Germany: Brand New Prevention Law Adopted
The German Bundestag adopted the Law for the Advancement of Prevention and Health Promotion, including a goal to reduce the total consumption of alcohol.
After decades of negotiations and several failed attempts to draft a comprehensive bill, German law makers succeeded in emphasizing the importance of prevention and health promotion both for the General public as well for political awareness.
With the law, prevention measures implemented in specific environments – such as Kindergartens, schools, workplaces, urban areas – receives stronger emphasise in order to foster behaviour change.
A landmark improvement happened with regard to alcohol policy. In §20.3, the law now stipulates in a brand new Health Goal:
- To reduce alcohol consumption.
This way the law now includes alcohol, as a major risk factor for Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and allows the German government to achieve the objectives set in the WHO NCDs Global Action Plan.