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Find us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterVolume 101: July 16, 2012   

Teen smoking: First-time alcohol and drug use among teenagers flourishes in summer

July 7, 2012

 

A recent survey finds that with more idle time and less adult supervision, significantly more teens try alcohol, smoking and drugs for the first time in the summer than at any other time of year,

Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 are more likely to try drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or marijuana, or using hallucinogens for the first time during the months of June and July than at any other time during the year, according to research conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

 

During the other 10 months of the year, between 3,000 and 4,000 teenagers begin smoking each day. In June and July, that number spikes to an estimated 5,000 teens per day. The study also found that more than 11,000 teens drink alcohol for the first time in June and July, compared to 5,000-8,000 trying it for the first time each month during the rest of the year.

 

To view the full story, click this link:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/teen-smoking-tobacco-and-_n_1652619.html

 

Source: Huffington Post

Washington: Stores' spirits down on liquor initiative passage 

July 9, 2012

 

Liquor and lawsuits usually get tossed around before and after bar fights.

 

However, with voter approval last November of state Initiative 1183, which privatized liquor sales starting June 1 - and the subsequent lawsuit filed June 22 by the very coalition that supported the effort, the issue has become an all-out brouhaha between the legislature, the state Liquor Control Board, and thousands of retailers and restaurants.

 

"As a bar owner, I haven't found any positive yet," said Jayson Schafer, owner of Schafer's Bar & Grill in Sumner and Buckley's Firehouse Pub. "I'm not saying that there won't be down the line, but the first days have been really difficult trying to figure out ahead of time what I'm going to be paying for liquor and how to price my drinks accordingly. I haven't raised my prices yet - but I probably should."

 

The rub for both restaurants and retailers is that the new rules limit liquor purchases to 24 liters a day and increase wholesale distributor fees to 17 percent, compared with the previous unlimited purchases and a 10 percent fee.

 

This, says the Washington Restaurant Association, skews revenue toward the state's two largest liquor distributors, Southern Wine & Spirits and Young's Market - which combined supply about 85 percent of the products offered on retail shelves.

 

"What's absolutely crucial to us is that the average restaurant or bar or tavern has the option to work with these distributors on competitive prices and labels with retailers and distillers," said Bruce Beckett, government affairs director for the Washington Restaurant Association, which with Costco sponsored the initiative, but is now protesting LCB's interpretation. "What the state has done is put all the market power in hands of two out-of-state distributors."

 

To view the full story, click this link:  http://www.businessexaminer.com/databank/?djoPage=article_details&djoId=63542 

 

Source: Business Examiner 

Concern over drive-up alcohol sales spurs efforts at ban

July 10, 2012

 

About an hour after an accident killed one of his passengers and left another paralyzed, Robert Casey Kirk registered a blood-alcohol content of .20 - more than twice the legal limit for driving.

 

Some of that alcohol - investigators found 109 opened and unopened beer cans at the crash scene - was purchased at a Longview, Texas, drive-through convenience store, Gregg County, Texas, district court filings show.

 

Texas, like Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee and other states, allows drive-through sales of packaged alcohol, such as beer and wine. There are no precise numbers on how many states allow the practice, as it is usually left to individual municipalities. John Bowersox of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism did point to a 2004 New Mexico study that found 23 states allowed some drive-up or drive-through liquor sales.

 

Owners defend the practice, but concern about possible resulting drunken driving crashes and deaths is prompting efforts to outlaw drive-up liquor stores.

 

To view the full story, click this link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-09/drive-through-liquor/56119194/1

 

Source: USA Today

PA: Alcohol detection system being developed for vehicles 

July 7, 2012

 

Researchers are working to develop a high-tech, unobtrusive alcohol detection system that could be installed in vehicles within a decade to help eliminate drunk driving.

 

The program, known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, could receive about $10.7 million in funding through federal transportation legislation approved by Congress last week, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It is a private/public partnership between the auto industry and the federal government.

 

Wayne Harper, director of the Center for Traffic Safety in York County, said Ignition Interlock systems, which are used for repeat DUI offenders, shows drivers when they can't start the car that they've had too much to drink. It helps people to alter their drinking habits.

 

The alcohol detection system being developed could be a "valuable tool" for people, but some issues would need to be resolved, such as the possibility of a driver's blood-alcohol concentration level exceeding the 0.08 legal limit while the car is in motion, Harper said.

 

With the system being developed, the driver's blood-alcohol concentration could be measured by either touch or breath with sensors installed the ignition, gear shift or other parts of the cabin. It's intended to be unobtrusive for those who are sober. A research vehicle could be ready by next year, according to the DADSS web site.

 

Link:http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_21027402/alcohol-detection-system-being-developed-vehicles

 

Source: York Daily Record 

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