Global and Country Specific Adult per capita Consumption of Alcohol, 2008

Aims: Alcohol is a substantial risk factor for mortality and the burden of disease globally. In accordance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, we estimated recorded, unrecorded, tourist, and total adult per capita consumption by country and WHO sub-region for 2008, and characterized the association between per capita consumption of alcohol and gross domestic product (GDP-PPP) per capita. Methods: Using data from the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health database ( World Health Organization, 2010 a) and the 2005 Global Burden of Disease study ( Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 2010 ) on adult per capita consumption of alcohol, we estimated recorded adult per capita consumption for 2008 through time series analyses for 189 countries within WHO sub-regions, and then from these estimates calculated recorded adult per capita consumption estimates for each of the WHO sub-regions. Estimates for populations were obtained for 2008 from the United Nations Populations Division. 2008 GDP-PPP data by country (N = 178) were obtained from the International Monetary Fund. Results: Adult per capita consumption of alcohol in 2008 is estimated to have been 6.04 litres (95 % CI: 4.43 to 7.65). This can be broken down into 4.39 l (95 % CI: 3.72 to 4.86) of recorded per capita consumption of alcohol, 1.75 l (95 %CI: 0.25 to 3.25) of unrecorded per capita consumption of alcohol, and 0.00 l (95 %CI: 0.00 to 0.129) per capita consumption of alcohol consumed by tourists. Adult per capita consumption was highest for the European regions and lowest for the Eastern Mediterranean region. Total adult per capita consumption of alcohol showed an increase as GDP-PPP increased until approximately 15,000 international dollars of GDP-PPP per capita. Recorded consumption showed a general increase with GDP-PPP. Unrecorded consumption showed a U-shaped association with GDP-PPP per capita, with countries with the lowest and highest GDP-PPPs per capita having the lowest unrecorded adult per capita consumption of alcohol. Conclusions: In accordance with the WHO’s global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, we present estimates of the recorded, unrecorded, tourist, and total adult per capita alcohol consumption for 189 countries and the 14 WHO sub-regions. Accurate and up-to-date estimates of alcohol consumption are imperative for monitoring and developing effective strategies to control the large and increasing global alcohol-attributable burden of disease and injury.

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Die Globale Strategie zur Reduktion schädlichen Alkoholkonsums:

SUCHT - Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Praxis / Journal of Addiction Research and Practice ◽

10.1024/0939-5911.a000096 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 81-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jürgen Rehm

Keyword(s):

Global Strategy ◽

World Health ◽

Capita Consumption ◽

Member States ◽

Harmful Use ◽

Per Capita ◽

Alcohol Related Harm ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol ◽

Per Capita Consumption ◽

Related Harm

Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol: First Step towards an Alcohol Framework Convention? English Summary: At the 61st World Health Assembly, the 193 member states discussed and ratified the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Firstly, 10 target areas have been identified within the strategy and alcohol policy should be structured according to these areas. The contribution of Anderson (2011) discusses these target areas with respect to supporting empirical evidence and policy implications. The final target area is Monitoring and Surveillance, and the other two contributions fall under this topic. Shield, Rehm, Patra & Rehm (2011) provide an overview of worldwide adult per capita consumption. Per capita consumption is associated indirectly to alcohol-related harm: as higher consumption generally leads to more harm, but the level of association varies according to economic indicators. Countries with lower GDP PPP experience more harm as they have more risks associated to alcohol such as infectious diseases like tuberculosis and/or a less developed health care system. The last contribution to this topic focuses solely on Germany and includes both health as well as social consequences ( Kraus, Piontek, Pabst & Bühringer, 2011 ). It needs to be recognized that the global strategy contains merely suggestions that are not binding to any of the member states. It is not yet shown whether this strategy is enough to combat the rising global alcohol-related harm and there have been suggestions to adopt a more binding form of international arrangement such as the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control.

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Who drinks more in Sweden? A study on consumption trends among men and women and in various age groups during 1990–2002

Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs ◽

10.1177/1455072503020002-316 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 20 (2-3) ◽

pp. 159-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Håkan Leifman

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Age Groups ◽

Capita Consumption ◽

The European Union ◽

Men And Women ◽

Pure Alcohol ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Per Capita ◽

Per Capita Consumption

This study examines trends in alcohol consumption in Sweden from 1990 to 2002, with the emphasis on the period after 1995 with Sweden as a member of the European Union (EU). The specific aim of the study is to study gender-specific and age-specific trends in self-reported consumption by means of five general population surveys conducted between 1990 and 2002. Trends in the proportion of high consumers were also studied. Alcohol sales and estimates of unrecorded consumption indicate that Swedish per capita alcohol consumption (per person aged 15 or older) rose by approximately 27 per cent, from 7.8 litres of pure alcohol in 1990 to 9.9 litres in 2002. Approximately 90 per cent of this increase has occurred since 1996. Analyses of self-reported consumption from survey data confirm this trend with more than a 30 per cent increase for both genders (aged 16–75 years) since 1996. Among women, this is mainly due to increased wine consumption, and among men to augmented consumption of wine as well as beer. Furthermore, the proportion of high consumers has increased – and more so than the per capita consumption. The study also shows that changes in consumption during the period of 1990 to 2002 differ for the various gender-and age-specific groups. Among women, for in-stance, the increase since 1996 has been strongest for the oldest women (50–75 years of age), and since 1998 statistically significant only among this group. The weakest, and thus not statistically significant, increase has occurred among women between the ages of 30 and 49. It is important to track the changes not only among men and women and various age groups, but also in the different sub-groups of the population, since changes in per capita consumption are strongly related to changes in different alcohol-related problems. Other groups of importance are e.g. various social classes (including the long-term unemployed and people on long-term disability benefits), regions, family units and, not least, different drinking groups, including high consumers. Improved knowledge of how consumption changes in different socio-demo-graphic groups will also improve our understanding of the causes and mechanisms behind changes in alcohol consumption in society.

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Alcohol Consumption Trends in the EU Member States and Their Association with Selected Socio-economic Indicators

10.35198/01-2019-003-0002 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Correlation Analysis ◽

Capita Consumption ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Harmful Alcohol ◽

Pure Alcohol ◽

The Status ◽

Per Capita ◽

Per Capita Consumption ◽

The Eu

BACKGROUND: Harmful alcohol consumption has a negative impact on the health and social lives of individuals. Alcohol consumption is risky for the development of non-communicable diseases, can lead to the development of serious illnesses, and, unfortunately, can lead to death, injuries, or accidents. Societies and especially individuals should be more involved in the reduction of harmful alcohol consumption. AIM: The paper deals with the analysis of the status of, and trends in, the consumption of pure alcohol per capita in the EU countries between 1980 and 2015. Correlation analysis was conducted to detect the association between the per capita consumption of alcohol and some selected socio-economic indicators. METHODS: Statistical characteristics, such as average, median, range, standard deviation, and the coefficient of variation were used to describe the level of the per capita consumption of pure alcohol in the EU. Boxplot figures detected the extremely high/low levels of the indicators that were analysed. Index numbers were used to calculate the relative change in alcohol consumption. The existence of a linear relationship was discovered through correlation analysis. Useful figures helped to present the status or change in the per capita consumption of alcohol and the relationship between alcohol consumption and selected indicators. RESULTS: The trend of the per capita consumption of pure alcohol in the EU was positive. The average per capita consumption of alcohol declined from 12.9 litres in 1980 to 10.4 litres in 2015. Not only did the average or median consumption decline, but also the variability of alcohol consumption per capita declined till 2010. The greatest reduction was found for the Mediterranean countries: Italy (-57.3%), Spain (53.3%), Greece (-49.7%), and France (37.4%). On the other hand, in some “new” EU countries an increase in the per capita consumption of alcohol occurred, the highest being in Estonia. On the EU level, no statistically significant correlation was discovered between the per capita consumption of alcohol and gross domestic product per capita or between alcohol consumption and countries’ unemployment rates.

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Missing in Action: The Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol and the WTO

European Journal of Risk Regulation ◽

10.1017/err.2020.67 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paula O’BRIEN

Keyword(s):

Legal Status ◽

Global Strategy ◽

World Health ◽

The World ◽

Different Types ◽

Regulatory Instruments ◽

Harmful Use ◽

Missing In Action ◽

Health Organization ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

This article addresses the question of how the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (Global Strategy) and its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) have been used in the context of discussions about alcohol and tobacco measures, respectively, in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. The article finds considerable differences not only in the extent to which the FCTC is used compared to the Global Strategy , but also in the ways in which the two global health instruments have been used in the WTO context. The article proffers three key reasons for these differences: the legal status of the instrument; the content of the instrument in terms of whether it contains guidance as to the use of detailed, evidence-based measures; and the role and legitimacy that the instrument accords to the relevant industry interests. The article considers how the insights from the research can inform the developments in global governance of alcohol that are underway in WHO policy. It also positions its findings in terms of the wider international law debates about hard law versus soft law, and whether different types of international regulatory instruments and the legal status of these instruments impact their effectiveness in supporting domestic public health measures.

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City-based action to reduce harmful alcohol use: review of reviews

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.13783.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 120 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Peter Anderson ◽

Eva Jané-Llopis ◽

Omer Syed Muhammad Hasan ◽

Jürgen Rehm

Keyword(s):

Controlled Trial ◽

Review Literature ◽

Convincing Evidence ◽

Global Strategy ◽

World Health ◽

Community Based Interventions ◽

Review Of Reviews ◽

Harmful Use ◽

The Impact ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

Background: The World Health Organization global strategy on alcohol called for municipal policies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Yet, there is limited evidence that documents the impact of city-level alcohol policies. Methods: Review of reviews for all years to July 2017. Searches on OVID Medline, Healthstar, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED, Social Work Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Mental Measurements Yearbook, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, International Political Science Abstracts, NASW Clinical Register, and Epub Ahead of Print databases. All reviews that address adults, without language or date restrictions resulting from combining the terms (“review” or “literature review” or “review literature” or “data pooling” or “comparative study” or “systematic review” or “meta-analysis” or “pooled analysis”), and “alcohol”, and “intervention” and (“municipal” or “city” or “community”). Results: Five relevant reviews were identified. Studies in the reviews were all from high income countries and focussed on the acute consequences of drinking, usually with one target intervention, commonly bars, media, or drink-driving. No studies in the reviews reported the impact of comprehensive city-based action. One community cluster randomized controlled trial in Australia, published after the reviews, failed to find convincing evidence of an impact of community-based interventions in reducing adult harmful use of alcohol. Conclusions: To date, with one exception, the impact of adult-oriented comprehensive community and municipal action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol has not been studied. The one exception failed to find a convincing effect. We conclude with recommendations for closing this evidence gap.

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A Framing Analysis of Consultation Submissions on the WHO Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol: Values and Interests

International Journal of Health Policy and Management ◽

10.34172/ijhpm.2021.68 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chiara Rinaldi ◽

May CI van Schalkwyk ◽

Matt Egan ◽

Mark Petticrew

Keyword(s):

Global Strategy ◽

Individual Responsibility ◽

World Health ◽

Value Systems ◽

Framing Analysis ◽

Consultation Process ◽

Member States ◽

Harmful Use ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol ◽

Policy Solutions

Background: In response to the magnitude of harms caused by alcohol, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (GAS) was endorsed in 2010. We analysed submissions to the 2019 WHO consultation on the implementation of the GAS to identify how different stakeholders frame alcohol use and control; and to assess how stakeholders engage with the consultation process, with possibly harmful consequences for public health policy. Methods: All submissions from WHO Member States, international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academic institutions and private sector entities were identified and used as data for an inductive framing analysis. This involved close reading and data familiarisation, thematic coding and identifying emergent framings. Through the analysis of texts, framing analysis can give insights into the values and interests of stakeholders. Because framing influences how issues are conceptualised and addressed, framing analysis is a useful tool to study policy-making processes. Results: We identified 161 unique submissions and seven attachments. Emerging frames were grouped according to their function: defining the problem, assigning causation, proposing solutions, or justifying and persuading. Submissions varied in terms of the framing they deployed and how this was presented, eg, how the problem was defined. Proposed policy solutions also varied. Targeted solutions emphasising individual responsibility tended to be supported by industry and some Member States. Calls for universal regulation and global mobilisation often came from NGOs and academia. Stakeholders drew on evidence and specific value systems to support the adoption of certain problem and solution ideas and to oppose competing framing. Conclusion: Alcohol control is a contested policy field in which different stakeholders use framing to set the agenda and influence what policy solutions are considered legitimate. WHO should consider which interests are served by these different framings and how to weigh different stakeholders in the consultation process.

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City-based action to reduce harmful alcohol use: review of reviews

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.13783.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 120 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter Anderson ◽

Eva Jané-Llopis ◽

Omer Syed Muhammad Hasan ◽

Jürgen Rehm

Keyword(s):

Controlled Trial ◽

Review Literature ◽

Convincing Evidence ◽

Global Strategy ◽

World Health ◽

Community Based Interventions ◽

Review Of Reviews ◽

Harmful Use ◽

The Impact ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

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Development of an action plan to implement the global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal ◽

10.26719/emhj.21.076 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (12) ◽

pp. 1239-1240

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Region ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Action Plan ◽

Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽

Global Strategy ◽

Harmful Use ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

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Estonia advances on SDG achievement by tackling high alcohol consumption through a multi-pronged approach

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa031 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. i45-i47 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Triinu Täht ◽

Kristina Köhler ◽

Elen Ohov ◽

Bettina Menne ◽

Francesco Zambon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Action Plan ◽

Adult Population ◽

Global Strategy ◽

Political Agenda ◽

Political Commitment ◽

Alcohol Control ◽

Harmful Use ◽

High Level ◽

Harmful Use Of Alcohol

Abstract Estonia has implemented a comprehensive, multipronged approach to the reduction of alcohol consumption in the population, comprising a series of successful policy responses. The Estonian alcohol strategy (2014) builds on the Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and the European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012–2010. It aims to decrease the overall yearly consumption of alcohol among the adult population to less than 8 litres of absolute alcohol per capita. Gathering support across society from a range of stakeholders, including policy-makers, researchers, parents and advocates, has been one of the key elements in the implementation of the policy. High-level political commitment and strategic timing of efforts have maintained the issue of alcohol control on the political agenda and in the public’s mind.

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Relation Between Rates of Geriatric Suicide and Consumption of Alcohol Beverages in European Countries

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1100/tsw.2006.71 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 383-387 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leo Sher

Keyword(s):

Suicide Attempts ◽

Age Groups ◽

European Countries ◽

Alcoholic Beverages ◽

World Health ◽

Capita Consumption ◽

Suicide Rates ◽

Per Capita ◽

Health Organization ◽

Per Capita Consumption

Among older adults, suicide is a significant and persistent health problem. The highest suicide rate is found among white men aged 65 years and older. The causes of elder suicide are multifaceted. Although no predominate factor precipitates or explains geriatric suicide, alcohol is strongly linked to suicide attempts and completions. This study examined the relationship between rates of suicide in 65- to 74-year-olds and per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages in European countries. Data on suicide rates in 65- to 74-year-olds and per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages were obtained from the World Health Organization databases. Correlations were computed to examine relationships between suicide rates in 65- to 74-year-old males and females and per capita consumption of beer, wine, and spirits in the general population in 34 European countries. There was a positive correlation between suicide rates in 65- to 74-year-old males and per capita consumption of spirits. No correlations between suicide rates in 65- to 74-year-old males and per capita consumption of beer or wine were found. We also found no correlations between rates of suicide in 65- to 74-year-old females and per capita consumption of beer, wine, or spirits. The results of this study are consistent with reports that consumption of spirits is associated with suicide events. It is to be hoped that this paper will stimulate further studies that are necessary to clarify the relation between suicide rates in different age groups and consumption of alcoholic beverages, and attract more attention to the problem of geriatric suicide.

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