A University of York academic has come up with a policy paper that calls for limits on the influence of the drinks industry in shaping alcohol policy because it has a 'fundamental conflict of interest'.
The article by Professor Jim McCambridge, of the Department of Health Sciences at York and academics at King's College London and the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, is published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
Alcohol Exacerbates Skin Diseases and Psoriasis
Alcohol can damage skin causing rosacea, porphyria cutanea tarda, post-adolescent acne, discoid eczema and psoriasis.
Advertisement
It says the concept of harm reduction has been co-opted by industry interests in public health debates about reducing the damage caused by alcohol. The paper argues for a redefinition of the concept of alcohol harm reduction to include the full range of evidence-based measures that reduce alcohol damage to public health and society.
Professor McCambridge and colleagues say the concept of harm reduction has been important in advancing science, policy and practice for illicit drug use, particularly as a vehicle for more enlightened responses to injecting drug use and HIV.
![Alcohol With Energy Drinks - The Bad Mix]( "Alcohol With Energy Drinks - The Bad Mix")
Youngsters around the world are combining alcohol with energy drinks. Studies show that consuming this combination could have severe health impacts.
They point out that the drinks industry favours a policy of reducing harm by means other than people cutting their alcohol consumption - an approach that is unlikely to meet its stated objective.
Professor McCambridge said: "The ability of the alcohol industry to shape alcohol policy nationally and globally needs to be curtailed because of a fundamental conflict of interest with reducing alcohol harms."
The paper states that a "simplistic transfer of definitions of harm reduction from drugs to alcohol weakens society's ability to reduce the scale of the alcohol problem and protect public health. It is thus important to expose the limitations of the alcohol industry-favored definition. Instead we offer a simpler definition of harm reduction which gets to the heart of the matter. Put simply, if a policy or program reduces harms or problems, then it is harm reduction."
Source: Eurekalert
Alcohol With Energy Drinks - The Bad Mix
Youngsters around the world are combining alcohol with energy drinks. Studies show that consuming this combination could have severe health impacts.
Advertisement
They point out that the drinks industry favours a policy of reducing harm by means other than people cutting their alcohol consumption - an approach that is unlikely to meet its stated objective.
Professor McCambridge said: "The ability of the alcohol industry to shape alcohol policy nationally and globally needs to be curtailed because of a fundamental conflict of interest with reducing alcohol harms."
The paper states that a "simplistic transfer of definitions of harm reduction from drugs to alcohol weakens society's ability to reduce the scale of the alcohol problem and protect public health. It is thus important to expose the limitations of the alcohol industry-favored definition. Instead we offer a simpler definition of harm reduction which gets to the heart of the matter. Put simply, if a policy or program reduces harms or problems, then it is harm reduction."
Source: Eurekalert
Alcohol Indulgence Affects Your Muscle Building
If you are looking to build muscle, understand that enjoying too much of alcohol can also take a serious toll on your muscle growth.
Advertisement
 Alcohol Reduces the Risk of Kidney CancerA recent large study among women who drank alcohol has shown that alcohol intake reduces the risk of kidney or renal cell cancer. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Alcohol & Drug Abuse News
If teenagers' binge drinking strikes neurons off, the brain cells may not be able to execute their function properly, even if the alcohol consumption stops.
A new study analyses Whether treatment support can optimize nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking faster, using biomarker nicotine metabolite ratio.
The genetic risk scores developed was found to be helpful in preventing and treating alcohol addiction.
The percentage of caregivers prescribing buprenorphine increased faster after the Medicaid reforms implementation.
New study examined whether metabolic syndrome could be a reason for increased mortality from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) despite declining alcohol use.