Alcohol in Europe: A public health perspective London: Institute of Alcohol Studies.

Abstract

In June 2001, the Council of the European Union, in its Conclusions on a Community strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm, emphasized that a high level of human health protection should be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities, and recognized that alcohol is one of the key health determinants in the European Community. The Council stressed the desirability of developing a comprehensive Community strategy aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm comprising, in particular, an effective monitoring system on alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm, and policy measures and their effects in the European Community; and a coordinated range of Community activities in fields such as research, consumer protection, transport, advertising, marketing, sponsoring, excise duties and other internal market issues, while fully respecting Member States' competencies. The Council invited the Commission to put forward proposals for a comprehensive Community strategy aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, to complement national policies and with a timetable for action. This public health report on alcohol, requested and financed by the European Commission, will describe the social, health and economic burden that alcohol brings to European citizens, families and to Europe as a whole; this is a burden that increases social marginalization and exclusion and places a strain on the viable, socially responsible and productive Europe, as envisaged by the Lisbon strategy.11 Whilst noting that, in the European Union, alcoholic beverages are important economic commodities, the report will note that alcohol-attributable disease, injury and violence cost the health, welfare, employment and criminal justice sectors some €125bn a year. In particular, alcohol-related harm has a negative impact on the competitive position of European businesses, since it lowers productivity, and causes the loss of working life-years, with €59bn of the costs due to alcohol resulting from lost production. The report will also note that alcohol, as an important contributor to health inequalities between and within European Member States, risks damaging social cohesion throughout the Union. The report will find that, although much has been on alcohol policy in the countries of Europe, much more can still be done to reduce alcohol’s burden and to promote individual and European health. The report will note that alcohol policy is everybody’s business; it is not only an issue for the health sector, but also for other sectors of public policy, including, amongst others, agriculture, business, criminal justice, education, finance, labour, municipalities, transport, and social welfare. The report will find that alcohol policy, a global public good and an integral part of the health and well-being of the citizens of Europe, can enhance social cohesion and social capital and improve health and safety in the living environment, thereby contributing to higher productivity and a sustainable economic development in the European Union, in line with the objectives set out in the Lisbon Strategy.