NEWS AND NOTES: 2

The Guardian newspaper (9 January 2004) reports on the recommendation of a French health commission to drastically increase taxes on retail alcohol sales. The commissioners, who are government-appointed, make their suggestion in the context of last year's €10 billion health budget overrun, and draw attention to the disparity between what alcohol raises in tax revenues and the costs of alcohol-related healthcare. Alcohol-related mortality (per 100,000) runs at 28.0 for men and 11.0 for women in France. It is implicated in one-third of road deaths, 30% of domestic violence and up to 20% of industrial accidents according to the report. The proposal will have a tough time getting past the politicians. Last September, when health minister Jean Mattei suggested putting an extra five cents on a bottle of wine, two hundred MPs and senators from wine-producing areas made vigorous protests and Alain Juppé, Mayor of Bordeaux, former prime minister and influential president of the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) Party ensured that the idea was dead in the water. However, public health experts point to last year's radical price rises on cigarettes as a powerful precedent to action. During 2003, three successive tax increases brought the level of tax to 75.9% on every packet. Raising the price sends a signal to smokers that the product is dangerous, say public health experts. The government remains unconvinced that the measures proposed for alcohol would be implementable. A 40% price rise would be needed to change drinking behaviour, according to Didier Jayle, head of the inter-ministerial committee on drugs and alcohol. ‘That would cause economic and social problems way out of proportion to the limited gains in terms of public health’. In other words, for the French public the time is not yet ripe for change. John Marsden writes: A Workshop on Managing Methamphetamine Users and Opioid Dependence in Asia was held in Hanoi, Vietnam between 5-7 November 2003. The meeting was convened by a research consortium from the University of Adelaide Australia, National Addiction Centre UK and the Integrated Substance Abuse Program from UCLA. The meeting was co-hosted by the National Institute of Mental Health from Vietnam. Delegates from Cambodia, mainland China and Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the meeting along with observers from the UNODC Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific, and WHO. The meeting was sponsored by Reckitt Benckiser Plc in the form of an educational grant to the University of Adelaide. This was the third annual workshop in this series. Discussion topics included the management of amphetamine type stimulant problems, practical responses to pain management in heroin addiction and new pharmacological treatments for opioid dependence. Several papers were presented on epidemiological trends of substance use in the region and research findings from studies conducted in the region. Some of these are now being written up in the form of academic articles and should find their way into the literature in due course. Presentations from Vietnam's National Committee on Drug Prevention focused on the changing face of drug use in Vietnam while their Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, through its Department of Social Evil Prevention overviewed the current response to an increasing problem of amphetamine-type stimulant use. Mindful of an increasingly visible problem with methamphetamine in the community, the Vietnamese authorities are now looking at ways of improving capacity in the treatment system and developing professional training opportunities for health service workers. The fourth workshop is due to be held in Bali this Autumn. 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. 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 Alcohol: Global Pressures, Local Concerns. 30th annual alcohol epidemiology symposium of the Kettil Bruun Society . Hosted by STAKES, University of Helsinki and NAD. Helsinki, Finland, 31 May – 4 June 2004. Contact: KBS 2004 Symposium Secretariat, STAKES, Alcohol and Drug Research, PO Box 220, 00351 Helsinki, Finland. Fax: +358 93967 2170. Website: http://www.stakes.fi/kbs2004; http://www.kcs.org UK Alcohol Treatment Trial. A conference to present the results of the UKATT trial, 3 and 4 June 2004. Queen's Hotel, City Square, Leeds, UK. Contact: Christine Weatherill, Tel. +44 (0)113 295 1333; E-mail: training@lau.org.uk 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 Bridging the GAP. 1st European Alcohol Policy Conference in the context of a larger Europe. 16–19 June 2004. Presented by Eurocare in collaboration with the European Commission, World Health Organisation, European Youth Forum, European Cultural Foundation and Polish Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-related Problems. Hotel Europejski, Warsaw, Poland. Contact: Florence Berteletti Kemp, Eurocare, 96 rue des Confédérés, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. Tel. +32 2732 6782 or 736,0572; Fax: +32 2736 7351; E-mail: f.bertelettikemp@ias.org.uk 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism. 26 June – 1 July 2004, Vancouver, Canada. Contact: Debby Sharp at debbyrsa@bga.com; 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. Organised 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; http://www.adfq.org 12th World Congress on Biomedical Alcohol Research. ISBRA 2004. 29 September – 2 October 2004. Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany. 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; http://www.isbra2004.de International Coalition for Addiction Studies Education (INCASE). 30 September – 2 October 2004, Westin Hotel, Oklahoma City. Meeting held in conjunction with the MidAmerica Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Contact: Peter L. Myers, myers@essex.edu. Website http://www.incase.org Future Trends in Science Editing and Publishing: Bringing Science to Society. 12th conference of the International Federation of Science Editors. 10–14 October 2004. Merida Yucatan, Mexico. Contact: http://bvs.insp.mx/ifse/index.htm 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. Fax: +44 (0)20 7703 5787; 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 three months ahead of time and specify in which issue you would like it to appear.

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