When The World Cancer Report 2014 was launched last month, a United Nations statment called for multipronged preventive action including treaties and laws extending tobacco-style restrictions to alcohol and sweetened beverages.

Chair of the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, Savera Kalideen, points out that policies in South Africa protect profits but fail to address alcohol's harmful effects on society. The article is published in the newspaper Mail&Guardian.

The Dutch Radobank has pointed out Africa as the fastest growing beer market over the next five years. The report from the bank is meant to advise investors and brewers.

Alternatives? Yes! Legalisation? No! The platform of the newly launched Drug Policy Futures calls for an end to a polarised drug debate at the United Nations.

For two weeks, from the 12th of March, countries, NGOs and scientists are gathered in Vienna, Austria to take stock of the current illicit drug situation and to define the way forward. You can follow the process in this web page.

India’s alcohol consumption is increasing by 10-15 per cent per year, and among drinkers binge drinking is the dominating pattern. India is now one of the key emerging markets for the global spirits  industry.

The global exposure of young people to alcohol marketing requires an urgent policy response. Engagement by NGOs and governments independent from commercial interests is needed. This is the conclusion of Professor Sally Casswell in an article in the journal Addiction.

Urgent action is needed to prevent more children from acquiring disorders due to mother’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy. This is the appeal from the first international conference on prevention of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, held in Edmonton, AB, Canada, on Sept 23—25, 2013.

Tanzania has experienced the same increasing problem with hard liquor sold in plastic sachets as a number of other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Tanzanian situation was presented by Dr Gerry Mshana in a STRIVE Learning Lab recently. Dr. Mshana focused on the effect of macro-economic factors such as pricing and packaging on alcohol drinking norms among young people.

In its Call for Action to the Commission on the Status of Women in 2013, the global MenEngage alliance defined policies to decrease alcohol consumption as one of ten priority areas of action to reduce violence against women.