Health determinants top of agenda for Swedish EU presidency

The social causes of ill health are top of the agenda for the Swedish presidency as the country prepares for its role at the helm of the EU.

The need to address the problem of alcohol-related harms and excess consumption will be discussed during one of the first high-level ministerial meetings of the presidency.

According to the recently launched presidency website, the main objective for the next six months will be to “support the implementation of the horizontal EU alcohol strategy from 2006 to reduce alcohol-related harm in the European Union in the long-term.”

“Particular focus will be given to commercial communication and how alcohol advertisements affect alcohol consumption patterns among young people,” the website adds.

The event is being chaired by Göran Hägglund (pictured), Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs.

The informal meeting of health ministers may help to achieve greater coherence at the European level when it comes to tackling the problem of alcohol consumption, a stumbling block identified in a WHO report on the social determinants of health.

The report says that European policy discussion on alcohol “has been characterized by a conflict of view”, in particular over whether to treat alcohol as a regular commodity or a public health concern whose trade could be regulated.

One recommendation from the WHO is to increase the price of alcohol, a measure which has shown to be effective in reducing the problems that arise from excessive consumption.

“There is substantial evidence that an increase in alcohol prices reduces consumption and the level of alcohol-related problems,” according to the WHO document.

“The effects on alcohol-related harms are definite and the costs low, making it a cost-effective measure,” the report adds.

It is important however for policy-makers to ensure that any actions decided upon at the international level are “complemented by actions at the local policy level and behaviour–change interventions.”

The website of the Swedish presidency can be found at www.eu2009.se

The WHO report on the social determinants of health can be found at the website of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health.

[Photo of Swedish Health Minister Göran Hägglund by Pawel Flato]