EU Policy Makers step up discussions on how to tackle alcohol harm in the region
European policymakers met to discuss the importance, relevance and implementation of policy and action to reduce alcohol related harm across Europe.
To that end a policy dialogue in the framework of the European Joint Action on reducing alcohol related harm (RARHA) was held in Brussels, Belgium. The policy dialogue aims to provide new knowledge and tools based on RARHA outcomes in three areas in particular:
- Monitoring of alcohol consumption patterns and harm
- Alcohol consumption guidelines
- Finding good practice examples and building a tool kit.
Monitoring of alcohol consumption
The work on ‘monitoring’ was twofold.
Firstly, partners developed the Standardised European Alcohol Survey (SEAS) instrument, which was implemented in 20 European countries and covers policy-relevant issues, like alcohol consumption, risky single occasion alcohol intake, context of alcohol use, alcohol problems with focus on harm to others, attitudes towards alcohol policy as well as unrecorded supply.
Secondly, RARHA aimed to strengthen comparative alcohol survey methodology. Partners collected data from 24 surveys (2008-2012) from 17 countries and established a common database of over 300,000 records.
Results show for example:
- Over 20% of men and over 10% of women consume alcohol in a hazardous way at least once a month
- Over 40% to over 50% of respondents support alcohol control measures such as high prices, restrictions on number of outlets, time restrictions and advertising bans.
The EU will gain genuine benefits if RARHA SEAS is regularly applied as a monitoring tool, offering the opportunity for monitoring trends in alcohol consumption and related harm as well as for tracing changes in attitudes towards alcohol policy.
Alcohol consumption guidelines
Partners working on alcohol consumption guidelines looked at current specifications of low risk alcohol consumption across partner countries, on guidelines relating to alcohol use by young people, on brief intervention practices and on public understanding of the “standard drink” concept.
It was suggested to adopt the lifetime risk of early death due to alcohol as a common metric and using a common criterion for defining low risk. The latter would increase transparency when setting guidelines and contribute towards a common minimum level of protection.
Finding good practices
Last but not least, RARHA partners looked for concrete examples of good practice approaches to reduce alcohol related harm across Europe. Good practice approaches exist but are not collectively evaluated and available for use by other European countries. This European-wide assessment of alcohol prevention interventions is a unique way to improve the quality of interventions in three areas:
- Public awareness,
- School based interventions and
- Early interventions.
It is a first step towards exchanging and promoting the implementation of evidence-based interventions, and for professionals to benefit from existing theoretical and practical knowledge and experience. Partners prepared recommendations for good practice approaches as well as a toolkit.
—
What is RARHA?
The European Joint Action on reducing alcohol related harm (RARHA) ran between 2014 and 2016 and involved 32 associated and 29 collaborative partners from all EU countries in addition to Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. RARHA’s final conference will take place on 13-14 October in Lisbon.
For inquiries about RARHA, please contact Patricia Pissarra: patricia.pissarra@sicad.min-saude.pt.