WEEKLY ALCOHOL ISSUES
Week 14, April 05 – April 09, 2021
This week’s Special Feature covers brand new analysis of the efficacy of legal age limits for the purchase and consumption of alcohol, for example regarding protective effects of higher age limits compared to lower minimum limits. The Special Feature provides state of the art analysis, recent case stories and new compelling evidence.
Alcohol issues from our Policy Newsfeed cover alcohol and the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness; as well as new evidence about South Africa’s success with its temporary alcohol sales bans during the pandemic…
Alcohol issues from our Science Digest cover a brand new report about policy tools for cities to prevent an reduce alcohol violence…
Alcohol issues from our Big Alcohol Watch expose how Big Alcohol lobbies against health warning labels in the European Union; and how Big Alcohol markets its products during the pandemic…
Alcohol Policy News
Latest Science Digest
Big Alcohol Watch
Special Feature – Week 14:
THE EFFICACY OF LEGAL AGE LIMITS TO PROTECT CHILDREN AND YOUTH FROM ALCOHOL HARM – LATEST EVIDENCE
The products and practices of the alcohol industry cause serious harm to children and youth, for example by affecting their development into healthy adults.
The legal minimum age for alcohol purchase and consumption is supposed to protect children, adolescents and youth and prevent early alcohol initiation and related harms as much as possible. However, in many countries low legal minimum age limits and entirely absent legal age regulations remain a considerable problem, leaving children and youth unprotected from the products and practices of Big Alcohol.
A minimum age established by law for the purchase of alcohol enjoys broad public support, according to the World Health Organization.
Where the minimum age is set at less than 18 years, it is recommended to increase it to at least 18 for all beverage products in both off-trade and on-trade establishments.
“Mystery shoppers” – in this case, under-age purchasers – can be used to ensure that establishments enforce the minimum age for purchase. In accordance with national legislation, mechanisms should be considered for placing liability on sellers and servers to prevent sales to intoxicated persons and those below the legal age for alcohol consumption.
According to a WHO technical guide on alcohol availability regulations, secondary supply of alcohol – e.g. by parents or friends – should be taken into consideration in measures to limit the availability of alcohol – perhaps in the form of fines and/or criminal charges, depending on the circumstances. Alcohol consumption by minors in the presence of parents, family or friends in on-trade establishments undermines the purpose of the law on a minimum age for purchasing and is therefore not recommended.
Alcohol Issues Podcast Ep.14
“The WHO, Big Alcohol Self-Regulation and the New Global Alcohol Action Plan”
Movendi International’s Alcohol Issues podcast episode 14 is out now.
This episode is an in-depth and far ranging conversation about specific alcohol policy issues at the World Health Organization, alcohol industry regulation, World Trade Organization issues and the future of alcohol policy on the global level.
Host Maik Dünnbier welcomes welcomes Paula O’Brien, Tim Stockwell, and Robin Room.
