Welcome to the weekly Alcohol Issues Newsletter No. 20 with carefully curated alcohol policy news, highlights from our latest science digest, brand new Big Alcohol revelations, and a Special Feature to keep you in the know about the most important alcohol issues.
This Alcohol Issues Newsletter edition has it all: special events alerts, a brand new Alcohol Issues Podcast episode and much more…

WEEKLY ALCOHOL ISSUES

May 17, 2021 – May 23, 2021

This week’s Special Feature explores the key findings of the brand new OECD report, providing three key fact boxes and summarizing the crucial arguments of the OECD for why governments should step up efforts to prevent and reduce alcohol harm…

Alcohol issues from our Policy Newsfeed cover future forecasts for obesity and alcohol harm in France over the next decade; and two articles exploring alcohol use increases in Italy and Austria in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic…

Alcohol issues from our Science Digest cover a brand new, landmark study about alcohol’s negative effect on brain health; and a new study showing the effectiveness of temporary alcohol sales bans in reducing trauma cases, during COVID-19 in a South African hospital…

Alcohol issues from our Big Alcohol Watch expose the pervasive alcohol promotions in the everyday lives of Swiss youth…

Our Special Event Alert highlights three outstanding upcoming events: an event during the World Health Assembly jointly organized by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Movendi International, NCD Alliance and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); as well as two WHO events that promise to be highly interesting: one is a webinar on alcohol (harm and policy) and inequality; and the other one is the third Forum on Alcohol, other Drugs, and Addictive Behaviors (FADAB3)…

Alcohol Policy News

Worldwide alcohol policy news newsletter

Latest Science Digest

Latest Science Digest Newsletter

Big Alcohol Watch

Big Alcohol Watch newsletter

Special Feature – No. 20

New OECD Report Summary: 3 Key Fact Boxes and Summary of Main Arguments

Summary OECD Report: Fact box 1 – Alcohol Harm

595 Bln
Productivity loss due to alcohol harm
Reduced productivity of employees due to alcohol harm amounts to US$ 595 billion (adjusted for purchasing power).
2.4%
Healthcare spending only for alcohol harm
An average of 2.4% of health spending goes to dealing with the harm caused by alcohol – and the figure is much higher in some countries.
1.6%
Lost GDP due to alcohol harm
OECD estimates that the growth domestic product (GDP) will be 1.6% lower on average in OECD countries annually, over the next 30 years.

Summary OECD Report: Fact box 2 – Alcohol Policy Package

The OECD concludes that a comprehensive approach to alcohol harm, closing these gaps in alcohol policy development and implementation brings health benefits to the entire population, and helps save money.

The OECD report shows that there is a strong economic case for upscaling investment in alcohol policy. So called prevention packages are recommended.

  1. Pricing – limit the affordability of alcohol, especially by eliminating ultra-cheap alcohol,
  2. Promotion – ban alcohol advertising, especially to protect children and including online alcohol advertising,
  3. Policing – improve law enforcement, for instance of driving under the influence counter-measures, and provide better services to victims of alcohol violence, and
  4. Primary care – invest to support people experiencing alcohol problems and alcohol use disorder. Currently, less than 10% receive the healthcare they need.

Summary OECD Report: Fact box 3 – Alcohol Policy Potential

16 for 1
Return on investment from alcohol policy
Every US$1 invested in the alcohol policy blue print, yields a return of ca. $16.4 in economic benefits.
4.6 Mln
Saving lives through alcohol policy blue print
4.6 million life years annually across 48 countries could be saved through the 4Ps package.
28 Bln
Saving healthcare costs through alcohol policy
About US$ 28 billion could be saved yearly in healthcare costs through alcohol policy.

The Alcohol Issues Podcast – Episode 19

In the 19th episode of the Alcohol Issues Podcast host Maik Dünnbier welcomes Michele Checchini, the senior health policy analyst and project leader public health at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They discuss some of the most significant findings from the brand new OECD report titled “Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use”. They cover alcohol consumption and harm trends before and during the pandemic. They also explore the data driven recommendations given in the report for upscaling investment in alcohol policy solutions.

Special Event Alert


Source Website: Keep Updated with Movendi International