Adults in the WHO European Region consume an average of 9.2 litres of pure alcohol per year, making them the heaviest drinkers globally. In this region, alcohol is a leading cause of death, responsible for nearly 800 000 deaths annually, largely from noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Implementing evidence-based policies is crucial to safeguard public health and lessen the strain of alcohol-related harms on health systems and communities. A major obstacle to this is that policy-makers are often confronted with conflicting perspectives when addressing alcohol-related issues. Developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the Alcohol policy playbook is designed for policy-makers, advocates and public health professionals. It addresses key questions about the impact of alcohol and the efficacy of key policies, including pricing, availability controls, marketing restrictions, labelling, drink-driving interventions, and regulations for no- and low-alcohol products. For each question, the Playbook contrasts the alcohol industry’s views with public health evidence, helping users to identify when alcohol-related issues are being framed from a commercial perspective. It guides policymakers to prioritize public health evidence with the aim of reducing alcohol-related harm, improving health outcomes and reducing the financial burden on public finances.
Authors
- Citation
- World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe . (2024). Empowering public health advocates to navigate alcohol policy challenges: alcohol policy playbook. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/379378 . License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- GOVDOC
- WHO/EURO:2024-5624-45389-64949 (PDF)
- Pages
- 84
- Published in
- Switzerland
- Rights
- CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- Rights Holder
- World Health Organization
- Rights URI
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo
Table of Contents
- Foreword 6
- Preface 7
- Acknowledgements 8
- Abbreviations 9
- Introduction 11
- Key actors in alcohol policy: industry and public health communities 13
- The alcohol industry 13
- The public health community 14
- Approach and structure 15
- 1. Alcohol – harms, health and costs 17
- 1.1. Alcohol and harms 18
- 1.1.1. Who experiences alcohol-related harms? 18
- 1.2. Alcohol and health 19
- 1.2.1. Are there health benefits associated with alcohol use? 19
- 1.2.2. Does alcohol use cause cancer? 21
- 1.3. Alcohol and costs 23
- 1.3.1. Do public health restrictions on the alcohol industry risk significant economic consequences? 23
- 2. Policies for reducing alcohol harm 27
- 2.1. Alcohol pricing and taxation policies 28
- 2.1.1. Can raising the price of alcohol help reduce harm? 28
- 2.1.2. Are alcohol pricing and taxation policies regressive and discriminatory? 31
- 2.1.3. Key insights 32
- 2.2. Alcohol availability policies 33
- 2.2.1. Can restrictions on the hours of alcohol sale reduce alcohol harm? 33
- 2.2.2. Can restrictions on alcohol outlet density reduce alcohol harm? 35
- 2.2.3. Key insights 36
- 2.3. Alcohol marketing policies 37
- 2.3.1. Does alcohol marketing target underage alcohol users? 37
- 2.3.2. Does alcohol marketing contribute to youth alcohol initiation or binge drinking? 38
- 2.3.3. Does self-regulation of alcohol marketing protect young people? 40
- 2.3.4. Key insights 42
- 2.4. Alcohol labelling policies 43
- 2.4.1. Do alcohol industry voluntary practices present adequate information on the labels of alcohol containers? 43
- 2.4.2. Are health warnings on product labels effective? 45
- 2.4.3. Key insights 46
- 2.5. Drink–driving interventions 47
- 2.5.1. Who should be the target of drink–driving policies? 47
- 2.5.2. Are designated driver campaigns and safe ride programmes effective in preventing drink–driving? 49
- 2.5.3. Key insights 50
- 2.6. No- and low-alcohol (NoLo) products 51
- 2.6.1. Can increasing the availability of no- and low-alcohol products reduce alcohol-related harm? 51
- 2.6.2. Key insights 53
- Conclusion 55
- References2 56
