Reuters (August 17)
“Headline inflation in the euro zone has halved in the past nine months and was 5.3% in July. But that’s not good enough for ECB hardliners. They want to see the core number, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, come down sharply before putting an end to the unprecedented climb in the bloc’s interest rates. That measure is falling more slowly and was running at 5.5% in July.” The ECB obsession over core inflation increases the “risk of policy mistake.”
Tags: 5.3%, Alcohol, Core, ECB hardliners, Energy, Euro zone, Food, Headline, Inflation, Interest rates, July, Obsession, Policy mistake, Risk, Tobacco
Star-Ledger (February 25)
“As the pandemic bore down…. traditional sources of fun and relaxation gave way to greater isolation.” States are now finding their citizens “drank and smoked more,” providing an unexpected boost to tax revenue. New Jersey alone is welcoming “$68 million in unanticipated revenue” from alcohol and tobacco taxes.
Tags: Alcohol, Fun, Isolation, New Jersey, Pandemic, Relaxation, Tax revenue, Unanticipated
WARC (December 3)
With the “coronavirus in check,” China’s economy “is showing increasing signs of recovery.” This now extends to alcohol sales. “As social distancing rules and dining out restrictions are eased, brewers and distillers report increased demand, and the Chinese consumer, it seems, has a thirst in particular for premium brands.” The “growing penchant for premium products” is happily in step with the Government, which is promoting them as “a key driver of the country’s economic recovery.”
Tags: Alcohol, Brewers, China, Consumer, Coronavirus, Demand, Dining out, Distillers, Eased, Economy, Recovery, Restrictions, Sales, Social distancing
Chicago Tribune (September 19)
“Teenagers are increasingly delaying activities that had long been seen as rites of passage into adulthood…. The percentage of adolescents in the U.S. who have a driver’s license, who have tried alcohol, who date, and who work for pay has plummeted since 1976, with the most precipitous decreases in the past decade.” The larger story may be that youths have less interest in these actives “because in today’s society, they no longer need to.”
Tags: Adolescents, Adulthood, Alcohol, Dating, Delay, Drive:, Rites of passage, Teenagers, U.S., Work Society
1843 (August Issue)
“Doctors and parents both tell young people to eat healthily and drink in moderation, and the young finally seem to be listening. Recent shifts in spending” in both the U.S. and the UK “indicate that they are spending more on healthy food and less on boozing.” For example, in the U.S. “households headed by under-25s have increased their spending on fresh fruit by 77% and on fresh vegetables by 47% (in real terms)” while more than halving annual spending on alcohol “from about $560 in 2000 to roughly $270 in 2015.”
Tags: Alcohol, Doctors, Food, Fresh, Fruit, Health, Moderation, Parents, Spending, U.S., UK, Vegetables
New York Times (November 6)
“Support for making marijuana legal is increasing around the world, and that is a good thing…. Laws banning the growing, distribution and possession of marijuana have caused tremendous damage to society, with billions spent on imprisoning people for violating pointlessly harsh laws.” Moreover, “marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and can be used to treat medical conditions like chronic pain.”
Tags: Alcohol, Ban, Damage, Distribution, Legal, Marijuana, Pain, Possession, Prison, Society, Support, Tobacco
