in Honolulu, Hawaii served alcohol to minors in recent sting operations than had in 2006.
• U.K. Docs Want Graphic Warnings on Alcohol Packages
  Alcoholic beverages should feature the same kind of graphic images and warnings found on tobacco products, according to members of the British Medical Association.
• Depression Tied to Quitting Drinking
  A new animal study concludes that ending even moderate alcohol consumption can raise the risk of depression and inhibit the brain's ability to produce new neurons by reducing the number of neural stem cells.
• Wisconsin is State Most Affected by Alcohol, Analysis Shows
  A state-by-state comparison by a Wisconsin newspaper concluded that the Badger State is the most deeply affected by alcohol use in the U.S.
• Rising Alcohol Abuse Seen Among Returning Veterans
  Veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars are increasingly turning to alcohol when they return home to cope with the lingering stress of their combat experiences, sometimes with tragic consequences.
• Games Contribute to Youths Drinking Themselves to Death
  An analysis of federal records shows that 157 college-age individuals drank themselves to death between 1999 and 2005, and a separate analysis of news reports showed that many of the victims were extremely intoxicated.
• Conn. AG Attacks Kid-Friendly Rating for Beer Pong Video Game
  The Nintendo Wii version of the popular college drinking game Beer Pong has received a "T" rating -- meaning it is suitable for children over age 13 -- prompting criticism from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
• InBev Calls on Busch Shareholders to Oust Board
  Seeking a hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch, Belgian brewery conglomerate InBev NV is calling on company shareholders to vote in a new board of directors that would be more receptive to its buyout offer.
• Association of Recovery Schools Annual Conference: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
  The 7th annual conference of the Association of Recovery Schools will be held July 25-27, 2008, in Nashville, TN.
• Marin to Host Town Hall Meeting on Catastrophic Costs of Alcohol in CA
  The Marin Institute is holding a press conference and town hall meeting to release its groundbreaking report, "The Annual Catastrophe of Alcohol in CA," on July 23, 2008, in Los Angeles.
• Brazil Cracks Down on Drunk Driving
  Brazil, where 45 percent of the 36,000 annual traffic deaths are alcohol-related, has imposed tough new penalties on drunk driving.
• Decline in Traffic Deaths Credited to Drinking-Age Laws
  Raising the legal drinking age to 21 resulted in an 11-percent decrease in the number of drunk teenagers involved in fatal car crashes, according to new research from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).
• Miller Won't Drop Alcoholic Energy Drinks
  Miller Brewing Company officials say they have no plans to pull the Sparks alcoholic energy drink from store shelves or even to review the marketing strategy for the product.
• Califano Urges NCAA to Ban All Beer and Alcohol Ads at Broadcast Events
  In a letter dated July 1, 2008, Joseph A. Califano, Jr. Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, urged the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to eliminate all beer and alcohol advertising at NCAA broadcast events.
• 23 Vodka Shots Kills Fla. Man
  A Florida man who drank at least 23 shots of vodka mixed with Red Bull energy drink in about 30 minutes quickly collapsed and later died.
• Medication Key to Alcoholism Treatment Success, Study Suggests
  Alcohol-dependent individuals who consistently took prescribed medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms and craving had better treatment outcomes than those who didn't take their medication, even among patients receiving behavioral counseling, researchers say.
• 8th Annual Conference for New England Drug Court Judges, Professionals
  The 8th annual conference of the New England Association of Drug Court Professionals, will be held October 20-21, 2007 at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
• Belgian Buyout Offer Rejected by Busch
  Belgian brewer InBev's $46-billion bid to buy out Anheuser-Busch was rejected by the St. Louis based company's board, but InBev may be poised to up its offer to A-B shareholders and launch a hostile takeover.
• Anheuser-Busch Will Stop Selling Alcoholic Energy Drinks
  Leading U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch has agreed to stop selling energy drinks containing alcohol in response to an investigation by a group of state attorneys general and threatened litigation by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
• 40 Percent of Young Drinkers Say Adults Supplied the Booze
  About half of U.S. youths under age 21 have consumed alcohol, and of these 40 percent said that they got their drinks for free from an adult during the past month, a new survey finds.
• Supreme Court Slashes Damages Award in Exxon Valdez Case
  The most catastrophic "drunk driving" case in U.S. history ended with a whimper this week as the U.S. Supreme Court slashed the punitive-damages award in the 1989 Exxon Valdez case from $2.5 billion to $507.5 million.
• SAMHSA Study Reveals Local Patterns of Addiction, Mental Illness
  Thanks to its large Mormon population Utah has long been considered the nation's most sober state -- the church bars members from alcohol and tobacco use -- but a new study shows that the Salt Lake City area has one of the highest rates of prescription-drug abuse in the U.S.
• Happy Hour Popular with Workers But Fraught with Peril
  Meeting coworkers for after-hours drinks is popular but also a minefield of personal and professional pitfalls, according to a new survey.
• Binge Drinking Seen as Trendy, Researchers Say
  Social networking and fashionable trends may help explain the recent rise in binge drinking, British researchers say.
• Anheuser-Busch Wants to Give Away More Valuable Gifts
  Anheuser-Busch is backing legislation in California that would allow beer companies to give away gifts valued up to $5 each, rather than the .25-cent cap now imposed in the state.
• Youths Exposed to More Alcohol Ads in 2007
  Youths ages 12-20 were exposed to an average of 301 TV ads for alcoholic beverages last year, up from 216 in 2001.
• Delaware Considers Raising Alcohol Tax
  Facing a $217-million budget shortfall, Delaware lawmakers are considering an increase in the state's alcohol tax among a series of proposed remedies for the state's fiscal crisis.