OECD releases report on harmful alcohol use
Source: WHO
01-06-2015
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a report entitled “Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy”. Among the topics covered in this report are: trends in alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, health consequences, alcohol policy responses and social disparities in drinking.
The report includes an assessment of a number of the policy options set out in the WHO “Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol” and the “European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012-2020”. Based on results of a computer simulation model using 3 OECD countries – Canada, the Czech Republic and Germany – the report offers further support for the implementation of brief interventions in primary care and tax increases as important policy tools for reducing alcohol-related health harm.
According to Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, “The positive message of this book is that there are a number of cost-effective alcohol policies that reduce total alcohol consumption and target those at risk. Implementing a broad range of alcohol policies at national level will make it possible to achieve WHO’s global noncommunicable disease target of reducing harmful alcohol use by 10% by 2025.”