WEEKLY ALCOHOL ISSUES
August 30, 2021 – September 03, 2021
This week’s Special Feature explores: The improvement of the global governance of alcohol in the 21st century.
The European Journal of Risk Regulation published a special symposium issue on “Public Health and the Global Governance of Alcohol” on August 18, 2021. This special feature is dedicated to several of the important topics covered in that special journal issue.
Alcohol issues from our Policy Newsfeed:
- Talinn, Estonia is improving its nighttime alcohol sales policy;
- African community activists are calling on their leaders to prioritize alcohol policy solutions;
- Sierra Leone is taking first steps to develop an alcohol policy;
- Phom Penh, Cambodia is implementing a temporary alcohol sales ban to curb COVID-19; and
- German beer consumption is falling.
Our Big Alcohol Watch exposes:
- The predatory pandemic themed alcohol marketing in Australia.
Alcohol issues from our Science Digest:
- A new study shows even low-dose alcohol use is linked to atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes among AF patients;
- A commentary questions whether zero-alcohol beverages reduce harm or act as a gateway to alcohol use; and
- A review study explores the impact of alcohol taxation on unrecorded alcohol consumption.
Our Special Event Alert highlights:
- A WHO Europe RCM alcohol policy side event on tackling the gap between evidence and policy action; and
- The 17th annual international INEBRIA Conference.
Alcohol Policy News
Latest Science Digest
Big Alcohol Watch
Special Feature – No. 26
From Strategy to Treaty – Improving the Global Governance of Alcohol in the 21st Century
The European Journal of Risk Regulation published a special symposium issue on “Public Health and the Global Governance of Alcohol” on August 18, 2021. This special feature is dedicated to several of the important topics covered in that special journal issue.
It is important to focus on global governance of alcohol not only because of the high alcohol burden faced by countries but the global nature of the alcohol industry itself. The alcohol industry is concentrated in the hands of a small number of transnational corporations. There is a strong global trade in alcohol. There is also significant cross-border marketing of alcohol, particularly through social media.
How alcohol is treated in trade and investment agreements is impacting how governments can control the product to protect public health. At the same time there is a focus on how the instruments of global health governance, including those already available through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), might be used to advance the public health project of reducing harm caused by the products and practices of the alcohol industry.
Momentum has been building for a treaty on alcohol, a Framework Convention on Alcohol Control (FCAC), inspired by the success of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). While the treaty has not yet been successful, a positive step was taken in early 2020 when the Executive Board of the WHO committed to develop an action plan to improve the implementation of The Who Global Alcohol Strategy.
The following articles explore the above topics in more detail.
Special Event Alert
