Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

News and Notes

2003; Wiley; Volume: 99; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00647.x

1360-0443

Susan Savva,

Wine Industry and Tourism

Deregulation of the Japanese retail alcohol sector moves towards completion, says a report (3 September 2003) in the English language version of Asahi Shimbun online. Under new rules introduced last September, taxation offices nationwide began to receive applications for liquor licenses by a host of companies from discount stores to DIY shops. The product development and marketing teams have gone into full swing—Sapporo Breweries Limited, for example, has produced a miniature bottle of wine priced at just 100 yen (under $1.00) especially for sale in pizza delivery outlets, while a video rental chain exhorts customers to ‘relax with a video and a favourite beverage’. In common with many other industrialized countries, the controls on retail sales have been loosening steadily in Japan over the past few years. Prior to 1998, licenses were limited strictly to one store per 1500 people in major urban areas, one per 1000 in large regional cities and one per 750 in rural areas. In 2001 the government began to grant licenses to stores regardless of their distance from other liquor outlets, and the following year saw population-based regulations dismantled entirely. With the latest relaxation, the total number of stores selling alcohol is expected to grow by about 10 000 from the current 110 000 over the next 2 years. Not all retailers are happy. Opposition from long-term small shopkeepers has forced a postponement of the measures across 30% of the country. A bill supported by all major political parties and enacted in the Diet last April prohibits newcomers in 922 designated business areas from entering the market until September 2004. If deregulation is implemented across the board, complains Masakazu Koda, chairman of the All Japan Liquor Merchant Association, ‘alcohol will be allowed to be sold everywhere, even in places near hospitals or next to schools’. The brewers, however, are taking a longer view. Kirin Brewery Company and Asahi Breweries Limited have established subsidiaries to handle sales promotion in discount stores. They are hoping to reverse the trend in declining sales (the market fell from 6.87 trillion yen in 1994 to 5.72 trillion yen in 2001, according to industry sources, with beer sales especially hard-hit). Few firms, however, are expecting a large jump in sales and Koichiro Aramaki, president of Kirin, was quick to sound a cautious, note in his statement to Asahi Shimbun, predicting that sales per store could actually fall because more stores will start selling alcohol after deregulation. An article published in the November issue of the South African Medical Journal (Van As, Parry & Blecher 2003) has attracted media attention. The authors outline a scheme for an alcohol injury fund to compensate victims of alcohol-related violence and trauma, to be financed from excise taxes. The money would come either directly from specifically earmarked funds, or via provincial departments of Health and Social Services. Alcohol excise taxes were raised recently following a government review, but the authors argue that they should be increased still further to bring the revenue benefits into balance with the unusually high social costs of alcohol-related harms. The tax on spirits, for example, has risen from 38.6% to 43% of the retail selling price, but still lags behind the international average. They admit that examples of similar hypothecated taxes are rare, but argue that South Africa is a special case which demands action. They suggest that as well as compensating victims, the money raised should go towards a range of tried and tested community interventions, renewing equipment in trauma units and funding for substance abuse treatment services. The case is argued passionately, and the authors’ affiliations declare their interest: Sebastian Van As is head of the trauma unit at the Red Cross Children's Memorial Hospital and director of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation; Charles Parry runs the alcohol and drug abuse research group at the Medical Research Council (South Africa) and Mark Blecher is director of social services at the Department of Finance (but writes in a personal capacity). Since 1990, the International Program of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has provided unparalleled research training and professional development opportunities to the nearly 100 drug abuse experts from more than 40 nations that have participated in one of three programs: (1) NIDA INVEST Research Fellowship, a competitive, 12-month postdoctoral appointment to a US institution for scientists from other countries; (2) NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellowship, a competitive, 10-month program of classroom study and research affiliation for mid-career professionals from developing and transitional countries; and (3) NIDA Distinguished International Scientist Collaboration Award (DISCA), a competitive, 1–3-month result- and product-oriented award that supports visits by veteran researchers from other countries to work with NIDA grantees in the United States. When they return home, former NIDA INVEST Fellows establish productive international collaborations that contribute to advances in drug abuse research. For example, Dr Silvia Cruz, Cinestav, Mexico, and her 1996 mentor, Dr Robert L. Balster, Virginia Commonwealth University, continue to investigate and publish articles on the cellular effects of volatile solvents on N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Dr Neo Morojele, Medical Research Council of South Africa, and her 1998 mentor, Dr Judith S. Brook, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, are collaborating on a US-funded study of the links between risky sexual behaviors and teenage drug use in Durban and Cape Town. Dr Gerald Zernig, University of Innsbruck, co-chaired the 2002 EuroConference on Modeling Addiction supported by the European Commission and NIDA to discuss experimental models to predict human patterns of drug abuse and dependence. Former NIDA Humphrey Fellows also apply their enhanced understanding of drug abuse research in their home countries: Haydée Rosovsky (1996) leads the Mexican Ministry of Health's National Council on Addictions (CONADIC); Dr Flavio Pechansky (1993) co-founded the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and is the principal investigator on a NIDA-supported study of HIV prevention and risk reduction; and Dr Eli Lawental (1993) is the director of the Drug Abuse Treatment Center and a senior faculty member at Haifa University, Israel. The former NIDA Distinguished International Scientists continue their records of significant contributions to the field: Dr Anton Bespalov, Pavlov Medical University, Russia, also a former NIDA INVEST Fellow, is conducting a NIDA-funded study of intravenous self-administration in drug-naive mice; Dr Petra Exnerova, Czech Republic, also a former NIDA Humphrey Fellow, serves in the Ministry of Health and works to establish a substance abuse research program; and Dr Christian Schütz, Friedrich-Wilhelms University, Germany, chairs the International Committee of the Congress on Problems of Drug Dependence. As the world's largest supporter of research on the causes, consequences, treatment and prevention of drug abuse and addiction, NIDA is one of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. The NIDA International Program supports professional development, builds scientific research capacity, and facilitates the exchange of information on drug abuse research. For more information, please visit the NIDA Web site at http://www.drugabuse.gov. The National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) has recently moved to new premises in a refurbished building on Curtin University of Technology's Shenton Park health research campus. The new premises provide increased office space, a secure location for NDRI's extensive library and large seminar and meeting rooms. Two other health research units are based in the same building, offering efficient use of shared resources and the possibility of collaborative research activities. The postal address of the centre remains the same: National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, GPO U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia. It has been announced that NDRI's core funding from the Australian government's Department of Health and Ageing is to continue for a further 5 years. This commitment has enabled the planning of a research programme based on NDRI's existing strengths and nationally identified priorities. The research programme centres on monitoring and prevention studies. NDRI's National Alcohol Indicators Project (which monitors five key indicators of alcohol-related harm) will be extended to cover indigenous Australians. Research will be carried out into injecting behaviours with a view to reducing the spread of hepatitis C and other harms. A programme of research and evaluation will aim to enhance the ability of indigenous communities to address the misuse of alcohol and other drugs and strengthen their ability to conduct their own research programmes. There will be a study on the impact of legislative, regulatory and educational strategies for minimizing drug-related harms, recognizing the need to take account of the context in which prevention strategies operate. A priority task will be to define and evaluate best practice in a harm reduction approach to whole-school education. Effort will be directed towards understanding effective prevention approaches in whole community settings, by means of a long-term, multi-site trial of community mobilization strategies. Finally, a series of linked ethnographic, qualitative or multi-disciplinary studies will investigate the influence of structural determinants and social contexts of drug use. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 10th annual meeting, 18–21 February 2004. Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Contact: SRNT, 7600 Terrace Avenue, Suite 203, Middleton, WI 53562, USA. Tel: + 1608 8363787; Fax: + 1608 8315122; E-mail: meetings@srnt.org; website: http://www.srnt.org/meeting/2004 WATCH 2004. 3rd World Assembly on Tobacco Counters Health, 7–10 March 2004. New Delhi, India. Contact: http://www.watch-2000.org 22nd World Federation of Therapeutic Communities. Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 13–18 April 2004. Contact: CIC SA, San Miguel, 30–4°D, 07002 Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Tel: +34 971724934; Fax: +34 971713545; E-mail: WFTC@cicspain.com; website: http://www.cicspain.com Making Waves for Change. 26th annual conference of SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists), 20–24 April 2004 at the Berkeley City Club in Berkeley, California, USA. Contact: http://www.salis.org/conference/2004conferences.html. 15th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm. 20–24 April 2004, Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia. Contact: Conference Secretariat, Australian Drug Foundation, PO Box 818, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051, Australia. Fax: + 61 39328 3008; website: http://www.ihra.net Recovery Works. Current Trends in Addictions Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation. 1st Asia Pacific Institute of Addictions, 30 May−3 June 2004, Singapore. In association with ICHC, APSAD and NCETA. Contact: Secretariat on Tel: +65 63795261; Fax: +65 64752077/6436; E-mail: admin@acedaytons-direct.com; website: http://www.apia2004.com 66th Annual Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 12–17 June 2004. Contact: Conference Secretariat, Tel: + 1215 7073242; E-mail: rdavis04@temple.edu 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism. 26 June−1 July 2004, Vancouver, Canada. Contact Debby Sharp at: debbyrsa@bga.com; website: http://www.rsoa.org.meetings.htm Solutions—Successes—Setbacks. 17th Annual Australian Winter School: intersectoral development for drug and alcohol professionals, 5–8 July 2004, Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane. Organized by ADFQ (Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Queensland). Contact: Australian Winter School, PO Box, 332, Spring Hill, Qld 4044, Australia. Tel. + 61 73832 3798; Fax: + 61 73832 2527; E-mail: winterschool@adfq.org; website: http://www.adfq.org 12th World Congress on Biomedical Alcohol Research. ISBRA 2004, 29 September−2 October 2004. Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany. Call for abstracts: 15 February 2004. Contact: AKM Congress Service GmbH, Haupstrasse 18, D-79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany. Tel. + 49 (0) 7621 98330; Fax: + 49 (0) 7621 78714; E-mail: akmweil@akmcongress.com; website: http://www.isbra2004.de News and Notes welcomes contributions from its readers. Send your material to Susan Savva, News and Notes Editor, Addiction, National Addiction Centre PO48, 4 Windsor Walk, London SE5 8AF, UK. Fax: + 44 (0) 20 77035787; E-mail: s.savva@iop.kcl.ac.uk Subject to editorial review, we will be glad to print, free of charge, details of your conference or event, up to 75 words and one entry only. Please send your notification 3 months ahead of time and specify in which issue you would like it to appear.