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Alcohol Control Policy in Europe: Overview and Exemplary Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Nino Berdzuli

    (WHO Regional Office for Europe, UN City, Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Carina Ferreira-Borges

    (WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Leontyevsky Pereulok 9, 125009 Moscow, Russia)

  • Antoni Gual

    (Clinical Addictions Research Group (GRAC-GRE) Psychiatry Department, Neurosciences Institute, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, C/Mallorca 183, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
    Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), C/Mallorca 183, 08036 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Jürgen Rehm

    (Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada
    Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
    Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
    Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada)

Abstract

Alcohol is a major risk factor for burden of disease. However, there are known effective and cost-effective alcohol control policies that could reduce this burden. Based on reviews, international documents, and contributions to this special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), this article gives an overview of the implementation of such policies in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region, and of best practices. Overall, there is a great deal of variability in the policies implemented between countries, but two countries, the Russian Federation and Lithuania, have both recently implemented significant increases in alcohol taxation, imposed restrictions on alcohol availability, and imposed bans on the marketing and advertising of alcohol within short time spans. Both countries subsequently saw significant decreases in consumption and all-cause mortality. Adopting the alcohol control policies of these best-practice countries should be considered by other countries. Current challenges for all countries include cross-border shopping, the impact from recent internet-based marketing practices, and international treaties.

Suggested Citation

  • Nino Berdzuli & Carina Ferreira-Borges & Antoni Gual & Jürgen Rehm, 2020. "Alcohol Control Policy in Europe: Overview and Exemplary Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:21:p:8162-:d:440152
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dirk W. Lachenmeier, 2020. "Is There a Need for Alcohol Policy to Mitigate Metal Contamination in Unrecorded Fruit Spirits?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-6, April.
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    2. Nikita A. Mitkin & Tatiana N. Unguryanu & Sofia Malyutina & Alexander V. Kudryavtsev, 2023. "Association between Alcohol Consumption and Body Composition in Russian Adults and Patients Treated for Alcohol-Related Disorders: The Know Your Heart Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Gloria Thomasia Dossou & Morgane Guillou-Landreat & Loic Lemain & Sophie Lacoste-Badie & Nathan Critchlow & Karine Gallopel-Morvan, 2023. "How Do Young Adult Drinkers React to Varied Alcohol Warning Formats and Contents? An Exploratory Study in France," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Jürgen Rehm & Mindaugas Štelemėkas & Carina Ferreira-Borges & Huan Jiang & Shannon Lange & Maria Neufeld & Robin Room & Sally Casswell & Alexander Tran & Jakob Manthey, 2021. "Classifying Alcohol Control Policies with Respect to Expected Changes in Consumption and Alcohol-Attributable Harm: The Example of Lithuania, 2000–2019," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, March.

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