Alcohol continues to cause illness and violence, according to a new report on the affordability of alcohol in the EU.
The report states that across the EU increases in the affordability of alcohol are associated with increases in its consumption, and increases in alcohol consumption tend to lead to increases in the incidence of alcohol harms.
Also included in the study are findings which indicate that despite an overall decrease in consumption of alcohol in Europe, alcohol-related harms are still judged to be unacceptably high.
The findings were collected in 2008 by the think-tank RAND Europe, on behalf of the European Commission’s health and consumer affairs directorate-general.
European policy discussion on alcohol “has been characterized by a conflict of view”, according to a WHO report on the social determinants of health, over whether to treat alcohol as a regular commodity or a public health concern whose trade could be regulated.
The WHO report points to the effectiveness of increasing the price of alcohol on controlling alcohol-related harms and urges governments to work together to do more to regulate the negative effects of alcohol consumption.
To read the RAND report, please visit the European Commission’s health determinants website
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
