This week: US Treasury backs mandatory labelling; Alcohol policy may slip down the agenda, experts warn; Alcohol found to cut booster antibodies. Important issues first raised 150 years ago are still not resolved
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau should “revive or initiate rulemaking” for ingredient labeling and mandatory information on alcohol content, nutritional content and serving sizes, said a US Treasury report this week. It was part of a report on the consolidation which has seen two brewers expand to take over 60% of alcohol revenue.
The decline in youth drinking could mean policy-makers “turn their attention to other problems”, while public health advocates “struggle to justify proposed interventions and existing policies erode over time”, warn experts in a new paper.
In a social media post Alcohol Review acknowledged the danger but argued the prospects would be far better if there is recognition of the dysfunctional nature of self-regulation, the principle block on a cycle of positive change in the UK and elsewhere.
Asked about the impact of a proposed tax reform on surging alcohol deaths during the covid crisis a minister said, “A tax information and impact note will be published following the consultation when the policy is final, or near final.”
The levels of antibodies for the covid virus after booster shots were 15% lower on average in people who drink alcohol than in those who do not, found a study from the International University of Health and Welfare in Japan.
The world of the Temperance movement is almost unrecognisable, but the effort to square commercial freedom and other freedoms continues. And we have yet to implement a democratic regulatory mechanism.
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