PAHO/WHO launched the #LiveBetterTakeAction social media campaign on October 13, 2022.
The objective of the campaign is to promote the five SAFER interventions by raising public awareness of the need to implement alcohol policies, free from the interference of alcohol industry interests.
Many people are not aware about the harmful effects of alcohol. The fact is that the products and practices of alcohol companies cause suffering, disease, and death.
Alcohol ruins lives and yet it is a cheap product, sold everywhere and massively marketed, without proper regulation. It is only by taking action that we can start living better lives. And taking action starts with advocating, adopting and implementing cost-effective policies, free from vested interests, such as those recommended in the SAFER initiative.
The five SAFER interventions are:
- Strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability.
- Advance and enforce drink driving counter measures.
- Facilitate access to screening, brief interventions and treatment.
- Enforce bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship, and promotion.
- Raise prices on alcohol through excise taxes and pricing policies.
By understanding, supporting and implementing high impact and effective interventions to prevent and reduce the harms caused by alcohol companies, all people can live better, free from alcohol harms and free from the pressure to use alcohol products.
The target audience is the general public and policymakers.
#LiveBetterTake Action is a continuation of the “Live Better, Drink Less” campaign, implemented in 2021, in which PAHO focused on the idea that many health and social issues can be mitigated by preventing alcohol harm.
Resources from WHO/PAHO
Pahola: “PAHO’s first digital health specialist on alcohol use“
PAHO/WHO: “SAFER Initiative“
PAHO/WHO: “Alcohol and Health fact sheets series“
