Alcohol Expert Conference: 21-22 September, Stockholm

The Swedish Presidency emphasised that the purpose of the meeting was to show support for a sustainable, long-term and comprehensive strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm in the European Union. Furthermore, for the Presidency, the meeting highlighted the strategic importance of keeping the alcohol and health issue high on the EU agenda.

The conference had five key themes:

 Protecting children and the unborn child;
 Protecting children and young people from commercial communication;
 The problem caused by alcohol among the elderly population;
 Discussion on self-regulation;
 Economic tools to reduce alcohol-related harm.

The conference gathered 450 participants, including health professionals, researchers, politicians and members of civil society. Keynote speeches were given by Maria Larsson (Minister for Public Health and the Elderly), Robert Madelin (Director-General DG SANCO), Marc Danzon (Regional Director WHO Europe) and Jillian van Turnhout (European Economic and Social Committee). All speakers emphasised the burden of alcohol-related disease in Europe, it is the 3rd leading factor in early death, and pointed to the economic cost of alcohol-related harm. The speakers also called for more action to govern the sale, communication and distribution of alcohol beverages within the EU.

The European Commission had also prepared a progress report on the EU Alcohol Strategy for the Swedish Presidency. This was presented at the conference by Michael Hubel (DG SANCO- Head of Unit Health Determinants). The European Commission compiled the report with input from across the EU, and they conducted two surveys of alcohol policy in Member States. The report comprises national updates from the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action, an examination of the outputs from the Alcohol and Health Forum and an analysis of the outputs from the Public Health Programme. The report is available here.

In his address to the Plenary, Robert Madelin spoke of a convergence of harm, pointing to obesity, alcohol and tobacco. He stressed that if public health is a legitimate goal for the European Union, then alcohol must be considered an integral part of any strategy for public health. He called for more action to reduce the exposure of children and young people to advertising and sponsorship, and also called for a move towards examining not only the content of adverts but also the volume of alcohol promotions.

In later discussions on the marketing of alcohol, speakers addressed the whole spectrum of commercial communications, including sponsorship and social marketing. There were calls from many speakers for further regulation, in the interests of public health. Currently in Europe, we are faced with a situation whereby alcohol is readily available, affordable for many, and heavily marketed. Regulation on the marketing of alcohol would be both effective and a symbolic gesture to show that alcohol is not a normal commodity. In discussions on economic tools to reduce alcohol-related harm, pricing initiatives were also seen to have educative properties.

The problem of alcohol and the elderly was addressed in the conference plenary, with speakers highlighting the significant harm caused by alcohol (100,000 deaths in the EU among 65-80 year olds). The key concerns are the continuing lack of information on this trend among the elderly, and the impact of demographic change. Consumption among the elderly was shown to be on the rise, and with the increase in the population over the age of 65 this is likely to become a more serious concern.

On the effectiveness of economic tools to reduce alcohol-related harm, there were six expert presentations, and pricing tools were specifically discussed in the Plenary. Speakers addressed the arguments for intervention by underscoring the alcohol-attributable burden of disease and injury. The value of harm done by alcohol can be assessed by examing its impact on levels of health and crime spending, the impact on labour and productivity, and an analysis on non-financial welfare costs (such as pain/suffering or lost lives). The presentation on pricing tools, given by Petra Meier, took the WHO CHOICE approach (choosing health options and interventions that are cost-effective) and found that a minimum pricing scheme was the most effective.

Key documents

A number of key documents were published/distributed at the expert conference. Please find the links below:

 Conference Presentations

 European Commission Progress Report on EU Alcohol Strategy

 WHO handbook for action to reduce alcohol-related harm

 Evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm

 Eurocare Recommendations for a Sustainable EU Alcohol Strategy

For more information

 Swedish Presidency

 DG SANCO- Alcohol