Suchergebnisse

Zusammenfassung: Durch die Legalisierung ergeben sich zahlreiche Chancen, aber auch Unsicherheiten in Bezug auf Schadensminderung. Die Chancen liegen unter anderem in der verbesserten Aufklärung über gesundheitliche Risiken und in der Früherkennung von riskantem Cannabiskonsum. Weiterhin können die durch die Repression verursachten, umfangreichen Schäden durch die Legalisierung zu einem großen Teil reduziert bzw. verhindert werden. Schließlich sollten Instrumente wie THC-Mindestpreis und THC-gekoppelte Besteuerung, sowie Beschränkungen der Verkaufslizenzen und der Verkaufszeiten und -orte genutzt werden, um den Konsum zu steuern und Schäden zu minimieren. Größere Unsicherheiten bestehen insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit der Kommerzialisierung der Märkte sowie in der Regulierung des Eigenanbaus. Zusammenfassend ist zu erwarten, dass durch eine sorgfältige Regulierung die individuellen und gesellschaftlichen cannabisbedingten Schäden reduziert werden können.

Abstract: Aim: Exploring trends in 1) alcohol-specific mortality and 2) alcohol sales in European countries in the years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Complete data on alcohol-specific mortality and alcohol sales were obtained for 14 European countries (13 EU countries and UK) for the years 2010 to 2020, with six countries having mortality data available up to 2021. Age-standardised mortality rates were calculated and descriptive statistics used. Results: When compared to 2019, alcohol-specific mortality rates in 2020 increased by 7.7 % and 8.2 % for women and men, respectively. Increases in alcohol-specific mortality were seen in the majority of countries and continued in 2021. In contrast, alcohol sales declined by an average of 5.0 %. Conclusion: Despite a drop in alcohol consumption, more people died due to alcohol-specific causes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

Zusammenfassung: Zielsetzung: Ausgehend von der Veröffentlichung der dritten Ausgabe des Buchs "Alkohol: Kein gewöhnliches Konsumgut" haben die Autor_innen die Umsetzung kosteneffektiver alkoholpolitischer Maßnahmen in Deutschland bewertet. Methodik: Aktuelle gesetzliche Regelungen und Praktiken zu Maßnahmen aus vier Bereichen wurden gesichtet: (1) Preispolitische Maßnahmen; (2) Regulation der Verfügbarkeit alkoholischer Getränke; (3) Beschränkungen des Alkoholmarketings; sowie (4) Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von Alkohol am Steuer. Ergebnisse: Die Verbrauchssteuern auf alkoholische Getränke sind im europäischen Vergleich eher gering und führen zu keiner nennenswerten Reduktion der Erschwinglichkeit von Alkohol. Alkoholische Getränke können mit nur wenigen Ausnahmen rund um die Uhr und in unterschiedlichen Verkaufsstätten (z. B. in Supermärkten oder Tankstellen) erworben werden. Beschränkungen im Alkoholmarketing gibt es nur im Bereich Jugendschutz und sind auf die Abwendung von Darstellungen eines "missbräuchlichen" Konsums beschränkt. Empfohlene Maßnahmen gegen Alkohol am Steuer sind weitestgehend umgesetzt. Schlussfolgerungen: Kosteneffektive alkoholpolitische Maßnahmen, die die alkoholbedingte Krankheitslast in Deutschland substantiell reduzieren könnten, sind in Deutschland unzureichend implementiert.

Background: From a public health perspective, alcohol taxation should be designed to reduce alcohol affordability and thus alcohol consumption and related harms. Objectives: In this brief report, we estimate alcohol affordability in European Union Member States and associated countries and investigate whether affordability is related to national alcohol excise duties. Method: Beverage-specific affordability for beer, wine, and spirits were estimated based on the number of standard drinks a household could purchase based on their median monthly disposable household income in 2020. To determine the pooled affordability of alcohol, the beverage-specific estimates were weighted by the share of the beverage-specific per capita consumption in total recorded consumption. Pearson and Spearman rank correlations were calculated to establish the association between alcohol affordability and alcohol excise duty rates. All data were retrieved from official sources. Results: On average, a European household can purchase 1,628 standard drinks of alcohol with its monthly income, with affordability being highest in Germany, Austria, France, and Luxembourg. The affordability of spirits, but not that of beer or wine, was inversely correlated with the beverage-specific excise duty rates. Conclusions: Alcohol is affordable in the Member States of the European Union and associated countries, and low levels of excise duties on beer and wine appear to be unrelated to their affordability. Alcohol taxes should be increased to effectively reduce the affordability of alcoholic beverages in order to lower the alcohol-related health burden in Europe.

Analyzing the activity data of 2007 Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) members in Barcelona between 2017 and 2020 we describe the demographics, the amounts of cannabis collected (.46 g/day amongst men; .37 for woman) and the relationships established with the CSCs: frequency of procurement (every 15.4 days for woman; 11.6 days for men); and membership length (mean 657.3 days). An 80% of members were men (mean 36.1 years old). Women, older adults, and those registered as medical users had generally longer memberships than the average despite the frequencies and the amounts procured by them tended to be lower compared to young recreational male members. The daily amount used rose from an estimated general average of .44 g, to an estimated 1.41–4.76 g collected by a 5% of CSC members. Beyond providing small amounts of cannabis, CSCs are mainly used as socializing spaces for people who use cannabis.

Alcohol use has been identified in major United Nations (UN) initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Non-Communicable Disease Action Plan, as a major contributor to the global burden of disease. As a result, levels of alcohol use serve as an official indicator of progress towards these UN-set goals. Given current trends, UN targets for reduced alcohol consumption are unlikely to be met. Moreover, in many countries, especially in low- and middle-income countries, the alcohol-attributable burden of disease continues to increase. Pressure will need to be exerted on national and international decision-makers to arrive at more powerful and normatively persuasive instruments, such as a treaty.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Stigma towards alcohol-related conditions is more pronounced than stigma against any other mental illness and has remained high throughout past decades. Although alcohol consumption is a known and persistent contributor to the burden of disease and interpersonal threat and may thus shape public attitudes towards consumption, no study to date has provided an overview of the prevalence of alcohol stigma and its association with (a) alcohol consumption and (b) harm attributable to alcohol across Europe. As a social reaction to thresholds of accepted use of alcohol, stigma could impact consumption, resulting in a reduced quantity or at least less harmful drinking patterns. This contribution provides an initial overview by addressing the following research questions. (i) What are the country-level prevalence rates of alcohol stigma compared across European countries? (ii) Is alcohol stigma associated with (a) alcohol consumption and (b) alcohol-attributable harm? (iii) Is there an association between alcohol stigma and alcohol consumption by type of beverage? <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We combined data on country-level desire for social distance towards "heavy drinkers" (European Values Survey, operationalization of "alcohol stigma") with indicators of alcohol consumption, including adult per capita consumption (APC), heavy episodic drinking, consumption by type of beverage (wine, beer, spirits), and harm attributable to alcohol, namely age-standardized disability-adjusted life years lost to alcohol consumption (AADALYs) for 28 countries. Linear regression models were applied<i>.</i> <b><i>Results:</i></b> (i) Social distance varied noticeably across countries (M = 62.9%, SD = 16.3%) in a range of 28.3% and 87.3%. (ii) APC was significantly positive related to social distance (β = 0.55, <i>p</i> = 0.004). (iii) Wine consumption was significantly negative related to social distance; the opposite was true for spirits consumption. No association was found for beer consumption<i>.</i> The best model fit was achieved with APC (β = 0.48, <i>p</i> = 0.002) and wine per capita consumption (β = −0.55, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) explaining 57.0% (adjusted <i>R</i>²) of the variance in social distance. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our study shows a strong relationship between country-level alcohol stigma and alcohol consumption. If stigma was to deter people from harmful alcohol consumption, it would be expected that higher levels of alcohol stigma are associated with lower levels of overall alcohol consumption or consumption of spirits in particular. Instead, stigma seems to be a reaction to harmful drinking patterns without changing these patterns for the better.

Abstract: Aims: Due to large inconsistencies in previous studies, it remains unclear how alcohol use is related to health care utilization. The aim of this study was to examine associations between alcohol drinking status with utilization of outpatient and inpatient health care services in Germany. Methodology: Survey data of the GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS study with n = 23,561 German adults were analyzed (response rate: 27 %). Respondents were categorized as lifetime abstainers, former drinkers, and non-weekly drinkers, as well as weekly low-risk drinkers and risky drinkers. Outpatient services included GP, specialist, and hospital visits; inpatient services included hospital overnight stays in the last 12 months. For both settings, binary logistic regression models were applied, adjusted for possible confounders. Results: For specialist visits, elevated odds were found among former drinkers (odds ratio (OR) = 1.93, 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) = 1.50-2.49), non-weekly drinkers (OR = 1.24, 95 % CI = 1.05-1.47), weekly low-risk drinkers (OR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.17-1.67), and risky drinkers (OR = 1.28, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.57) compared to lifetime abstainers. In contrast, lower odds for inpatient service use were found among non-weekly drinkers (OR = 0.76, 95 % CI = 0.62-0.93), low-risk drinkers (OR = 0.66, 95 % CI = 0.53-0.81), and risky drinkers (OR = 0.65, 95 % CI = 0.51-0.84). No differences were observed for GP and outpatient hospital visits. Conclusions: While the increased odds of consulting a specialist are consistent with higher health care needs among former and current drinkers, the lower use of inpatient care among current drinkers is contrary to known health risks associated with alcohol consumption and evidence from hospitalized populations. The findings also highlight the need to differentiate between lifetime abstainers and former drinkers in their use of health services.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The year 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy responses to COVID-19 affected social and economic life and the availability of alcohol. Previous research has shown an overall small decrease in alcohol use in Denmark in the first months of the pandemic. The present paper focused on identifying which subgroups of individuals had decreased or increased their consumption. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> Data were collected between May and July 2020 (<i>n</i> = 2,566 respondents, convenience sample). Weights were applied to reflect the actual Danish general population. Variables included the pre-pandemic alcohol consumption, change in alcohol consumption in the past month, socio-demographics, and reported economic consequences. Responses to a single item assessing changes in alcohol consumption in the past month were classified as no change, increase, or decrease in consumption. Regression models investigated how changes in consumption were linked to pre-pandemic drinking levels, socio-demographics (gender, age groups, education), and reported economic consequences. <b><i>Results:</i></b> While 39% of participants reported decreased consumption levels and 34% had stable levels, 27% increased consumption. Characteristics associated with changes in consumption were associated with both increases and decreases in consumption: younger people, those with higher consumption levels before the pandemic, and those with lower education more often both reported increases as well as decreases in consumption. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusions:</i></b> We confirmed that more people decreased rather than increased their alcohol consumption in the first few months of the pandemic in Denmark. Characteristics associated with changes in consumption such as younger age, higher consumption levels, and lower education demonstrated a polarization of drinking since these were associated with both increases and decreases in consumption. Public health authorities should monitor alcohol use and other health behaviours for increased risks during the pandemic.

Zusammenfassung. Zielsetzung: Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war, die Veränderung des Alkoholkonsums während der SARS-CoV-2 Pandemie in Deutschland zu untersuchen und mit derer anderer europäischer Länder zu vergleichen. Methodik: Analyse von soziodemographischen und sozioökonomischen Daten sowie Angaben zur Veränderung des Alkoholkonsums seit der Pandemie in einer europaweiten Onlinebefragung (n=40.064) aus 21 Ländern. Zur Anpassung an die Bevölkerungsverteilung in den Ländern erfolgte eine Gewichtung anhand von Geschlecht, Alter und Bildungsabschluss. Ergebnisse: Seit Beginn der Pandemie wurde im Mittel weniger Alkohol getrunken. Der Rückgang des Konsums ist vor allem auf eine Reduktion der Gelegenheiten zum Rauschtrinken zurückzuführen. Der Alkoholkonsum ist in Deutschland weniger stark als in anderen Europäischen Ländern zurückgegangen. Gründe dafür sind Zunahmen im Alkoholkonsum bei Frauen sowie bei Personen, die negative Auswirkungen in Beruf und Finanzen erlebt haben und bei Personen mit riskanten Konsummustern. Schlussfolgerungen: Um den negativen Folgen des in Teilgruppen verstärkten Alkoholkonsums während der Pandemie entgegenzuwirken, sollte die Verfügbarkeit von Alkohol durch eine sinnvolle Besteuerung reduziert sowie eine Ausweitung routinemäßiger Alkoholscreenings in der allgemeinärztlichen Versorgung umgesetzt werden.