Alcohol outlet policies and practices concerning sales to underage people

Little is known about the relationship between alcohol outlet policies and practices in the United States and the likelihood that outlets will sell alcoholic beverages to persons under the legal drinking age. This study assessed the prevalence of such outlet-level policies and practices, and analyzed the relationships between outlet variables and outlets' actual propensity to sell alcoholic beverages to youth. The sample consisted of all outlets licensed for off-premise and a 40% random sample of outlets licensed for on-premise sale of alcoholic beverages in 15 small to medium-sized communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin (USA). Data on outlet characteristics, policies and practices were collected by a telephone survey of the owner or manager of each outlet. In addition, alcohol purchase attempts were conducted at each outlet by youthful-appearing study confederates. Generally, policies and practices that may reduce the likelihood of sales to youth were reported by a minority of outlets. Purchase success was found to be associated with a number of outlet characteristics, policies and practices. The implications of these findings for policy and future research are discussed.     

A qualitative study of young people's sources of cigarettes and attempts to circumvent underage sales laws

Aims To explore how young people continue to access cigarettes following an increase of the age of sale to 18 years and the implications for future smoking prevention policy and practice. Design Qualitative study using 14 focus groups. Setting Schools and community projects in disadvantaged areas of Birmingham, UK. Participants Eighty‐five smokers and non‐smokers aged 12–15 years. Measurements Focus group topic guides. Findings While young people did use social sources to access cigarettes, most obtained cigarettes from small local shops. Smoking and non‐smoking participants knew which shops sold to underage children and what strategies to employ, suggesting a widespread acceptance of underage sales in some communities. Some young people bought directly from retailers, reporting that the retailers did not ask for identification. Some young people reported that retailers were complicit, knowingly selling to underage smokers. Young people waited outside shops and asked strangers to buy them cigarettes (proxy sales). Young people expressed cynicism about some shopkeepers' motives, who they believed knew that they were selling to under‐18s, but did not care as long as they made a profit. Conclusions The ban in selling cigarettes to those under 18 in the United Kingdom appears to be easily circumvented, and one important route appears to be ‘proxy sales’ in which young people approach strangers outside retailers and ask them to purchase cigarettes on their behalf.     

Alcohol sales and fatal alcohol poisonings: a time-series analysis

Aims To discover whether the number of fatal alcohol peaks during festivities characterized by unrestrained drinking and relates to sales of alcoholic beverages. Design Time‐series and cross‐sectional. Data Fatal alcohol poisonings and retail alcohol sales in Finland in 1983–99. Findings Fatal alcohol poisonings were found to peak during weekends and in the May Day, Midsummer Day and Christmas celebrations. Regression analysis of quarterly series lead to a model showing that 1% increase in the sales of spirits increases the number of fatal alcohol poisonings by 0.4%. Conclusions At the population level, increases in the sales of spirits and periods of hard drinking seem to increase deaths from alcohol poisoning. The findings could be of use in efforts to decrease hard drinking.     

Alcohol in the mass media and drinking by adolescents: a longitudinal study

Data from a longitudinal study carried out in Dunedin, New Zealand, were used to investigate associations between alcohol consumption at age 18 years and alcohol-related mass media communications recalled at ages 13 and 15 years. The respondents’ recall of alcohol-related mass media material were categorized as: commercial alcohol advertising, alcohol moderation messages or the portrayal of alcohol in entertainment. An additional media variable was the number of hours spent watching television. Non-media variables, such as peer approval of drinking, living situation and occupation (all at age 18 years) were also included in the analyses. The period between the interviews at ages 13 and 15 years saw an increase in the broadcast of commercial alcohol advertisements on television in New Zealand and this was reflected in an increase in the proportion of the mass media material recalled which was categorized as commercial advertising. At age 15 years television advertising, mostly for beer companies, was the predominant material recalled. No relationships were found between the commercial advertising and wine and spirits consumption, among either men or women, but young women who had watched more hours of television drank more wine/spirits. Among women there were two unexpected negative relationships between recall of alcohol in the media at age 13 years and beer consumption. However, among men there was a consistent positive relationship such that those who had recalled more alcohol advertisements at age 15 years drank larger quantities of beer at age 18 years.     

"Bacterial Meningitis in children and adolescents: an observational study based on the national surveillance system"

Background  

Bacterial meningitis is a group of life threatening infections that mostly affect children and adolescents, and may be the cause of severe neurological sequelae. Cuba has implemented massive vaccination programmes against both Neisseria meningitidis (serogroup C in 1979 and B in 1987), and Haemophilus influenzae type b (1999), two of the main causal pathogens. We described and discussed some epidemiological aspects of the current status of bacterial meningitis to learn from the Cuban experience.     

Complement use of Chinese herbal medicine after percutaneous coronary intervention: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND Chinese herbal medicine is widely used as a complement or alternative treatment in coronary artery disease(CAD) patients after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) in China. We compared the incidence of the major adverse cardiovascular event(MACE) of CAD patients with or without the complement use of Chinese herbal medicine after PCI.METHODS In this prospective, observational study that was conducted from September 2016 to August 2019 in Fuwai Hospital(China), we followed up consec...     

Who cares if I say good morning: an unobtrusive study of the elderly.

Senior Citizens from three high rise apartment buildings were studied to find if the elderly present special needs. The investigation consisted of a number of shopping trips by chartered bus to a supermarket. A tally was kept recording responses to a greeting on a cue day and responses on a non-cue day when no greeting was given. Four null hypotheses were tested resulting in evidence that the elderly respond more often when a verbal stimulus is present, than when not. It was found that the elderly do present unique needs and society must communicate more with them and with those who are dealing with the elderly on a regular basis.     

Improving physical fitness in adolescents through a school-based intervention: the EDUFIT study

Introduction and objectives

Physical fitness level is a marker of cardiovascular health in young people. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a school-based intervention program, focused on increasing the volume and intensity of physical education (PE) sessions, on adolescents’ physical fitness.

Methods

Sixty-seven adolescents (12-14 years old) from three secondary school classes participated in a 16-week intervention. The classes were randomly allocated to the control group, experimental group 1 (EG1) or experimental group 2 (EG2). The control group received standard PE (2 sessions/week), the EG1 received 4 standard PE sessions/week and the EG2 received four high-intensity PE sessions/week. Aerobic fitness, muscle strength, speed-agility and flexibility were assessed using previously validated field-based tests before and after the intervention.

Results

Doubling the number of PE sessions/week resulted in improvements in aerobic fitness and flexibility (P=.008 and P=.04, respectively). Further increases in the intensity of the sessions were related to improvements in speed-agility (P<.001). The maximal oxygen consumption increased by 3 and 5 mL/kg/min in the EG1 and EG2, respectively. No differences were observed for muscle strength.

Conclusions

The results suggest that doubling the frequency of PE sessions is a sufficient stimulus to improve physical fitness, particularly aerobic fitness, which has been shown to be a powerful indicator of cardiovascular health in children and adolescents. Future studies involving larger sample sizes should confirm or refute these findings.Full English text available from: www.revespcardiol.org     

Value of fecal calprotectin in the evaluation of patients with abdominal discomfort: an observational study

Background  

The evaluation of patients with abdominal discomfort is challenging and patient selection for endoscopy based on symptoms is not reliable. We evaluated the diagnostic value of fecal calprotectin in patients with abdominal discomfort.     

Alcohol and psychoactive drug use among Israeli adolescents: an epidemiological and demographic investigation

One thousand nine hundred Israeli adolescents--51.8% males and 48.2% females--aged 15 to 18, were questioned twice about their current and "ever" substance use. The first study was undertaken during September-October 1982 and the second about a year later. The findings clearly indicated a slight rise in the incidence and a moderate growth of the prevalence of substance use among Israeli adolescents. The relationships between substance use and several background sociodemographic variables that were studied are discussed.     

Alcohol and violence-related injuries: an emergency room study

Drinking patterns, alcohol-related problems and drinking-in-the-injury event were compared between those admitted to the emergency room (ER) with and without injuries resulting from violence. A probability sample of 1770 adult casualty patients in four hospitals in a single California suburb county were breathalyzed and interviewed at the time of the ER visit. Among all males and females over 30, those with violence-related injuries were more likely than those with other injuries to have positive breathalyzer readings and to report drinking prior to the event, frequent heavy drinking, consequences of drinking, experiences associated with alcohol dependence and loss of control and prior treatment for an alcohol problem. The data suggest a need for research to test whether a brief intervention at the time of the ER visit for problem drinking or a referral for more extensive alcohol treatment can effect a reduction in alcohol-related violence and other alcohol-related problems.     

Moderating drinking by correspondence: an evaluation of a new method of intervention

Recognizing the need to offer alternative methods of brief interventions, this study developed correspondence treatments for low-dependent problem drinkers and evaluated their impact. One hundred and twenty-one problem drinkers were recruited by media advertisements and were randomly allocated to a full cognitive-behavioural treatment programme (CBT) or to a minimal intervention condition (MI) that gave information regarding alcohol misuse and instructions to record drinking. As predicted, CBT was more effective than MI in reducing alcohol consumption over the 4-month controlled trial period. CBT produced a 50% fall in consumption, bringing the average intake of subjects within recommended maximum levels. Treatment gains at 6 months were well maintained to 12 months. High levels of consumer satisfaction, a high representation of women and a substantial participation from isolated rural areas attested to the feasibility of the correspondence programme as an alternative treatment. However, some drinking occasions still involved high intake for a significant subgroup of subjects, and this issue will be addressed in future programmes. The results supported the use of correspondence delivery as a means of promoting early engagement and equity of access between city and country areas.