https://www.humantruth.info/alcohol_prevention.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2026
The most important and effective way to reduce national alcohol consumption is to increase its price1,2,3,4,5, and reduce its availability1,2,3,5. These cost-effective measures in particular have also been shown to reduce car accidents, liver disease, violence and crime2. Given that prevention is better than cure, and younger adults and teenagers are the most sensitive to price hikes3, increasing the cost of alcohol helps to stop addiction at the best age to do so. Clever marketing increases alcoholism5, and therefore, a standard family-friendly route to curb abuse is to make it illegal to broadcast alcohol advertisements before the national watershed.
Specific interventions can be made against specific problems. A method to reduce antisocial behaviour at night in public spaces is to preventing the sale of alcohol from shops past (for example) 9pm. Setting very low blood alcohol limits for driving3 both saves lives and also reduces alcohol consumption among drivers2 and creates a culture where alcohol is treated more sensitively. It is noteworthy that many of these measures could be unpopular and "require real leadership from government" and "a willingness to stand up to criticism from both the drinks industry and the tabloids"6.
There are two international frameworks; the World Health Organisation's SAFER initiative (which covers all of the points above) and the "best buys" for Non-Communcable Diseases. Between them, they cover the methods mentioned on this page.
There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking7 and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink8 are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies9 via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"10. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"11. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.
For more, see:
#alcohol #public_health #trash_culture
The most important and effective way to reduce national alcohol consumption is to increase its price1, as been repeatedly stated by the World Health Organisations and multiple national health advisory bodies, based on real-life case-examples. Two ways to increase the price of alcohol are (1) a mandatory minimum-cost scaled to alcoholic content or (2) an alcohol-specific sales tax, commonly generating revenue that goes into the health system.12.
“There's no mystery about how to curb [binge boozing]. In Alcohol - No Ordinary Commodity, a book part-funded by the World Health Organisation, [it is argued] that we know what policies are likely to be most successful. [...] Top of the pile, they conclude, are increasing the price of booze and limiting its availability.”
New Scientist (2004)3
The WHO's 2014 report did not deviate from the already well-known advice above:
“The accumulated research findings indicate that population-based policy options - such as the use of taxation to regulate the demand for alcoholic beverages, restricting their availability and implementing bans on alcohol advertising - are the "best buys" in reducing the harmful use of alcohol as they are highly cost-effective in reducing the alcohol attributable deaths and disabilities at population level.”
"Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health"
World Health Organization (2014)2
“The evidence showed that a rise in the price of alcohol was the most effective way of reducing consumption just as its increasing affordability since the 1960s had been the major cause of the rise in consumption. We note that minimum pricing is supported by many prominent health experts, economists and ACPO. We recommend that the Government introduce minimum pricing.”
"Alcohol - Health Committee" by UK Govt (2010)4
Implementing minimum pricing by alcohol volume benefits pubs and restaurants, who are undercut by extremely cheap alcohol sold by supermarkets13. Without that source of high-volume, low-cost alcohol, consumption moves to slower and more civil environments.
Raising the price of alcohol, they have shown, also reduces alcohol-related dangers such as car accidents, liver disease, violence and crime. It's the most cost-effective method of doing so2. "What's more, younger kids with less money are the most sensitive to price hikes. "A key finding is that increases in prices are effective in reducing not just drinking", says Chaloupka, "but binge drinking, especially in kids". That's especially good news because younger drinkers tend to be more influenced by group behaviour".3
Unfortunately, it appears that the heaviest and most aggressive alcohol abusers are less affected by price hikes14,12. The trick is, then, to curb intake before users develop patterns of heavy consumption (the old adage that 'prevention is better than cure'.
One of the most effective ways to reduce national alcohol consumption is to limit its availability1,3,5, attested to by the World Health Organisation2 and many others. Adopting the Swedish model should be considered, "where any drinks over 3% have to be sold from licensed shops with limited opening hours"15.
Cut-price alcohol in supermarkets increases the harm that alcohol does16, led by high-volume containers, frequently offered on sale and as part of deals ('buy one get one free'). To reduce the available of bingeworthy quantities of alcohol, discounted alcohol, 'Happy Hours' and 'all you can drink' offers should be banned, according to a UK health advisor12.
“Cheap, high-strength alcohol is almost unprecedented, and binge drinking of the sort we see today is something our ancestors would rarely have been able to indulge in even if they'd wanted to.”
One method is to restricting the hours or days of sale3; for example, alcohol may not be sold from retailers (shops) past 9pm, removing an option for street-walking drunks who's ability to make good decisions is already impaired, and who are most likely to engage in problematic and antisocial behaviour.
Marketing has "a demonstrable impact" on drinking rates5. Many developed countries already ban alcohol advertising on broadcast media before the watershed (a nationally agreed time before which television should be more family-friendly and risk-averse). It is an effective technique, cost effective, and therefore one of the "best buys" (WHO 2014)2.
The UK's scientific advisor on the misuse of drugs in 2017 summarized his long-standing campaign against alcohol, stating his hardline view that "all alcohol advertising should be banned, and drinks containing alcohol should have warning notices similar to those on cigarette packets, containing information about its physical risks and social and economic costs"15.
#alcohol #public_health #transport
An other method is to lower the blood alcohol limits for driving3.
“Setting low limits (0.02% to 0.05%) for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and enforcing them by random breath testing (RBT) are effective not only in reducing road traffic injuries, but also in reducing alcohol consumption among drivers.”
"Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health"
World Health Organization (2014)2