Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use : Economics and Public Health Policy / Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ; edited by Franco Sassi.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Contributor:

Sassi, F.

SourceOECD (Online service)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social issues, migration, health.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 pages)

Place of Publication:

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2015.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Alcoholic beverages, and their harmful use, have been familiar fixtures in human societies since the beginning of recorded history. Worldwide, alcohol is a leading cause of ill health and premature mortality. It accounts for 1 in 17 deaths, and for a significant proportion of disabilities, especially in men. In OECD countries, alcohol consumption is about twice the world average. Its social costs are estimated in excess of 1% of GDP in high- and middle-income countries. When it is not the result of addiction, alcohol use is an individual choice, driven by social norms, with strong cultural connotations. This is reflected in unique patterns of social disparity in drinking, showing the well-to-do in some cases more prone to hazardous use of alcohol, and a polarisation of problem-drinking at the two ends of the social spectrum. Certain patterns of drinking have social impacts, which provide a strong economic rationale for governments to influence the use of alcohol through policies aimed at curbing harms, including those occurring to people other than drinkers. Some policy approaches are more effective and efficient than others, depending on their ability to trigger changes in social norms, and on how well they can target the groups that are most at risk. This book provides a detailed examination of trends and social disparities in alcohol consumption. It offers a wide-ranging assessment of the health, social and economic impacts of key policy options for tackling alcohol-related harms in three OECD countries (Canada, the Czech Republic and Germany), extracting relevant policy messages for a broader set of countries.

Contents:

How does minimum unit pricing for alcohol affect different types of drinkers?

Executive summary

Acronyms and abbreviations

Foreword

Alcohol advertising and heavy drinking

Alcohol, the individual and society: A call for coherent alcohol policies

Social disparities in alcohol drinking

Trends in alcohol consumption in OECD countries

Supplementary figures and tables

Alcohol: The public health side of a social phenomenon

Authors' and contributors' biographies

A business case for reducing alcohol-related harm in the workplace

Health and economic impacts of key alcohol policy options

Tackling alcohol-related harms: What policy approaches?

The impact of alcohol consumption on global health

Benefits of population-wide approaches to prevention: The case of minimum alcohol prices.

Notes:

Title from title screen (viewed May 1, 2017).

ISBN:

9789264235878

9789264181069

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.