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Alcohol consumption is increasingly recognized as a public health issue for the EU. EU publications mention alcohol and health issues from 1981 onwards. The EU adopted the first Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy in October 2006. It received a lot of resistance from industry stakeholders, who are generally more opposed to restrictive alcohol policies than others. The WHO has shown an interest in alcohol policy since 1979, with its most recent European communication being the Framework on Alcohol Policy in the WHO European Region of 2006. In the EU, alcohol is primarily treated as an economic commodity and therefore the future impact of international trade treaties on national alcohol policies is uncertain.
Effective policy measures, such as the taxation of alcoholic goods or the establishment of a minimum legal drinking age, restrict the supply and availability of alcohol. An effective policy focuses both on total consumption and on risky drinking patterns. A comprehensive approach, combining a number of policy actions, optimises effectiveness through mutual reinforcement. Effective alcohol policy measures are of importance, not only for the health of the general population, but also for the reduction of health inequalities.
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Compared to some regions of the world, European national alcohol policies show a low level of comprehensiveness and strictness. Within Europe the different national alcohol policies are starting to show more similarities. This is because countries with historically stricter policies have liberalised these, in some cases to comply with EU regulations. Conversely, countries that four decades ago did not have any alcohol policies in place have since put some in place. Despite this converging trend, differences remain. The least strict policies can be found in the south of Europe and parts of Central and Eastern Europe, while the strictest policies have been implemented in the north. Although alcohol policies and alcohol consumption influence each other, there are other factors that play a role. Culture, economics and global trends also have an important influence on alcohol consumption, especially on drinking patterns.
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