The true costs of alcohol are ‘often obscured by profit-driven narratives’, says a new document from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Alcohol policy playbook is designed to help policy makers ‘navigate the ever-present debates around alcohol harms and alcohol policy’ with a view to safeguarding public health, WHO states.
Europe has the world’s highest alcohol consumption levels – at an average of 9.2 litres of pure alcohol per person per year – contributing to almost 800,000 annual deaths, including 40 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases and 15 per cent of cancer cases. Alcohol consumption is ‘draining economies in the WHO European Region, costing billions annually in health care, early deaths and lost productivity, as well as social harm,’ the agency states, and although the cost of harm in high-income countries is the equivalent of 2.6 per cent of GDP, the narrative is still often dominated by ‘powerful commercial interests focused on boosting sales’.
Despite the industry presenting itself as a major contributor to the economy the health and social costs far outweigh any financial benefits, says WHO, with the playbook designed to help ‘critically assess the evidence’ and cut through industry claims. A recent report co-authored by the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) also warned the UK’s new MPs to ‘wise up’ to alcohol industry lobbying tactics and make sure they avoided any conflicts of interest.
‘The price that Europeans are paying for drinking alcohol is too high,’ said WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge. ‘The economic cost of deaths just from alcohol-attributable cancers in the European Union in 2018 was estimated to be almost €5bn, accounting for almost 10 per cent of the total cost of cancer deaths in the region. We know that when it comes to cancer, there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption. At the same time, less than 50 per cent of Europeans are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer. This is largely because the alcohol industry promotes misleading narratives that distract from the significant public health harms caused by alcohol.’
The document was an ‘invaluable resource that exposes the tension between industry profits and the health of nations’, said Institute of Alcohol Studies chief executive Dr Katherine Severi, equipping policy makers to ‘confront industry influence head-on’ and ‘dispel the myths surrounding alcohol’s supposed benefits and underscore its profound health harms. We will not make progress on public health if the alcohol industry’s influence on policymaking is not curtailed, as was done with the tobacco industry to great success.’
Empowering public health advocates to navigate alcohol policy challenges: alcohol policy playbook available here