| 1. |
- Babor, Thomas F., et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol : No Ordinary Commodity - a summary of the third edition
- 2022
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : NLM (Medline). - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 117:12, s. 3024-3036
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: This article summarizes the findings and conclusions of the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. The latest revision of this book is part of a series of monographs designed to provide a critical review of the scientific evidence related to alcohol control policy from a public health perspective.Design: A narrative summary of the contents of the book according to five major issues.Findings: An extensive amount of epidemiological evidence shows that alcohol is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, disability and death in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Trends in alcohol products and marketing are described, indicating that a large part of the global industry has been consolidated into a small number of transnational corporations that are expanding their operations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The main part of the book is devoted to a review of strategies and interventions designed to prevent or minimize alcohol-related harm. Overall, the most effective strategies to protect public health are taxation that decreases affordability and restrictions on the physical availability of alcohol. A total ban on alcohol marketing is also an effective strategy to reduce consumption. In addition, drink-driving counter-measures, brief interventions with at-risk drinkers and treatment of drinkers with alcohol dependence are effective in preventing harm in high-risk contexts and groups of hazardous drinkers.Conclusion: Alcohol policy is often the product of competing interests, values and ideologies, with the evidence suggesting that the conflicting interests between profit and health mean that working in partnership with the alcohol industry is likely to lead to ineffective policy. Opportunities for implementation of evidence-based alcohol policies that better serve the public good are clearer than ever before as a result of accumulating knowledge on which strategies work best.
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| 2. |
- Babor, Thomas F., et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol : No Ordinary Commodity - A Summary of the Third Edition
- 2023
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Ingår i: SUCHT. - 0939-5911 .- 1664-2856. ; 69:4, s. 147-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: This article summarizes the findings and conclusions of the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. The latest revision of this book is part of a series of monographs designed to provide a critical review of the scientific evidence related to alcohol control policy from a public health perspective. Design: A narrative summary of the contents of the book according to five major issues. Findings: An extensive amount of epidemiological evidence shows that alcohol is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, disability and death in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Trends in alcohol products and marketing are described, indicating that a large part of the global industry has been consolidated into a small number of transnational corporations that are expanding their operations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The main part of the book is devoted to a review of strategies and interventions designed to prevent or minimize alcohol-related harm. Overall, the most effective strategies to protect public health are taxation that decreases affordability and restrictions on the physical availability of alcohol. A total ban on alcohol marketing is also an effective strategy to reduce consumption. In addition, drink-driving counter-measures, brief interventions with at-risk drinkers and treatment of drinkers with alcohol dependence are effective in preventing harm in high-risk contexts and groups of hazardous drinkers. Conclusion: Alcohol policy is often the product of competing interests, values and ideologies, with the evidence suggesting that the conflicting interests between profit and health mean that working in partnership with the alcohol industry is likely to lead to ineffective policy. Opportunities for implementation of evidence-based alcohol policies that better serve the public good are clearer than ever before as a result of accumulating knowledge on which strategies work best.
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| 3. |
- Callinan, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol's harm to others : An international collaborative project
- 2016
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Ingår i: The international journal of alcohol and drug research. - : International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research. - 1925-7066. ; 5:2, s. 25-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: This paper outlines the methods of a collaborative population survey project measuring the range and magnitude of alcohol's harm to others internationally. Setting: Seven countries participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) and ThaiHealth Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) research project titled The Harm to Others from Drinking, along with two other countries with similar studies, will form the core of a database which will incorporate data from other countries in the future. Measures: The WHO-ThaiHealth research project developed two comparable versions of a survey instrument, both measuring harm from others' drinking to the respondent and the respondent's children. Design: Surveys were administered via face-to-face methods in seven countries, while similar surveys were administered via computer-assisted telephone interviews in two additional countries. Responses from all surveys will be compiled in an international database for the purpose of international comparisons. Discussion: Harms from the alcohol consumption of others are intertwined with the cultural norms where consumption occurs. The development of this database will make it possible to look beyond reports and analyses at national levels, and illuminate the relationships between consumption, harms, and culture. Conclusions: This database will facilitate work describing the prevalence, patterning, and predictors of personal reports of harm from others' drinking cross-nationally.
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| 4. |
- Rehm, Jürgen, et al.
(författare)
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Classifying Alcohol Control Policies with Respect to Expected Changes in Consumption and Alcohol-Attributable Harm : The Example of Lithuania, 2000-2019
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to the high levels of alcohol use, alcohol-attributable mortality and burden of disease, and detrimental drinking patterns, Lithuania implemented a series of alcohol control policies within a relatively short period of time, between 2008 and 2019. Based on their expected impact on alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable harm, as well as their target population, these policies have been classified using a set of objective criteria and expert opinion. The classification criteria included: positive vs. negative outcomes, mainly immediate vs. delayed outcomes, and general population vs. specific group outcomes. The judgement of the alcohol policy experts converged on the objective criteria, and, as a result, two tiers of intervention were identified: Tier 1—highly effective general population interventions with an anticipated immediate impact; Tier 2—other interventions aimed at the general population. In addition, interventions directed at specific populations were identified. This adaptable methodological approach to alcohol control policy classification is intended to provide guidance and support for the evaluation of alcohol policies elsewhere, to lay the foundation for the critical assessment of the policies to improve health and increase life expectancy, and to reduce crime and violence.
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| 5. |
- Rehm, Jürgen, et al.
(författare)
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Reducing the Harmful Use of Alcohol : Have International Targets Been Met?
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Journal of Risk Regulation. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 1867-299X .- 2190-8249. ; 12:2, s. 530-541
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alcohol use has been identified in major United Nations (UN) initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Non-Communicable Disease Action Plan, as a major contributor to the global burden of disease. As a result, levels of alcohol use serve as an official indicator of progress towards these UN-set goals. Given current trends, UN targets for reduced alcohol consumption are unlikely to be met. Moreover, in many countries, especially in low- and middle-income countries, the alcohol-attributable burden of disease continues to increase. Pressure will need to be exerted on national and international decision-makers to arrive at more powerful and normatively persuasive instruments, such as a treaty.
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| 6. |
- Room, Robin, et al.
(författare)
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The social location of harm from others' drinking in 10 societies
- 2019
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : Wiley. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 114:3, s. 425-433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims Survey data from 10 diverse countries were used to analyse the social location of harms from others' drinking: which segments of the population are more likely to be adversely affected by such harm, and how does this differ between societies? Methods General-population surveys in Australia, Chile, India, Laos, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States and Vietnam, with a primary focus on the social location of the harmed person by gender, age groups, rural/urban residence and drinking status. Harms from known drinkers were analysed separately from harms from strangers. Results In all sites, risky or moderate drinkers were more likely than abstainers to report harm from the drinking of known drinkers, with risky drinkers the most likely to report harm. This was also generally true for harm from strangers' drinking, although the patterns were more mixed in Vietnam and Thailand. Harm from strangers' drinking was more often reported by males, while gender disparity in harm from known drinkers varied between sites. Younger adults were more likely to experience harm both from known drinkers and from strangers in some, but not all, societies. Only a few sites showed significant urban/rural differences, with disparities varying in direction. In multivariate analyses, most relationships remained, although some were no longer significant. Conclusion The social location of harms from others' drinking, whether known or a stranger, varies considerably between societies. One near-commonality among the societies is that those who are themselves risky drinkers are more likely to suffer harm from others' drinking.
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| 7. |
- Stelemekas, Štelemėkas, et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol control policy measures and all-cause mortality in Lithuania : an interrupted time-series analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : Wiley. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 116:10, s. 2673-2684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims Alcohol use has been identified as a major risk factor for burden of mortality and disease, particularly for countries in eastern Europe. During the past two decades, several countries in this region have implemented effective alcohol policy measures to combat this burden. The aim of the current study was to measure the association between Lithuania's alcohol control policies and adult all-cause mortality.Design Interrupted time-series methodology by means of general additive models.Setting Lithuania.Participants Adult population of Lithuania, aged 20 years and older.Measurements Alcohol control policies were ascertained via a document review of relevant legislation materials. Policy effects were evaluated as follows: (1) slope changes in periods of legislative (non-)activity with regard to alcohol control policy (analysis 1); (2) level changes of three interventions following recommendations of the World Health Organization (analysis 2); and (3) level changes of seven interventions judged a priori by an international panel of experts (analysis 3). Mortality was measured by sex-stratified and total monthly age-standardized rates of all-cause mortality for the adult population.Findings During the period 2001-18, effective alcohol control policy measures were implemented on several occasions, and in those years the all-cause mortality rate declined by approximately 3.2% more than in years without such policies. In particular, the implementation of increased taxation in 2017 was associated with reduced mortality over and above the general trend for men and in total for all analyses, which amounted to 1452 deaths avoided (95% confidence interval = -166 to -2739) in the year following the implementation of the policy.Conclusions Alcohol control policies in Lithuania appear to have reduced the overall adult all-cause mortality over and above secular trends.
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| 8. |
- Torney, Alexandra, et al.
(författare)
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Beverage-specific consumption trends : A cross-country, cross-sectional comparison
- 2023
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Ingår i: International journal of drug policy. - 0955-3959 .- 1873-4758. ; 117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The price of alcoholic beverages can vary for a range of reasons, including tax. Risky drinkers purchase more low-cost alcoholic drinks than moderate drinkers, contributing to beverage-specific risks for that category. The study aimed to examine the proportion of total alcohol consumption comprised by each beverage type and their correlates. Australian and New Zealand populations were compared, where drinking cultures are similar, but taxation of alcohol differs.Method: Data was taken from the International Alcohol Control study in Australia (N=1580) and New Zealand (N =1979), a cross national survey that asks questions on beverage specific alcohol consumption at a range of different locations. Tax rates were obtained from previous analyses run on the dataset.Results: Ready to Drink (pre-mixed) beverages are more popular in New Zealand and the proportion of these drinks consumed out of total alcohol consumption by risky drinkers was correspondingly higher there. Conversely, the proportion of wine consumed by risky drinkers was higher in Australia. The consumption of spirits and beer by risky drinkers was similar in both countries.Discussion: Differences found for the proportion of beverages consumed by risky drinkers between the countries are fairly well aligned with differences in the taxation of each drink type. Future adaptations in taxation systems should consider the impact of taxes on preferential beverage choice and associated harms.
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