IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i21p8162-d440152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8162/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8162/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin Angus & John Holmes & Ravi Maheswaran & Mark A. Green & Petra Meier & Alan Brennan, 2017. "Mapping Patterns and Trends in the Spatial Availability of Alcohol Using Low-Level Geographic Data: A Case Study in England 2003–2013," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, April.
    2. 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.
    3. Laura Miščikienė & Nijolė Goštautaitė Midttun & Lukas Galkus & Gražina Belian & Janina Petkevičienė & Justina Vaitkevičiūtė & Mindaugas Štelemėkas, 2020. "Review of the Lithuanian Alcohol Control Legislation in 1990–2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Jürgen Rehm & Jean-François Crépault & Omer S.M. Hasan & Dirk W. Lachenmeier & Robin Room & Bundit Sornpaisarn, 2019. "Regulatory Policies for Alcohol, other Psychoactive Substances and Addictive Behaviours: The Role of Level of Use and Potency. A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Maria Neufeld & Anna Bunova & Boris Gornyi & Carina Ferreira-Borges & Anna Gerber & Daria Khaltourina & Elena Yurasova & Jürgen Rehm, 2020. "Russia’s National Concept to Reduce Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Dependence in the Population 2010–2020: Which Policy Targets Have Been Achieved?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-53, November.
    6. Wagenaar, A.C. & Tobler, A.L. & Komro, K.A., 2010. "Effects of alcohol tax and price policies on morbidity and mortality: A systematic review," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(11), pages 2270-2278.
    7. Charlotte Probst & Jakob Manthey & Maria Neufeld & Jürgen Rehm & João Breda & Ivo Rakovac & Carina Ferreira-Borges, 2020. "Meeting the Global NCD Target of at Least 10% Relative Reduction in the Harmful Use of Alcohol: Is the WHO European Region on Track?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Carolin Kilian & Jakob Manthey & Jacek Moskalewicz & Janusz Sieroslawski & Jürgen Rehm, 2019. "How Attitudes toward Alcohol Policies Differ across European Countries: Evidence from the Standardized European Alcohol Survey (SEAS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-13, November.
    9. Nandi Siegfried & Charles Parry, 2019. "Do alcohol control policies work? An umbrella review and quality assessment of systematic reviews of alcohol control interventions (2006 – 2017)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-23, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Melanie Koeger & Hannah Schillok & Stephan Voss & Michaela Coenen & Christina Merkel & Caroline Jung-Sievers & On behalf of the COSMO Study Team, 2022. "Alcohol Use of German Adults during Different Pandemic Phases: Repeated Cross-Sectional Analyses in the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring Study (COSMO)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-17, May.
    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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. María Fernanda Páramo & Fernando Cadaveira & Carolina Tinajero & María Soledad Rodríguez, 2020. "Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Barrie M. Craven & Michael L. Marlow & Alden F. Shiers, 2013. "The Economics of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 174-189, June.
    4. Tomas Vaičiūnas & Monika Žemaitaitytė & Shannon Lange & Mindaugas Štelemėkas & Leila Oja & Janina Petkevičienė & Anna Kowalewska & Iveta Pudule & Jaanika Piksööt & Kastytis Šmigelskas, 2022. "Trends in Adolescent Substance Use: Analysis of HBSC Data for Four Eastern European Countries, 1994–2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, November.
    5. Anurag Sharma & Fabrice Etilé & Kompal Sinha, 2016. "The Effect of Introducing a Minimum Price on the Distribution of Alcohol Purchase: A Counterfactual Analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(9), pages 1182-1200, September.
    6. William Gilmore & Tanya Chikritzhs & Hamish McManus & John Kaldor & Rebecca Guy, 2020. "The Association between the Australian Alcopops Tax and National Chlamydia Rates among Young People—an Interrupted Time Series Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Freeman, Donald G., 2012. "Is Beer Safer than Spirits? How the Change in Consumption Shares of Alcoholic Beverage Types Affects Traffic Mortality in Young People," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 61(4).
    8. Marco Francesconi & Jonathan James, 2022. "Alcohol Price Floors and Externalities: The Case of Fatal Road Crashes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 1118-1156, September.
    9. Bryden, Anna & Petticrew, Mark & Mays, Nicholas & Eastmure, Elizabeth & Knai, Cecile, 2013. "Voluntary agreements between government and business—A scoping review of the literature with specific reference to the Public Health Responsibility Deal," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 186-197.
    10. Marcus, Jan & Siedler, Thomas, 2015. "Reducing binge drinking? The effect of a ban on late-night off-premise alcohol sales on alcohol-related hospital stays in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 0, pages 55-77.
    11. Jon P. Nelson & Amy D. McNall, 2017. "What happens to drinking when alcohol policy changes? A review of five natural experiments for alcohol taxes, prices, and availability," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(4), pages 417-434, May.
    12. Maria Neufeld & Anna Bunova & Boris Gornyi & Carina Ferreira-Borges & Anna Gerber & Daria Khaltourina & Elena Yurasova & Jürgen Rehm, 2020. "Russia’s National Concept to Reduce Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Dependence in the Population 2010–2020: Which Policy Targets Have Been Achieved?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-53, November.
    13. Nelson, Jon P. & McNall, Amy D., 2016. "Alcohol prices, taxes, and alcohol-related harms: A critical review of natural experiments in alcohol policy for nine countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(3), pages 264-272.
    14. Anurag Sharma & Brian Vandenberg, 2019. "Heterogenous wealth effects of minimum unit price on purchase of alcohol: Evidence using scanner data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Ce Shang & Anh Ngo & Frank J. Chaloupka, 2020. "The pass-through of alcohol excise taxes to prices in OECD countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(6), pages 855-867, August.
    16. Saffer, Henry & Gehrsitz, Markus, 2016. "The effect of post-and-hold laws on alcohol consumption," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 63-71.
    17. Janina Petkeviciene & Vilma Kriaucioniene & Asta Raskiliene, 2022. "Academic Achievements, Satisfaction with Studies and Risky Behaviours among First-Year Students of Kaunas (Lithuania) Universities, 2000–2017," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-12, June.
    18. Ionel Bostan & Valentina Diana Rusu, 2021. "The Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Can Be Reduced by Fiscal Means? Study on the Case of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-21, July.
    19. Nandi Siegfried & Charles Parry, 2019. "Do alcohol control policies work? An umbrella review and quality assessment of systematic reviews of alcohol control interventions (2006 – 2017)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-23, April.
    20. Jon P. Nelson, 2015. "Alcohol Prices and Mortality Due to Liver Cirrhosis," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:21:p:8162-:d:440152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.