The device, called "Stop Prompted by Drunk," resembles a round box the same size as the steering wheel spindle. When correctly installed inside the steering wheel spindle, its switching network is linked to the ignition system of the car. When the driver gets into the car, the alcohol sensor inside the device will begin to detect the alcohol concentration in the air. If it is above the legal limit, the switching network will disconnect the ignition system automatically, meaning that the car will not start.

"Compared with other such devices, this ‘Stop Prompted by Drunk’ has some advantages. It can detect alcohol intoxication automatically and continuously; and it’s healthier. Best of all, the cost is quite low. Each device costs just 200 Yuan, or less than 30 US dollars," introduced Wang Changqian, a member of the invention team.

The idea of inventing such a device came after a Nanjing road accident involving a drunk driver last June, which resulted in 5 dead and 4 injured. Wang Changqian and some other students from Nanjing University of Finance & Economics began to wonder if they could invent a device to stop intoxicated drivers from using their cars and thus help prevent such accidents.

Denis C. Theriault of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the charge, sought by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would have raised $1.44 billion a year to help pay for some of the billions in criminal justice and public health costs associated with alcohol abuse.

But the Assembly Health Committee crushed the proposal, just as it did last April. Only five of 19 members voted in support this time. Six members, mostly Democrats, chose not to vote at all, and one was absent. Last year, only three members signed off and some didn’t even show up for the hearing.

The vote marked another defeat on alcohol levies for Beall, who also proposed a steep beer tax hike in 2008. "They’ve given me a bloody nose," Beall said after the vote. "But I’m going to wipe it off and come back in a few weeks with something different." Next time, he said, any proposed fee may be "more modest."

Theriault writes that alcohol taxes and fees have traditionally faced a tough road in California, where beer and wine production are major industries and spend heavily on political campaigns.

The state’s excise tax was last raised in 1992 by a penny. A plan by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to hike it by 5 cents a drink last year, to help close the state’s budget deficit, was shot down in Legislature.

Even if Beall’s bill had made it past the Health Committee, it likely faced even steeper odds in its next planned destination, the Governmental Organization Committee, the panel that actually oversees California’s alcohol industry.

Led by the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog, advocates from labor, religious, and health groups rallied outside the Capitol before and after the vote on Tuesday, with some 100 people wearing red hats that read “Charge for Harm.”

"When you cause a problem, you pay for it," Tom Renfree, of the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators’ Association of California, said during the rally. "We’re not going to stand aside and watch people be destroyed."

The Marin Institute estimates that alcohol abuse costs California about $38 billion a year, from lost wages, hospital costs, counseling expenses, and prison costs.

The state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs estimates the annual cost of alcohol abuse at $22.5 billion.
But the American Beverage Institute, an alcohol industry lobbying group, offered its own statistics Tuesday, arguing that more than half of the cost of a typical bottle of spirits already goes to the state and federal governments and that new fees—as much as $1 for an average bottle of wine—would be an undue burden on the industry, costing about 38,000 jobs.

"The hospitality industry is already paying its fair share," the institute’s managing director, Sarah Longwell, said in a statement.

Beall disagreed and cited surveys showing widespread public support for increasing levies on alcohol. A Public Policy Institute of California poll found 85 percent of respondents supported the governor’s tax plan last year.

"The Legislature and the alcohol industry," Beall said, "need to sober up."

More than 1.5 million people come to Sydney Harbor to watch a lavish fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. City authorities have set up alcohol-free zones to address concerns from area residents and the police about drunken behavior.

Police officers and security guards will search bags to ensure that alcohol is not brought to many of the most popular vantage points near the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Liquor will be sold at licensed bars at some venues, however.

Similar measures have been adopted by local governments elsewhere. In the resort town of Byron Bay in New South Wales, officials have banned alcohol in the streets, parks, and beaches on New Year’s Eve.

A recent survey has found that many Australians double or even triple their consumption of alcohol over the Christmas period.

Geoff Munro from the Australian Drug Foundation urges moderation. "It is important that hosts at functions provide a range of drinks, not just alcoholic but ensure that people have got non-alcoholic drinks because people need to be reminded that they can have a great time without drinking," he said.

Alcohol-related violence in Australia, including sexual assaults and fights, has almost doubled in the past 15 years. Each week alcohol abuse kills more than 60 Australians, while 1,500 end up in hospitals.

Supporters say the experiment in public humiliation should be used elsewhere in the nation if it reduces the number of drunks on the road. Critics say the photo gallery is a heavy-handed tactic that threatens to violate constitutional rights and stain reputations without court convictions.

"We’re not trying to embarrass anybody," said police Maj. Thomas Nitta, head of the traffic division. "This is public record, and we want people to be aware of this."

Defense attorneys doubt the strategy will stop intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel.

"There’s no empirical data to show it does anything other than embarrass them," said attorney Pat McPherson, who handles hundreds of DUI cases a year. "There may be a good intent here, but it doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing and really opens the police up to liability."

Arrest records and photos are considered to be public records and have been published in newspapers and shown on TV for decades. The Honolulu program is different, however, because the police themselves are publicizing the images.

Recently released DUI mug shots in Hawaii include those of lawmakers and several stars of the ABC drama "Lost," which is filmed in the state.

Only a few other law enforcement agencies across the country post DUI mug shots on their websites. Arizona’s Maricopa County waits until suspects are convicted before posting their photos. Jails in Denton, Texas, and Gwinnett County, Ga., link pictures to the names of suspects listed online for all crimes.

"I don’t think people really think about that when they drink and then drive," said Officer Ryan Grelle, a spokesman for the Denton Police Department. "Their thought process is gone because of the alcohol."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) said it hasn’t found any research on whether posting online photos of suspected drunken drivers would reduce offenses. It said an estimated 11,773 people died in drunken driving crashes in the U.S. in 2008.

"Based on the success or lack of success in Honolulu, other law enforcement agencies across the country could do the same thing," said Debbie Weir, chief operating officer of Dallas-based MADD. "Hopefully it will make a difference and we can learn some lessons from it."

Honolulu police arrest more than 80 people a week for investigation of drunken driving, said Nitta, who believes the cost of the online program will be minimal because it will be added to the routine duties of an officer in his unit.

At 10 a.m. each Wednesday, the photos of those arrested in the previous week will be posted for 24 hours under the headline "Oahu’s Drunk Drivers." After six months, the department will evaluate the results of the program.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the effort could violate constitutionally guaranteed due process rights.

"The police frequently arrest people who do not deserve to be arrested, and in today’s Internet environment having your picture posted on a Web site is something that can stick with you for the rest of your life," said Jay Stanley, public education director for the ACLU’s technology and liberty program.

McPherson said the program could also raise difficult questions if police faced the possibility of posting the photo of an arrested undercover officer or member of a witness protection program.

Barnett Lotstein, special assistant attorney for Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, said posting mug shots after convictions has had an impact.

"If you commit this kind of offense, it’s not going to be a secret," he said.

Shari Roan of the Los Angeles Times writes that addiction experts now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and change those habits if necessary, using new knowledge about genetic and behavioral risks of addiction. Even some people who suffer from alcohol-use disorders can cut back on their consumption before it disrupts their education, ruins careers, and damages health.

Some of the nation’s leading scientists studying substance abuse say that humans travel a long road before they become powerless over alcohol, and most never reach that point.

"We’re on the cusp of some major advances in how we conceptualize alcoholism," says Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). "The focus now is on the large group of people who are not yet dependent. But they are at risk for developing dependence,” he continued.

Many of these people don’t need to give up alcohol altogether. The concept of “controlled drinking”—that people with alcohol-use disorders could simply control their drinking—has existed for many years. Evidence now exists that such an approach is possible for some people, although abstinence is still considered necessary for those with the most severe dependency.

The overall reassessment has been fueled by the groundbreaking National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, the largest and most comprehensive look at alcohol use in America. The project surveyed 43,000 people 18 and older in 2001 and 2002, and again in 2004 and 2005, with the results released in increments beginning in 2006.

This survey alone has been enough to convince even national addiction experts that they’ve been somewhat narrow in their approach to alcohol disorders. But the findings are being further bolstered by research in genetics and psychology.

Roan writes that alcohol abuse is defined as use that repeatedly contributes, within a 12-month period, to the risk of bodily harm, relationship troubles, problems in meeting obligations, and run-ins with the law. Alcohol dependence includes the same symptoms, plus the inability to limit or stop drinking, the need for more alcohol to get the same effect, the presence of withdrawal symptoms when drinking has stopped, and a consumption level that takes increasing amounts of time.

"For a long time there was an emphasis on alcoholism as if it were one thing," says Carol Prescott, a psychology professor at USC who has studied alcohol-use disorders. "I think that has been abandoned. People with alcohol-related problems don’t all look the same at all. Some people only have problems for a short time. Others develop disorders that are ultimately fatal to them."

The other key finding from the survey is that, at least once in the previous year, 28 percent of adults had exceeded the daily or weekly limits at which drinking is considered low-risk.

For men, low-risk drinking is defined as no more than four drinks on any given day or no more than 14 drinks per week. For women, the limit is three drinks per day or seven drinks per week. (A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, eight to nine ounces of malt liquor, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits.) The majority of Americans who drink beyond these limits have mild to moderate disorders, meaning they occasionally have trouble controlling their intake, Willenbring says.

That’s where the overall risk assessment comes in. Willenbring compares it to treating high blood pressure or cholesterol before the condition develops into heart disease.

In the national survey, about half of the people who had suffered from an alcohol-use disorder recovered, enabling them to drink at low-risk levels without symptoms of dependence. "Some people are uncomfortable with that," Prescott says. "It’s a safer prescription to tell someone to quit. But the studies suggest that a large proportion of people are able to cut down and aren’t out-of-control."

Other clues can also presage alcohol problems, and should be taken into account when people assess their alcohol consumption:

* Young age at first drink. Perhaps because of changes in the still-developing brain and because they associate with peers who are also heavy drinkers, people who drink at age 15 or younger are at particularly high risk of developing an alcohol problem. The national survey found that nearly half of people who become alcohol-dependent do so by age 21 and 75 percent by age 25.

* Flushing reaction to alcohol. Some people carry a gene mutation (ALDH2) that affects alcohol metabolism and causes them to turn red when they drink. Seen mostly in people of Asian descent, the gene is linked to a higher risk of alcohol-use disorders, but the uncomfortable flushing effect often dissuades these people from drinking.

* Low sensitivity to alcohol. Some people need to drink more to feel an effect compared with the typical person—often referred to as the ability to "drink everyone else under the table." At least five genes are thought to be linked to this proclivity. An estimated 40 percent of children of alcoholics carry this trait.

* Specific gene mutations. They include a mutation of the 5HTT gene, which is linked to low serotonin levels in the brain and is found in 60 percent of people who were alcoholics at age 40, and a mutation of the GABA (A) gene that is linked to a low sensitivity to alcohol.

* The presence of behavioral, emotional,or psychiatric disorders, or smoking dependence.

Any of these factors, when combined with a pattern of exceeding drinking limits, should help people gauge their personal risk, experts say.

Dr. Marc Schuckit is director of the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, which has revolutionized what is known about genetic influences of alcohol, particularly the concept of low sensitivity. He says genes are responsible for about 60 percent of the risk of alcohol-use disorders and environmental factors account for the other 40 percent—and the two factors conspire to create alcohol-use disorders.

"It’s theoretically possible to take kids before they first drink, find out whether they have any gene variations, and say to them, ‘If you choose to be a drinker, then be careful because it’s very likely that you’ll need to drink more to have the same effect," he says.

Based on the growing knowledge of risk factors, experts at the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse and other policy-setting health organizations say Americans’ drinking habits should be screened during visits with their primary-care doctor or during emergency room visits.

"From what we know from scientific studies, there are some very clear things that can be done," Willenbring says. "But people don’t ordinarily think of looking to science for how to improve drinking problems."

The Scotsman.com reports that according to the research carried out by the British Society of Gastroenterology, a quarter (26 percent) of Londoners said they drink to calm their nerves, and one in ten said they drink because of depression. But in Wales, 22 percent of those polled said they binge drink while with friends.

Scotland’s most senior police officer said the country’s binge drinking is out of control, and experts estimate that about 100,000 people in the UK could die as a result of alcohol abuse over the next ten years.

Campaigners are calling for better education for young people on the dangers of drinking and urged Scottish politicians to introduce a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland.

Pat Shearer, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and chief constable of Dumfries and Galloway police, said that binge drinking had damaged Scotland’s international image, and called for children as young as five to be educated about alcohol abuse.

"We can’t continue the way we are, the costs are far, far too high,” he said. “Every weekend, we see the extreme impact of binge-drinking, not only on ourselves but also the great demand it places on the health service and the damage it does to families."

Scotland is one of the heaviest drinking countries in Europe, with more than 1,400 alcohol-related deaths last year. Scots are also twice as likely to suffer an alcohol-related death as people in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The charity Alcohol Concern reported that drink-related deaths across the whole of the UK have gone up from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008, so at current consumption levels 90,800 people will die by 2019.

"This is an unacceptably high death toll and the worst part is that all of these deaths are avoidable," said Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker.

The Scottish Government announced plans earlier this year for a new law to bring in a minimum price for alcohol. Health campaigners are urging politicians to ensure that it is sold for at least 40p a unit.

Dr. Evelyn Gillan, director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, said: "The evidence suggests that anything less than 40p would not make enough of an impact on people’s habits and so produce the necessary health benefits. You have to have policies that will reduce overall consumption amongst the population and the best way to do that is controls on price."
 

Scottish Labour called for a "national consensus" to tackle alcohol abuse, but a Scottish National Party (SNP) member of the Scottish Parliament (SMP) said ministers had already proposed radical action on the issue.

The Scottish Ambulance Service figures were compiled from records kept by ambulance crews over each weekend since April 2009. The statistics specifically referred to Fridays, Saturdays, and the early hours of each Sunday.

Anne McLaughlin, an MSP for Glasgow, who recently joined an ambulance crew in Glasgow on a Saturday night, said the figures matched what she had seen.

"Spending the night working with Glasgow’s paramedics showed me how much of their time is spent dealing with the impact of alcohol," she said.

"Whether it is people hurting themselves in drink-related accidents, ending up so drunk they need hospitalization, or the end result of alcohol-induced violence, all the cases we saw on a Saturday night shift involved alcohol.”

"I want our emergency services to be dealing with people who really need them, not having to spend all their time mopping up the damage caused by alcohol," she continued.

She praised the Scottish government’s proposals—which include introducing a minimum price for alcohol—but called on all individuals "to think about what we’re drinking and the effect that has on ourselves and public services."

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Cathy Jamieson said the next stage of Scotland’s alcohol strategy must include action to tackle anti-social behavior and violence.

She called for a package of measures including a mandatory “Challenge 21” scheme to stop children from obtaining alcohol, alcohol treatment and testing orders to tackle problem drinking, and more resources for police to enforce the Licensing Act.

Jamieson described Scotland’s hard-drinking culture as "a national disgrace." "This situation cannot be allowed to continue because if ambulance crews are attending to drunks they may not be available for a genuine emergency," she said.

"This is just one of the reasons we need a national consensus to tackle alcohol abuse.”

The New York Times’ Tanya Mohn writes that this year, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Utah passed laws that make ignition interlocks mandatory in cars for convicted drunken drivers—even if it’s the first offense. Other states that have passed this law are Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Washington.

While opponents of interlocks cite privacy issues and concerns that some devices might be overly sensitive, a survey released this month by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that about two out of three respondents were in favor of putting reliable alcohol detection systems into all cars, not just into the cars of offenders.

Last year, a public-private partnership began to research, develop, and test the technology that detects alcohol in a driver’s system. The systems are intended to be installed in all cars, not just in those driven by people who have been convicted of driving under the influence. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program is a cooperative agreement between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, and is expected to cost $10 million.

Susan Ferguson, the program manager, said the technology being developed included analysis of air samples in the passenger compartment that measures alcohol in the driver’s breath and tissue spectroscopy, a touch-based system that can measure alcohol content by assessing light absorption at a particular wavelength based on measurements of light reflected from the skin.

Three companies based in the United States, Canada, and Sweden are developing the prototypes that are expected to be ready for testing next summer, Dr. Ferguson said. In-vehicle testing is expected by February 2013. The new detection systems are being designed to work quickly, accurately, and unobtrusively, she said, noting that the ones in use now are considered intrusive and not acceptable for widespread use. “Certainly within 10 years, the technology will be vehicle-ready, if not sooner.”

A report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states that while about 180,000 interlocks are in use nationwide and successfully reduce the risk that previous offenders will commit repeat violations, most fatal alcohol-related crashes involved drivers who hadn’t had a conviction in the previous three years. If interlocks had been in all vehicles, according to estimates in the report, more than 8,000 lives could have been saved last year.

“The main reason people drive drunk is because they can,” said Chuck Hurley, chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “The only way to eliminate drunk driving is to have technology in all vehicles so no one can drive drunk.”

From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, 36 people were killed in suspected alcohol-related crashes, compared with 71 during the same time period last year. None of this summer’s alcohol-related fatalities occurred over Labor Day weekend. During the crackdown, more than 3,515 people were arrested for DUI by agencies working overtime to keep drunk drivers off the roadways.

"This summer’s level of DUI enforcement was unprecedented and resulted in the arrest of an average of 32 drunk drivers each day. Through cooperation of law enforcement agencies across the state, we have removed these dangerous drivers from the roadways, and we know lives have been saved," said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.

"But we also remember that 36 people were killed needlessly this summer, and we will continue our efforts no matter what the season, month or holiday to eliminate Colorado’s deadliest crime."

During the first weekend of summer DUI enforcement, 599 drunk drivers were arrested across Colorado, making the roads safer for those traveling over the Memorial Day holiday. Law enforcement made 593 DUI arrests over the Fourth of July weekend, and 582 arrests were made at sobriety checkpoints throughout the summer.

Colorado law enforcement agencies joined the national DUI crackdown, "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest," which started Friday, Aug. 21, and continued through Labor Day Weekend. The Colorado State Patrol and more than 60 agencies across Colorado mobilized for a statewide effort that included sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and increased patrols. Over the 18-day crackdown period, 1,762 people were arrested for DUI, an average of 98 people each day.

"We believe that the high level of enforcement over the summer has played a part in the record-low number of people killed by impaired drivers," said Michael Nugent, manager of CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety. "We hope this trend will continue as Colorado drivers respond to our message of lining up a safe ride home if you plan to drink. Making smarter choices will keep the number of needless deaths on the decline."

In addition to jail time, drivers arrested for DUI face stiff fines, court costs, and other fees that could cost more than $10,270. Even first-time offenders lose their driver’s license and could have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle for up to two years.

"Our society is awash with pro-alcohol messaging and marketing," said Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, the association’s head of science and ethics. "We need to look beyond young people and at society as a whole."

The association, which represents more than two-thirds of Britain’s practicing doctors, has repeatedly warned of the dangers of the country’s increasingly deadly drinking habit. In a widely publicized report last year, the association said Britain was among the hardest-drinking countries in Europe and noted that its alcohol-related death rate had nearly doubled between 1991 and 2005—from 6.9 to 12.9 per 100,000 people.

Although the group has lobbied for higher taxes and stricter regulation in the past, its new report called for a total ban on all alcohol advertisements. The report said Britain’s alcohol industry spends 800 million pounds ($1.32 billion) annually promoting drinking, wielding its "prodigious marketing skills and massive budgets to promote positive images about alcohol."

British brewers acknowledged that the country’s drinking culture could use changing, but said bans and higher taxes weren’t the answer. "We believe culture change is more likely to be achieved through long-term education and tough enforcement," said Jeremy Beadles, the chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

The Department of Health said in a statement that "it’s not always right to legislate," while the Advertising Standards Authority said its codes were already "among the strictest in the world."