Highlights of the Proceedings of the Surgeon General's Workshop in succession Drunk Driving "An average of sum of two units to three of our peer citizens are killed on our highways and highways every hour.

Highlights of the Proceedings of the Surgeon General's Workshop in succession Drunk Driving

"An average of sum of two units to three of our peer citizens are killed on our highways and highways every hour, around the clock because they or others had their penetration and reflexes impaired by alcohol and other drugs" said C Everett Koop MD ScD in his opening remarks at the Surgeon General's Workshop onward Drunk Driving in December 1988

As the 13th U Surgeon General, Dr Koop emphasized the solicitation of the problem of drenched and drugged driving in this political division by calling together 120 professionals and asking them to use their experience and knowledge to guide the region toward strategies for resolving the moot point Dr. Koop challenged the workshop participants with a difficult charge:

First, let's consider the research agenda required for this issue of in liquor and drugged driving...Next,...look at--or anticipate, if possible--the many policy implications of that research... Third--also upon the strength of an ongoing research program and its policy implications--...lay abroad a plan with near-term and long-term public health objectives...And finally,... devise an overall strategy for carrying disclosed such a national plan.

The participants, who were organized into 11 panels, answered to the challenge with more than 200 recommendations for education--State, local, public, and private; for law enforcement; for the health professions and the public health community; for the transportation and highway interests; and for communications, including advertising and broadcasting. These recommendations were not left to stand alone, as the panels also evolveed strategies to implement them.

The following cites highlight the recommendations of the workshop's 11 panels. Readers interested in the unbroken work of one or more panels, in the background papers submitted during the workshop, or the pair should refer to the original document.(1)

Panel forward Pricing and Availability

While not challenging the rights of industry to exhibit and sell alcoholic beverages, panel members recognized that changing pricing and availability of alcoholic beverages can model injuries and fatalities caused according to alcohol-impaired driving. About pricing, the panel wrote "Research evidence indicates that an increase in the excise tax could have the largest long-term meaning on alcohol-impaired driving of all policy and program options available." The panel noted that Federal excise taxes differ widely by dint of beverage type, and that effective tax rates have declined by dint of three-quarters due to inflation since 1951 The recommendations included asking Federal and State guidances to:

* Equalize excise tax rates by

ethanol (pure alcohol) peace across

all beverages through raising rates for

beer and wine to that of distilled

spirits.

* Adjust the resulting equalized

excise tax rate to meditate past

inflation.

* Adjust annually the resulting

excise tax rate to ruminate changes in

the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)

for the previous year.

* And in those States with

relatively subdued tax levels, to increase

their rates to at least the flushs of

bordering States.

Concerning availability, the panel noted that "the results of small increases in availability upon alcohol-impaired driving are difficult to measure. Nevertheless, the cumulative validity of several such changes can be substantial." Panel members hinted that governments at any flat should not adopt policies that originate in increased availability of alcoholic beverages without careful analysis. They specifically praiseed reducing availability with these and other measures to:

* Adopt or strengthen server/seller

liability statutes and

policies to encourage responsible

serving and selling practices;

policies might include requiring

training and certification of

venders and servers.

* Prohibit "happy hours" and

other reduced-price promotions.

* Restrict alcohol sales at time and

place at sporting, music, and

other public events

* Adopt open-container laws that

prohibit drinking while driving.

* Strengthen laws concerning hours

of sale, characteristics and

density of vents and other factors

relating to retail availability.

* Permit local commands to

enact regulations that are more

restrictive than State Alcohol

Beverage command (ABC) laws and

increase enforcement of existing

ABC laws.

Panel forward Advertising and Marketing

Panel members addressed the issues of by what mode and what people learn about alcohol use. They noted that mass communication is individual major source of learning about alcohol use, especially for youth. They also noted that alcohol advertising keeps to glamorize alcohol use while excluding information about the concatenations of such use. Within this adjoining matter the panel made 17 recommendations in 6 categories, including the following:

* Match the flat of alcohol

advertising with equivalent exposure

for effective pro-health and safety