Author: Pekka Sulkunen (University of Helsinki)

In the introduction to the thematic issue Pekka Sulkunen argues for the relevance of integrating the social sciences into the addiction debate. He proposes the concept of 'geography' to overcome the difficulties in using 'national cultures' as a point of reference in comparative studies not only in the addiction field.

Smoking is a recently established risk factor for colon cancer. This study wants to explore the hypothesis that women may be more susceptible to smoking-attributed colon cancer than men as one of the possible explanations for the high colon cancer risk of Norwegian women.

Full title: Vested interests in addiction research and policy. Why do we not see the corporate interests of the alcohol industry as clearly as we see those of the tobacco industry?

Author: Sally Casswell

The aim of this publication is to compare the current status of global alcohol corporations with tobacco in terms of their role in global governance and to document the process by which this difference has been achieved and the consequences for alcohol control policy.

Author: Jonathan Gornall (freelance journalist)

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) published an in-depth article on the GAPA-WHO Statement of Concern issued on February 2013. This BMJ piece received a very positive supporting statement in the form of a rapid response from WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan, which you can see in the following link:

http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f1889?tab=responses

On October 8th 2012, thirteen of world’s largest alcohol producers issued a set of commitments to reduce the harmful use of alcohol worldwide, ostensibly in support of the World Health Organization’s 2010 Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.

The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), as an independent coalition of public health professionals, health scientists and NGO representatives, submitted a public Statement of Concern to the WHO Secretariat in response to the activities of the global alcohol producers. Discussions on industry involvement at the AMPHORA project final conference have contributed to this document.

Full title: The Relationship between Minimum Alcohol Prices, Outlet Densities and Alcohol Attributable Deaths in British Columbia, 2002 to 2009

Authors: Jinhui Zhao, Tim Stockwell, Gina Martin, Scott Macdonald, Kate Vallance, Andrew Treno, William R. Ponicki, Andrew Tu and Jane Buxton.

The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between periodic increases in minimum alcohol prices, changing densities of liquor stores and alcohol attributable (AA) deaths in British Columbia, Canada. The findings of this research show that increases in the minimum price of alcohol in British Columbia, Canada, between 2002 and 2009 were associated with immediate and delayed decreases in alcohol attributable mortality. By contrast, increases in the density of private liquor stores were associated with increases in alcohol attributable mortality.