/PRNewswire/ -- The National Consumers League (NCL) has once again called on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to issue a final rule to improve alcohol beverage labeling.
"The drinking public needs certain basic information on beer, wine, and spirits labels," said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. "With a severe nationwide obesity epidemic, there is no excuse for not having calories listed on all alcohol beverage labels. Consumers also need clear information about alcohol content in order to drink responsibly."
Seven years ago, the National Consumers League petitioned TTB to require an "Alcohol Facts" panel on labels of beer, wine, and distilled spirits. More than 3 years ago, TTB proposed a watered-down version of "Alcohol Facts," which it called "Serving Facts," but has still not issued a final rule.
"The Alcohol Facts panel was intended to provide all the information consumers need in one location, clearly and concisely," said Greenberg. "It would be like the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels, except that it would provide the information relevant to alcoholic beverages." NCL asked that the "Alcohol Facts" panel include serving size, the number of calories per serving, alcohol content information (including the amount of alcohol per serving, the definition of a "standard drink," and the number of standard drinks per container), and ingredient information.
"The nine college students who went to an emergency room for alcohol poisoning after drinking too much of a caffeinated alcoholic beverage earlier this year may not have realized just how much alcohol they were consuming," added Greenberg. "Maybe if the standard drinks per container had been required to appear on the labels, they wouldn't have made that mistake."
TTB's inaction on Alcohol Facts labeling is also interfering with other important public health objectives. A new law requires nutrition labeling of foods and beverages served in chain restaurants and bars, including alcoholic beverages, but there is no approved method for measuring certain nutrients in alcohol and TTB has provided the industry with no guidance. If the Alcohol Facts panel were required, restaurants and bars could simply use the information on the product label.
The lack of calorie and alcohol information on beer, wine, and spirits labels is also an obstacle to application of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services will soon issue the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, but, without calorie and alcohol information on product labels, consumers still will not be able to follow its recommendations on weight control and alcohol consumption.
"Label reform for alcoholic beverages is a no brainer," according to Greenberg. "What is TTB waiting for?"
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Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Uranium threatens some Georgia drinking water
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element found in some rocks and groundwater. It can make its way into drinking water, where it can be harmful to health. Some parts of Georgia could have problems with it.
Safe drinking water should contain less than 30 parts per billion of uranium. A small number of wells located in Georgia’s piedmont region exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard uranium amount.
“The potential problem areas are supplied by wells deeper than 100 feet on granite bedrock,” said David Kissel, director of the University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories. “Levels of uranium above 30 ppb have not been found in shallow wells or surface water.”
Water that comes from a public system is routinely tested to ensure uranium levels are safe. People consuming water from a private well, cistern or spring are responsible for their own testing and are encouraged to monitor contamination. Water samples can be submitted for testing through a local UGA Cooperative Extension office.
Studies suggest that water containing levels of uranium higher than the standard may hurt kidney function. Health concerns related to uranium should be taken to a local physician.
Although drinking high levels or uranium can be harmful, skin contact is not harmful according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Water high in uranium is OK to use for bathing, washing clothes or gardening.
If a well has high levels of uranium, Kissel said, its water should be treated through filtration systems. Affordable, at-home options such as point-of-use reverse osmosis, or RO, systems are available from many manufacturers.
These systems are placed on a faucet and produce 5 gallons to 20 gallons of safe drinking water per day.
“RO systems remove a high percentage of ions that are in the water,” Kissel said. “Uranium is dissolved in the water, and the RO system pushes the water through a semi-permeable membrane with high pressure to filter the uranium out of the water.”
After an at-home treatment system is installed, the water should be tested again to ensure the filtration system is working properly and the uranium level is below the standard.
People who live in areas that contain water with high concentrations of uranium should also be concerned with elevated levels of radon in their homes.
“Radon is a decomposition product of uranium,” Kissel said “The air filters in through the basement. It is recommended that well owners with elevated uranium levels also test their homes for radon gas.”
Radon test kits are available at county UGA Extension offices.
More information on water contamination or water treatment systems can be found at the National Sanitation Foundation at nsf.org/certified/dwtu or Water Quality Association at www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?id=1165§ion=3.
By Sarah Lewis
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Twitter: @FayetteFP
Safe drinking water should contain less than 30 parts per billion of uranium. A small number of wells located in Georgia’s piedmont region exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard uranium amount.
“The potential problem areas are supplied by wells deeper than 100 feet on granite bedrock,” said David Kissel, director of the University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories. “Levels of uranium above 30 ppb have not been found in shallow wells or surface water.”
Water that comes from a public system is routinely tested to ensure uranium levels are safe. People consuming water from a private well, cistern or spring are responsible for their own testing and are encouraged to monitor contamination. Water samples can be submitted for testing through a local UGA Cooperative Extension office.
Studies suggest that water containing levels of uranium higher than the standard may hurt kidney function. Health concerns related to uranium should be taken to a local physician.
Although drinking high levels or uranium can be harmful, skin contact is not harmful according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Water high in uranium is OK to use for bathing, washing clothes or gardening.
If a well has high levels of uranium, Kissel said, its water should be treated through filtration systems. Affordable, at-home options such as point-of-use reverse osmosis, or RO, systems are available from many manufacturers.
These systems are placed on a faucet and produce 5 gallons to 20 gallons of safe drinking water per day.
“RO systems remove a high percentage of ions that are in the water,” Kissel said. “Uranium is dissolved in the water, and the RO system pushes the water through a semi-permeable membrane with high pressure to filter the uranium out of the water.”
After an at-home treatment system is installed, the water should be tested again to ensure the filtration system is working properly and the uranium level is below the standard.
People who live in areas that contain water with high concentrations of uranium should also be concerned with elevated levels of radon in their homes.
“Radon is a decomposition product of uranium,” Kissel said “The air filters in through the basement. It is recommended that well owners with elevated uranium levels also test their homes for radon gas.”
Radon test kits are available at county UGA Extension offices.
More information on water contamination or water treatment systems can be found at the National Sanitation Foundation at nsf.org/certified/dwtu or Water Quality Association at www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?id=1165§ion=3.
By Sarah Lewis
-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
Twitter: @FayetteFP
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
CASA* 2009 Teen Survey Reveals: Teens Likelier To Get Drunk, Use Marijuana, Smoke Cigarettes If They See Parent Drunk
/PRNewswire/ -- Compared to teens who have not seen their parent(s) drunk, those who have are more than twice as likely to get drunk in a typical month, and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents, the 14th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The CASA survey found that 51 percent of 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk.
Teen drinking behavior is strongly associated with how teens believe their fathers feel about their drinking. Compared to teens who believe their father is against their drinking, teens who believe their father is okay with their drinking are two and a half times likelier to get drunk in a typical month.
The survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking. Thirteen percent of 16- and 17-year old girls and 20 percent of 16- and 17-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking.
"Some Moms' and Dads' behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers--parents who send their 12- to 17-year olds a message that it's okay to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs like marijuana," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Teens' behavior is strongly associated with their parents' behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs."
Prescription Drugs Readily Available
For the first time this year, the survey asked 12- to 17-year olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can get prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour.
When teens were asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were home, parents, other family members and friends.
For the second year in a row more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer.
Drinking, Drugging and Sex
This year the CASA survey took a close look at teen drinking and discovered that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year olds who drink monthly report that they get drunk at least once in a typical month. Eighty-five percent of 17-year old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month.
The survey found that one third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers who say that when they drink they usually drink to get drunk do so at least once a month. Of those teens who do NOT set out to get drunk, 33 percent find themselves drunk at least once a month.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk monthly are:
-- 18 times likelier to have tried marijuana;
-- Four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour;
-- Almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses
prescription drugs;
-- More than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and
-- More than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth,
ecstasy, or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, those who get drunk at least once a month are:
-- Twice as likely to know a girl who was forced to do something sexual
she didn't want to do; and
-- Nearly four times likelier to know a guy who uses drugs or alcohol to
hook up.
"The message for parents is loud and clear. If your teen is drinking, the odds are your teen is getting drunk. And teens who get drunk are much likelier to try marijuana and hang out with friends who are abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin," said Elizabeth Planet, CASA's Vice President and Director of Special Projects. "Parents who think their kids are just having an occasional drink each month need to wake up and smell the beer and pot."
Marijuana, Availability Up Sharply
Between 2007 and 2009 there was a 37 percent increase in the percentage of 12- to 17-year olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent).
Forty percent of teens (10 million) can get marijuana within a day; nearly one-quarter of teens (5.7 million) can get it in an hour.
Teens who say that the decision to use marijuana by someone their age is not a big deal are four times more likely to use it compared to teens who say this decision is a big deal.
Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.
Most teens who smoke cigarettes (56 percent) say the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal.
Other Notable Findings
-- Two-thirds of high school students say that drugs are used, kept or
sold at their school.
-- Sixty percent of parents say that their child's school is not drug
free.
-- Of parents who say their teen's school is not drug free, almost half
think there is nothing they can do about it, and only a quarter have
even tried.
"Parents are the key to raising drug-free kids and they have the power to do it if they send their children the clear message to choose not to use and demand that the schools their children attend be drug free," noted Califano whose book How to Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, was published this month by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone/Fireside Division.
QEV Analytics conducted The National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents from March 2 to April 5, 2009 (teens) and March 21 to April 10, 2009 (parents). The firm interviewed at home by telephone a national random sample of 1,000 12- to 17-year olds (509 boys, 491 girls) and 452 of their parents. Sampling error is +/- 3.1 percent for teens and +/- 4.6 percent for parents.
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The CASA survey found that 51 percent of 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk.
Teen drinking behavior is strongly associated with how teens believe their fathers feel about their drinking. Compared to teens who believe their father is against their drinking, teens who believe their father is okay with their drinking are two and a half times likelier to get drunk in a typical month.
The survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking. Thirteen percent of 16- and 17-year old girls and 20 percent of 16- and 17-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking.
"Some Moms' and Dads' behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers--parents who send their 12- to 17-year olds a message that it's okay to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs like marijuana," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Teens' behavior is strongly associated with their parents' behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs."
Prescription Drugs Readily Available
For the first time this year, the survey asked 12- to 17-year olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can get prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour.
When teens were asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were home, parents, other family members and friends.
For the second year in a row more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer.
Drinking, Drugging and Sex
This year the CASA survey took a close look at teen drinking and discovered that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year olds who drink monthly report that they get drunk at least once in a typical month. Eighty-five percent of 17-year old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month.
The survey found that one third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers who say that when they drink they usually drink to get drunk do so at least once a month. Of those teens who do NOT set out to get drunk, 33 percent find themselves drunk at least once a month.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk monthly are:
-- 18 times likelier to have tried marijuana;
-- Four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour;
-- Almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses
prescription drugs;
-- More than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and
-- More than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth,
ecstasy, or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, those who get drunk at least once a month are:
-- Twice as likely to know a girl who was forced to do something sexual
she didn't want to do; and
-- Nearly four times likelier to know a guy who uses drugs or alcohol to
hook up.
"The message for parents is loud and clear. If your teen is drinking, the odds are your teen is getting drunk. And teens who get drunk are much likelier to try marijuana and hang out with friends who are abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin," said Elizabeth Planet, CASA's Vice President and Director of Special Projects. "Parents who think their kids are just having an occasional drink each month need to wake up and smell the beer and pot."
Marijuana, Availability Up Sharply
Between 2007 and 2009 there was a 37 percent increase in the percentage of 12- to 17-year olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent).
Forty percent of teens (10 million) can get marijuana within a day; nearly one-quarter of teens (5.7 million) can get it in an hour.
Teens who say that the decision to use marijuana by someone their age is not a big deal are four times more likely to use it compared to teens who say this decision is a big deal.
Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.
Most teens who smoke cigarettes (56 percent) say the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal.
Other Notable Findings
-- Two-thirds of high school students say that drugs are used, kept or
sold at their school.
-- Sixty percent of parents say that their child's school is not drug
free.
-- Of parents who say their teen's school is not drug free, almost half
think there is nothing they can do about it, and only a quarter have
even tried.
"Parents are the key to raising drug-free kids and they have the power to do it if they send their children the clear message to choose not to use and demand that the schools their children attend be drug free," noted Califano whose book How to Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, was published this month by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone/Fireside Division.
QEV Analytics conducted The National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents from March 2 to April 5, 2009 (teens) and March 21 to April 10, 2009 (parents). The firm interviewed at home by telephone a national random sample of 1,000 12- to 17-year olds (509 boys, 491 girls) and 452 of their parents. Sampling error is +/- 3.1 percent for teens and +/- 4.6 percent for parents.
-----
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