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California Assembly Committee Delivers 2nd Punch to Powdered Alcohol

April 6, 2016

 
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On April 6th, the second of two state bills to ban powdered alcohol in California have been passed by the Assembly Committee on Government Organization (GO)

AB 1554, and an identical measure in the Senate (SB 819 - authored by Senator Bob Huff, R- Diamond Bar), will create a comprehensive pre-emptive stop to a chilling litany of health and safety concerns associated with powdered or crystalline alcohol. The bills will prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, offer for sale, distribution, manufacture, or use of powdered alcohol and would make the violation of these provisions punishable with a fine.

AB 1554 passed by unanimous vote with no opposition in the GO Committee and will now move through one more committee before being voted upon by the full Assembly. In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee will review SB 819, Senator Huff’s powdered alcohol ban bill, on Monday April 11. That bill passed through the Senate GO Committee on a unanimous vote early last month.

As of March 2016, thirty states have enacted bans on powdered and/or crystalline alcohol with legislation or regulatory administrative action. An additional 9 states have introduced legislation to ban powdered alcohol since the beginning of the year: California, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

View the full press release here: http://bit.ly/23eoTuS

To TAKE ACTION: http://bit.ly/1x1qvbT



Malaysia Increases Alcohol Tax by 10%

March 30, 2016

 
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After over a decade since the last revision, the alcohol tax is Malaysia is set to increase by at least 10%. Malaysia currently has the third highest alcohol tax worldwide. Increasing alcohol taxes and prices on alcohol beverages is an effective, inexpensive, public health strategy for reducing alcohol-related harm and excessive consumption.

A 10% increase in alcohol prices would lead to 3-10% decreases in societal alcohol consumption.

For more information on the best practices for reducing alcohol related harm, see our fact sheets below:

Raising Alcohol Taxes Reduces Harm

Increasing Alcohol Taxes - Reality vs. Industry Myths





Alcohol Ads on Public Transit: Can They Be Stopped?

March 14, 2016

 
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A robust panel discussion led by Alcohol Justice's Bruce Lee Livingston will take place at the Alcohol Policy 17 Conference in Arlington, VA on Friday April 8, 2016.

The panel will include:

Bruce Livingston, MPP
Alcohol Justice

Robert Pezzolesi, MPH
New York Alcohol Policy Alliance

Michael Siegel, PhD
Boston University School of Public Health

Diane Riibe, Moderator
U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance

Model laws exist in San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia to ban advertising on public transit. Currently 19 major transit agencies in the nation do not allow alcohol advertising. New York City’s Public Transit and the City of Chicago still allow alcohol advertising that is viewed by millions of children every school day. Other transit agencies continually backslide, for example, a recent attempt at the DC Metro system. Success is much more difficult where state governments have primary authority, such as in New York and Massachusetts.

This panel includes researchers and advocates from throughout the country who will gather together to compare notes and share strategies. A sustained effort from 2006 to 2010 in the San Francisco Bay Area drove alcohol ads off of BARTand MUNI. An effort in Los Angeles from 2010 to 2015 ended with a City of Los Angeles ordinance that ends alcohol ads on city buses, benches, and bus stops. Boston advocates have been mostly successful through long-term efforts, while a New York City effort has begun, highlighted at BAAFT.org.

The panelists will look at the national research in Alcohol Justice’s 2013 report, “These Bus Ads Don’t Stop for Children.” The following questions will be up for discussion: Can local efforts be coordinated nationally? Are there state or federal transportation funding handles for organizing? How is the cost-benefit for the public integrated into the transit agency calculations, if at all? How can the agencies be better tracked? Can communities control alcohol ads on other public property, such as airports, train stations, and sports venues?

For more info & to register for AP 17: http://www.alcoholpolicyconference.org/