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Archive for the ‘General Alcohol News’ Category

Recent data suggests that teenage girls are drinking more than boys, and for more serious reasons. The results came from the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study which surveys teen attitudes and behaviors. The number of girls who are drinking rose from 53 percent to 59 percent whereas boys stayed around 52 percent. The rise in teenage girls drinking may be affected by the rise in alco-pops that are available. Girls also admitted to drinking as a way to handle their problems whereas boys drink for more social reasons. This may be because teenage girls are more attuned to their feelings, or are just more willing to admit their emotions than boys.

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Scientists recently announced that drinking during pregnancy can result in lower sperm counts for sons. The study was conducted in Denmark. More than 20 years ago 12,000 pregnant women answered questionnaires about their health and lifestyle. Researchers tracked down 347 adult sons (18-21) of those women and tested their blood and semen. Sperm concentrations were 32 percent lower for sons whose mothers drank 4 to 5 alcoholic beverages a week during the pregnancy. Dr. Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, lead study author, also acknowledged that more research is needed to confirm these study results as it was just an observational study.

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A healthy tea is being removed from stores to undergo alcohol testing. Kombucha was found to be over the legal limit. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau say a product must be below 0.5 percent alcohol by volume to be labeled as non-alcoholic. The tea was taken off of shelves so that it may be tested and can be correctly labeled. The tea tested the correct levels before it left the factory and natural fermentation that may have occurred after the tea was shipped to the stores is being considered as a reason for the increased alcohol levels.

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Results of a survey found that 39 percent of parents plan to provide their teenagers with alcohol for summer break if asked. The survey of 1,000 was done by the charity Drinkware. In the survey parents had said that they prefer their children get alcohol from them rather than somewhere else. There are concerns that the parents behavior has contributed to a rise in teenage drinking.

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The State of Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) enforces and maintains the integrity of the alcohol and gambling industries. As part of that ongoing enforcement, the Retail Alcohol Vendor Enforcement (RAVE) began as a pilot program specific to Anoka County in September 2008. RAVE has since been met with such an overwhelming positive response from both the law enforcement and licensed beverage communities that it has expanded to include Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties.

The RAVE program focuses on better educating liquor licensees in an effort to stop the service of alcohol to obviously intoxicated persons and reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic crashes and DWI arrests. When violations of state liquor statutes are found, enforcement is primarily handled by using a civil administrative process instead of traditional criminal sanctions.

The RAVE program supports the DPS-sponsored NightCAP and Safe & Sober impaired driving enforcement campaigns by making in-person contact with licensed liquor establishments during the enforcement periods. AGED agents advise on the RAVE program and provide educational material which includes posters, coasters, cocktail napkins, and a pamphlet explaining Minnesota’s liquor laws. AGED agents also use the opportunities to specifically answer any questions from liquor license employees, offer server training assistance and review the Responsibility of the Licensee and Sales to Obviously Intoxicated Persons statutes which state:

340A.501 Responsibility of Licensee. Every licensee is responsible for the conduct in the licensed establishment and; any sale of alcoholic beverage by any employee authorized to sell alcoholic beverages in the establishment is the act of the licensee for the purposes of all provisions of this chapter except section 340A.701, 340A.702 and 340A.703.

340A.502 Sales to Obviously Intoxicated Persons. No person may sell, give, furnish or in any way procure for another an alcoholic beverage for the use of an obviously intoxicated person.

Additionally, AGED agents attend NightCAP and Safe & Sober briefings at which they request law enforcement officers to notify AGED agents of any DWI arrest where the driver has had a alcohol concentration of 0.16 or more; any DWI arrest involving a property damage or personal injury accident; and/or any alcohol-related arrest or incident involving an underage person, where the arrested person has indicated to have last consumed alcohol at a specific establishment in the NightCAP and/or Safe & Sober area.

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The new Four Loko drink is being called “liquid cocaine” as it it the equivalent to 3 or 4 beers mixed with a ton of caffeine. Fans like the drink because it gives them an alert-but-relaxed feeling but experts say it is risky to combine alcohol and caffeine. The Wall Street Journal reported that Attorneys general in Connecticut, New York, California and other states are investigating the potential health risks of the beverage and the marketing practices behind it. The dangers of mixing caffeine with alcohol are well-known, but still community organizers, politicians and medical experts are speaking out against the drink.

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The Nielsen company revealed at its Consumer 360 Conference that though the economy may be experiencing an upswing U.S. consumers are still being careful about how they spend their money on alcohol beverage. Their research suggests that a significant percentage of consumers have “traded down“, go out less and spend less money on alcohol beverage purchases, and that these consumers will probably not revert back to their previous spending. Spending the night in has become the new “night out” and there is little to indicate that that will change. Millenials (21-34) have indicated that they will trade back up. Nielsen’s research suggests that Alcohol beverage companies need to develop new methods to deal with consumers whose trading down habits are more entrenched.

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A beer company has been accused of conducting ‘ambush marketing’ during the Netherlands vs. Denmark World Cup match. Criminal charges have been filed against a Dutch beer company. They were charged with an offence under the Contravention of Merchandise Marks act, as they tried to benefit from the event without paying for advertising. FIFA has claimed that the company has a” long history of trying ambush marketing tactics at sports events.”

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