North Carolina: Charlotte buses, trains put brakes on alcohol ads

September 1, 2012

Buses and trains in Charlotte will continue to roll without alcohol ads for now.

The Charlotte Observer reports that the Charlotte Area Transit System said Friday that alcohol ads won't be covering buses and trains as it waits for further clarification from officials.

In June, the Metropolitan Transit Commission voted unanimously to reverse a long-standing ban on beer, wine and liquor ads. The cash-strapped transit system said alcohol ads could generate up to $600,000 a year.

But the Charlotte City Council wasn't aware of the decision, and many elected officials were furious about the change. The city of Charlotte owns the buses.

CATS said the agency which has a city contract to sell bus ads has agreed not to move forward with two contracts for the ads.

To read more, click this link: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/09/01/3031695/charlotte-buses-trains-put-brakes.html 

Source: Myrtle Beach Online

Is underage drinking ever OK?

September 2, 2012

Editor's note: On Labor Day and other holidays that call for cheerful gatherings, many parents wonder whether to allow their underage children a celebratory sip of beer or wine. Allison Gilbert asks experts if giving kids a taste of alcohol is asking for trouble or preparing them for the real world.

Before dropping off his son at Colgate University a few days ago to begin his freshman year, New York advertising photographer Robert Tardio went on one last summer vacation with his family. While his wife and youngest son were out exploring the quaint streets of Montreal, Robert took his eldest, college-bound teen out for a beer. "My son is an incredible, conscientious young man. But at 14, 15, 16 -- alcohol was out of the question. We made it very clear what our expectations were and that he would not be drinking."

The rules shifted for Tardio's son Ames when he turned 18. Now, a beer here or there was no longer out of the question.

"In our minds, he became somewhat of an adult, and we were willing to set new limits. He understood that if he was going to have a drink he had to be responsible and in control at all times. We also had many discussions with him about the consequences of his actions if he wasn't under control."

So the Tardios did what many parents across the country do: They made up their own rules, inside their own home, when it came to alcohol consumption and their underage children. As a mother of a 10-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, I've often wondered if it's OK to give my children a sip of wine at dinner. Would I be sending an irresponsible message, or demystifying alcohol and thereby weakening its allure later on?

U.S. government agencies insist no amount of underage drinking is acceptable. "If parents have a liberal idea about alcohol, kids may get the wrong message," says Dr. Vivian Faden, director of the Office of Science Policy and Communications at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health. "Underage drinking can lead to injuries, fatal car accidents, risky sexual behavior, and there's also potential risk to the developing brain."

To read more, click this link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/living/labor-day-underage-drinking/index.html 

Source: CNN

Liquor Buyers Cross State Line

September 3, 2012

RAINIER, Ore.-Washington residents are pouring over the Oregon line this summer to buy liquor after Washington state privatized the sale of hard alcohol-and made the booze more expensive by raising state fees.

Sales at Rainier Liquor Store, the lone liquor outlet in this town of 2,000 residents, are running $2,000 a day higher than last summer, said proprietor Traci Brumbles. Every day "is like a holiday" now, she said.

Ms. Brumbles can thank "liquor sticker shock," the term Washington residents use for a big price rise since June.

Washington residents are pouring over the state line to buy liquor in Oregon towns such as Rainier, as changes to liquor sales drive up prices in Washington State this summer.

"You see something over there that costs $20, and when you get up to the cash register, it's $28," said Matt Phillips, a Longview, Wash., resident who was on his weekly trip across the Columbia River to buy alcohol in Rainier. He bought a fifth of Windsor Canadian whiskey for $19.95 that sells for about $24.50 back home.

Washington is the 33rd state to fully privatize liquor sales, but it is believed to be the first to do so since immediately after the end of Prohibition. That is turning the state into a rare study of how-or how not-to manage such a transition at a time when several other states are weighing exiting the liquor business.

To read more, click this link:

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444772804577621673117805522.html

Source: Wall Street Journal 

Beer drinkers' speed tied to shape of glass

August 31, 2012

If you really want to nurse your beer, you may want to ask for it in a straight glass instead of a curved one.

A new study shows that the shape of one's beer glass affects how fast people gulp down the beverage.

"People often talk of 'pacing themselves' when drinking alcohol as a means of controlling levels of drunkenness, and I think the important point to take from our research is that the ability to pace effectively may be compromised when drinking from certain types of glasses," Dr. Angela Attwood, a research assistant at the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England, said in a press release.

The study appeared Aug. 17 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Researchers asked 159 social drinkers between the ages of 18 to 40 who did not have a history of alcoholism to drink a lager or a non-alcoholic soft drink from either a straight or curved glass.

On average, it took people drinking beer out of a straight glass 11 minutes to finish 12 oz. Those drinking out of the curved glass only took seven minutes. There was no difference in time for people consuming soft-drinks out of either glass.

To read more, click this link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57504579-10391704/beer-drinkers-speed-tied-to-shape-of-glass/

Source: CBS News