www.alkoholpolitik.ch

69th IOGT World Congress urges governments to make alcohol policy the priority it should be and calls for Framework Convention on Alcohol Control.

42 countries, 77 delegates and 320 participants all together took part in the 69th session of the IOGT International World Congress. Together they issued the following declaration:

Make Alcohol Policy Solutions The Priority They Should Be

We, the delegates of the 69thIOGT International World Congress “Future Made Here”, gathered to galvanize fresh momentum in our efforts to tackle alcohol as major obstacle to sustainable development.

We note with alarm the lack of progress in preventing and reducing alcohol harm in countries around the world.

13 of 17 Sustainable Development Goals are adversely affected by alcohol. Every ten seconds a human being dies due to an alcohol-related cause. Globally, alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature death and disability among people between the ages of 15 to 49. Alcohol harm is decimating our families, hurting our communities, undermining our economic productivity, and impeding progress for all. All this is manufactured and fueled by the alcohol industry, their harmful products and unethical business practices, which include tax avoidance, pervasive marketing and industry self-regulation.

Not only is Big Alcohol ruthlessly pursuing profits with no regard for Human Rights, human dignity, and human well-being. The alcohol industry is also engaging in aggressive political activities to undermine, derail and obstruct evidence-based and cost-effective alcohol policy measures that would benefit people and societies.

We are deeply concerned about the fact that our governments are dangerously off track in fulfilling their commitments to promoting a better life for all through tackling alcohol harm.

Independent science shows that the alcohol policy best buys hold considerable and largely untapped potential to promote health,  foster development and to protect especially vulnerable groups like children and youth, women and people in deprived and marginalized communities. For example, a $1 investment in the alcohol policy best buy measures generates a return of $9 dollars. These alcohol policy best buys are important tools to help achieve the SDGs.

The lack of progress in policy implementation and enforcement since the adoption of the WHO Global Alcohol Strategy in 2010 make the need for a binding international agreement abundantly clear.

Therefore, we call for the adoption of a Framework Convention on Alcohol Control. In the era of the Agenda 2030, sustainable development will not be possible without renewed and high-level political commitment and persistent, evidence-based action to prevent and reduce alcohol harm.

It is high-time that governments make alcohol policy solutions the priority they should be in order to achieve development for all.

Source: IOGT International

Considerations under European Law and the implications for European public health
Scotland has amongst the highest rates of alcohol-related harms in Western Europe and over the last three decades has observed an approximate 3-fold increase in alcohol-related mortality.1 The Scottish Government has identified the affordability of alcohol as a key component for an effective strategy in addressing these harms. While increases in alcohol duty can be used to reduce affordability, responsibility for determining alcohol duty lies with the UK rather than Scottish Parliament so the introduction of a minimum unit price (MUP) is being considered as a more targeted alternative. Its potential introduction raises a number of important legal considerations that bear relevance to future public health legislative measures across the European Union. In this article, we outline some of the main considerations as illustrated by the case study of MUP in Scotland and discuss the implications for countries across Europe and other areas of public health policy. …
(Source: Alcohol Reports, 07/27/12) eurpub.oxfordjournals.org, August 2012 (payable) Eur J Public Health (2012) 22 (4): 457-458. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cks091

EdA Health Committee report has given a mixed, if not critical, verdict on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy published earlier this year.

Download the 3rd report into the Government’s alcohol strategy (pdf), chapter index here and the Commons press release.

Although supportive of some aspects of the strategy, including the headline announcement of minimum pricing, the report is critical of an excessive focus on binge drinking over health issues and the lack of a delivery framework in the strategy. It also speaks out on alcohol industry denial over alcohol advertising effects on consumption. Although not against the principle of the controversial responsibility deal, it warns it should not be a substitute for government policy and should be regarded as standard corporate responsibility, rather than something to be praised for.

Launching the Committee’s report, the Chair, Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell MP, said:

„The main focus of the strategy is binge drinking and its consequences for anti-social behaviour and public disorder. Those are important issues, but the health impact of chronic alcohol misuse is in our view also significant and greater emphasis needs to be placed on addressing that impact.“ ….
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/19/12)

The study found increased cigarette prices due to taxes did not decrease smoking rates in people under 30, The Atlantic reports.

The researchers based their findings on data from the 2001-2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys, which included 1.3 million people. They found increases in state cigarette prices were associated with increases in current drinking among people ages 65 and older, and binge and heavy drinking among those ages 21 to 29. They found reductions in smoking among adults ages 30 to 64, drinking among those ages 18 to 20, and binge drinking among those 65 and older.

“Researchers, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers should work together to understand and prepare for these unintended consequences of tobacco taxation policy,” the researchers wrote in the journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy.
(Source: Join Together, 07/17/12)

A report exploring the potential role of promoting lower strength drinks to address alcohol harms has been produced by the Liverpool John Moores University (JMU) Centre for Public Health.

The rapid literature review identified both opportunities and threats to improved health through the increased availability of lower strength alcohol. The report suggests that if lower strength drinks result in ’substitution‘ for higher strength drinks there can be potential public health benefits. However it also identifies ‚addition‘ as a likely affect, whereby lower strength drinks result in an increased number of situations where alcohol is consumed. The report concludes that encouraging production and consumption of lower alcohol products in a single product category is unlikely to maximise effects on population level harms. …
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 07/3/12)

In Focus
Alcohol harms you, others and the society – why does Europe need an alcohol strategy? 27 June 2012, European Parliament, Brussels
Finland takes important steps to restrict alcohol marketing
News from Eurocare
Alcohol Focus Scotland: Minimum pricing
NordAN: Conference reminder
EHYT: Cannabis Connotations of an Alcohol Ad cause a stir in Finland
Eurocare Italy: Partnership between Diageo and Italian Automobile Club
DHS: Focus on alcohol and cancer
News from the European Union Institutions
Report from the Chair of the European Alcohol and Health Forum
Presentations from the High Level Conference on EU Health Programmes
Question from MEP: Alcohol consumption in Europe
Question from MEP: Benefits of red wine
Question from MEP: Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
Question from MEP: Wine imports: possible tax increase and imposition of quotas
News from across Europe
Scottish minimum price at 50p per unit
Ireland – Minister to end alcohol sponsorship of sports
Germany – Public Transit Pub: Will Alcohol Bans Stop Party Trains?
News from the World Health Organization
World Health Statistics
New research and reports
ALICE RAP Policy Brief on alcohol: ‘Alcohol – the neglected addiction’
Study on the affordability of alcoholic beverages in the EU
Research shows high level of serving alcohol to inebriated customers
Call for Papers Special Issue on International Perspectives on Alcohol Control Policies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Upcoming Events ….
(Source: Eurocare, 25/05/2012)

The Scottish Government has passed the Alcohol Minimum Pricing Bill, meaning a 50 pence minimum unit price (MUP) could be in place north of the border by April next year. The Bill requires Royal Assent and still faces the threat of potential legal challenges as warned of by sections of the alcohol industry.

A 50 pence MUP would set a minimum floor price for an average strength bottle of wine at £4.69, vodka at £13.13 a bottle (70cl) and a standard four-pack of lager would need to cost at least £3.52. The Bill sets a minimum price for a unit of alcohol as a condition of licence.

However most drinks would be unaffected, especially those sold in pubs and restaurants. The minimum price would not be raised for at least two years and is reported to include a „sunset clause“. The move is expected to save lives and reduce crime based on evidence linking price and consumption and modelling work by the University of Sheffield.
(Source: Alcohol Policy UK, 05/25/12)

A focus on excise duty pass-through, on- and off-trade sales, price promotions and pricing regulations
Prepared for the European Commission, DG SANCO and the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers Contract Reference N° SC2010 63 06

Policies related to alcohol pricing, promotion and discounts provide opportunities to address harms associated with alcohol consumption. However, there are important gaps in information and knowledge about various policy-relevant aspects of alcohol retail and pricing. This information could help governments to plan their alcohol strategies better and develop evidence-based policies.
To address these knowledge gaps, this report presents findings from our research, which focused on the following four areas of inquiry:
· the link between changes in excise duties and changes in alcohol consumer prices
· the trends in the ratio of on-trade to off-trade consumption of alcohol, and their drivers
· the scale of alcohol price promotions and discounts in the on- and off-trade across the EU
· regulations in Member States on price promotions and discounts, their compliance and effectiveness. …

(Source: DG Health & Consumers website (23-05-2012 full text, pdf) RAND Corporation, Arlington VA 22202, United States)

Alcohol advertising should be banned in Europe in a bid to drive down excess boozing and associated ill health across the continent, concludes an alliance of experts in a new policy brief.

Alcohol is Europe’s most persistent and devastating addiction problem, says the Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe – Reframing Addictions Project (ALICE-RAP), which brings together a network of over 150 researchers with expertise in many different aspects of addiction, including the social and economic impact. …

The briefing notes that the most effective and fairest policies are those which nudge people towards lower consumption, through price hikes, restrictions on availability, and advertising bans.

A minimum unit price, which the Scottish government announced its intention to introduce earlier this week, is supported by research, says the briefing. Scotland has opted for a 50 pence minimum unit price, while England is considering a 40 pence option. …

The evidence shows that alcohol adverts push people into higher and more harmful levels of consumption and trigger relapse among those trying to give up booze. Furthermore, it can encourage young people to start drinking, says the brief, which advocates a wholesale ban.

“Europeans drink more than twice the world’s average and alcohol represents the number one addiction problem in Europe today, greater than any other drug or gambling, “ said Dr Peter Anderson, Professor of Substance Use, Policy and Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, and co-leader of the project, speaking at the report’s launch yesterday.

“Our aim with this policy brief is to help decision makers across the EU and beyond break the negative pattern of harmful alcohol consumption and costs by providing much needed scientific input to the discussion, which has long been dominated by the alcohol industry lobbyists,” he added.
(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) onmedica.com, 05/17/12

Comment: Unfortunately many politicians do not like scientific input.

One in eight deaths of UK adults under the age of 64 is caused by alcohol, an international conference on tackling problem drinking has heard.

The social cost of alcohol abuse has been estimated to be £240 a year for each European, with the annual bill for the NHS alone being £2.7 billion.

A major conference of addiction specialists from across the world is meeting at Newcastle University and organisers have called for England to follow Scotland and set a minimum price per unit.

They have also demanded a ban on advertising alcohol.
Too easy: Prof Eileen Kaner from Newcastle University said the government had to be bolder about tackling cheap alcoholl

In Europe, alcohol consumption is more than twice the global average and it represents the biggest addiction in the UK, greater than any illegal drug or gambling.

(Source: Alcohol Reports, News, 05/21/12) dailymail.co.uk, 05/16/12