Doctors call for higher taxes on alcohol

SPANISH doctors have called for higher taxes on alcohol.

The Spanish Society for Public Health and Sanitary Administration (SESPAS) said last Thursday, June 3, that the higher taxes should be calculated based on the actual alcohol content of alcoholic beverages. The idea seeks to put the brake on excessive alcohol consumption.

SESPAS released a communiqué saying “higher taxes will not only increase tax revenues but also contribute to reducing alcohol consumption levels.” The communiqué goes on to say that Spain is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates on alcohol in Europe.

While SESPAS acknowledges that a moderate wine intake – one glass a day – can improve cardiovascular health, they also said that “excessive wine consumption is one of the biggest health risk factors in Europe.”

According to SESPAS, a large percentage of deaths and diseases in Spain is associated with excessive alcohol consumption. In fact, 10 per cent of deaths in people aged 15-64 are related to excessive drinking, as stated by the association.

SESPAS emphasised that excessive alcohol consumption is associated with car accidents and that 5 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-64 abuse alcohol. They also voiced their concern over “alcohol consumption among youngsters in view of its addictive nature.”

In their opinion, taxes on alcoholic beverages serve as a preventive measure.

As is the case in Italy and Germany, Spain levies a “type zero” tax on wine, and consumers only have to pay VAT on their wine purchases. Tax rates on beer are quite low and higher on distilled beverages but still relatively low when compared to other countries.

France recently levied a “minimum tax rate” on wine. SESPAS stated that in Nordic countries like Sweden and Norway taxes are directly proportional to the absolute alcohol content of the alcoholic beverages. This has “dissuasive effects” on alcohol consumption, they said.

Spain ranked eighth among OECD countries in per capita for alcohol consumption in 2009 with 11.4 litres, while Luxembourg ranked first with 15.3 litres in the same year.

Doctors call for higher taxes on alcohol

SPANISH doctors have called for higher taxes on alcohol.

The Spanish Society for Public Health and Sanitary Administration (SESPAS) said last Thursday, June 3, that the higher taxes should be calculated based on the actual alcohol content of alcoholic beverages. The idea seeks to put the brake on excessive alcohol consumption.

SESPAS released a communiqué saying “higher taxes will not only increase tax revenues but also contribute to reducing alcohol consumption levels.” The communiqué goes on to say that Spain is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates on alcohol in Europe.

While SESPAS acknowledges that a moderate wine intake – one glass a day – can improve cardiovascular health, they also said that “excessive wine consumption is one of the biggest health risk factors in Europe.”

According to SESPAS, a large percentage of deaths and diseases in Spain is associated with excessive alcohol consumption. In fact, 10 per cent of deaths in people aged 15-64 are related to excessive drinking, as stated by the association.

SESPAS emphasised that excessive alcohol consumption is associated with car accidents and that 5 per cent of Spaniards aged 15-64 abuse alcohol. They also voiced their concern over “alcohol consumption among youngsters in view of its addictive nature.”

In their opinion, taxes on alcoholic beverages serve as a preventive measure.

As is the case in Italy and Germany, Spain levies a “type zero” tax on wine, and consumers only have to pay VAT on their wine purchases. Tax rates on beer are quite low and higher on distilled beverages but still relatively low when compared to other countries.

France recently levied a “minimum tax rate” on wine. SESPAS stated that in Nordic countries like Sweden and Norway taxes are directly proportional to the absolute alcohol content of the alcoholic beverages. This has “dissuasive effects” on alcohol consumption, they said.

Spain ranked eighth among OECD countries in per capita for alcohol consumption in 2009 with 11.4 litres, while Luxembourg ranked first with 15.3 litres in the same year.

Man sentenced to 81 years in prison

A gynaecologist has been sentenced to 81 years in prison.

Spain’s Supreme Court has confirmed the prison sentence for a gynaecologist who sexually abused patients in Catalonia.

The man abused his victims during check-ups at the Catalan Health Institute (CHI) and at his private office in Barcelona between 2003 and 2006.

The court rejected all the appeals submitted by the gynaecologist’s defence lawyers, the CHI - regarding subsidiary civil liability - and Zurich Insurance PLC Spain - regarding direct liability - and confirmed the sentence in its entirety, with the exception of those terms concerning paying compensation interests to one victim.

The gynaecologist, who will have to serve a maximum of 13 and a half years behind bars, would abuse his patients in his office when no nurses were around.

As stated by the court, the man would subject his patients to examinations that were contrary to his professional duties, and degrading. It also concluded that the gynaecologist treated them as mere objects for his own sexual gratification. Furthermore, the court said he took advantage of his patients’ trust and that the women did not give their consent but were overcome by a “somewhat paralysing perplexity.”

The gynaecologist has also been deprived of his licence to practise medicine and sentenced to pay each victim €6,000.

Watermelon thieves caught

1,500 KILOS of watermelons have been stolen from a farm in Cartagena, Murcia.

The watermelons were being grown on land belonging to a university and were being used for the purposes of genetic investigation and experimentation. As such, they were not fit for human consumption.

The Guardia Civil have arrested five people in connection with the theft. The watermelons would have been worth around €44,000 if the had reach the market.

Investigations began in June when police were alerted to the theft of the fruits and were told that they were being used for genetic experiments to find new strains, and their fitness for the table could not be guaranteed.

Police officers soon located a lorry of watermelons, which experts at the experimental farm recognised as theirs.

In a joint operation with the Local Police, Guardia Civil officers then arrested five people, one of them a minor, for crimes against public health, as they were going to sell the melons for consumption, and theft.

All the accused are on bail until their cases can be heard by the courts in Cartagena.

New protocols for missing children

SPANISH police forces have all agreed on a new protocol to follow in cases of missing children, like the one of Madeleine McCann in 2007.

Under "certain circumstances" the media will be alerted if citizen collaboration is needed. These circumstances will be determined by the officer in charge but will mainly be used when the life of the child is considered to be in imminent danger.

In 2013, there were 13,054 cases of children going missing and 468 of those are still open - so far this year there have been 7,171 cases.

The new system created by the Ministry of the Interior to deal with missing children includes a special alert system which can be activated in a matter of minutes so that the first crucial hours of the search are not lost.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz, Minister of the Interior, has qualified the new system as extremely efficient and faster than the old one. The minister presided over the signing of the agreement of the new protocols, which were endorsed by 16 different entities which could be involved, in different ways, in the search and rescue of a missing minor.

New protocols for missing children

SPANISH police forces have all agreed on a new protocol to follow in cases of missing children, like the one of Madeleine McCann in 2007.

Under "certain circumstances" the media will be alerted if citizen collaboration is needed. These circumstances will be determined by the officer in charge but will mainly be used when the life of the child is considered to be in imminent danger.

In 2013, there were 13,054 cases of children going missing and 468 of those are still open - so far this year there have been 7,171 cases.

The new system created by the Ministry of the Interior to deal with missing children includes a special alert system which can be activated in a matter of minutes so that the first crucial hours of the search are not lost.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz, Minister of the Interior, has qualified the new system as extremely efficient and faster than the old one. The minister presided over the signing of the agreement of the new protocols, which were endorsed by 16 different entities which could be involved, in different ways, in the search and rescue of a missing minor.

He got engaged, then ate 61 hot dogs

Joey Chestnut celebrates Friday, July 4, after winning the 98th annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in New York. Chestnut ate 61 hot dogs to win the men's competition for the eighth straight year.

The competitors do what they do best as people keep count behind them.

Spectators cheer before the contest.

Chestnut, center, reacts next to fellow competitors Tim Janus, left, and Matt Stonie after the competition.

Chestnut proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Neslie Ricasa, before the contest.

David Turner walks down Surf Avenue while wearing his American flag accessories.

The women's competition was held earlier in the day. Miki Sudo, second from right, won by eating 34 hot dogs.

Sudo, right, eats next to last year's winner, Sonya Thomas.

Sudo celebrates her victory.

• Reigning king of world's most famous hot dog eating contest proposes before contest


• Joey Chestnut downs 61 hot dogs in 10 minutes


• He secures eighth consecutive title, falls short of record


• In women's contest, Miki Sudo inhales 34 dogs to eclipse former champ

New York (CNN) -- Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, reigning king of the world's most famous hot dog eating contest, may have had an extra boost of confidence Friday. With a hug and kiss, his girlfriend of three years accepted his marriage proposal.

On a rainy Independence Day at Brooklyn's Coney Island, the San Jose, California, resident once again clinched the title at Nathan's hot dog eating contest before hundreds of umbrella-toting spectators at the annual celebration of gluttony.

"It was just a dog fight the entire time," he told ESPN, which broadcast the popular event.

Chestnut sloppily devoured 61 hot dogs in 10 minutes -- edging his biggest competitor, Matthew Stonie, who placed second after swallowing 56 dogs.

Unlocking the keys to competitive eating

Chestnut's win at Nathan's 98th annual International Hot Dog Eating Contest secured his title for the eighth consecutive year, but he was still a handful of wieners away from his world record 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes that he set last year.

"The hot dogs were slow today, the weather slowed everything down," Chestnut told ESPN. "I could never find my rhythm."

As reigning champ, Chestnut was paraded into the contest on the shoulders of fans on a chariot-like hot dog cart.

In the women's competition, Miki Sudo won by inhaling 34 dogs to eclipse the former champ, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas.

The hot dog eating contest was divided into men's and women's competitions in 2011.

Contestants compete for prize money and Nathan's Mustard Belt.

As American as apple pie -- the origins of picnic favorites

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