The Untapped Potential of the Alcohol Policy Best Buys
Latest Evidence and Real-Life Best Practice Examples
The harm caused by the practices and products of the alcohol industry can be reversed through implementation of evidence-based, cost-effective and high-impact public policy measures: the alcohol policy best buys.
Regarding the return on investment, the alcohol policy Best Buy solutions are the second best set of options among all 16 NCD Best Buys.
Investing US$1 in the implementation of the three alcohol policy Best Buys generates a return on investment of more than US$8.
An alcohol policy best buy is an intervention that is not only highly cost-effective but also cheap, feasible and culturally acceptable to implement. A highly cost-effective intervention is one that, on average, provides an extra year of healthy life (equivalent to averting one DALY) for less than the average annual income per person. Analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a set of affordable, feasible and cost-effective intervention strategies and its study estimates a global price tag for implementing these measures.
The alcohol policy Best Buy solutions have already been successfully implemented in several countries around the world. One country that exemplifies the real-world impact of implementing the alcohol policy best buys is the Russian Federation.
The Alcohol Issues Podcast
How the Alcohol Industry Misrepresents the Truth About Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health
Alcohol’s harm on cardiovascular health is arguably the area where scientific knowledge and public awareness have progressed most slowly in the last decade. In addition to inaction, the myth of alcohol’s benefits for cardiovascular health persists. And in policy making processes this misunderstanding is a critical impediment to accelerating action on alcohol as public health priority. But this is changing.
In this episode of the Alcohol Issues Podcast host Maik Dünnbier welcomes Mark Petticrew and May van Schalkwyk to explore why change is needed and how it can be further accelerated.
- Mark is Professor of Public Health Evaluation in the Department of Social and Environmental Health Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is Director of the NIHR Public Health Research Unit.
- May is Specialist Registrar in Public Health and (NIHR) National Institute for Health Research Doctoral Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, researching the commercial determinants of health.
