Anderson, Peter, Baumberg Geiger, Ben (2006) Alcohol in Europe: A public health perspective London: Institute of Alcohol Studies. European Commission (OIL), Luxembourg, 446 pp. ISBN 92-79-02241-5. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:36384)
The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. | |
Official URL: http://ec.europa.eu/health/archive/ph_determinants... |
Abstract
In June 2001, the Council of the European Union, in its Conclusions on a Community
strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm, emphasized that a high level of human
health protection should be ensured in the definition and implementation of all
Community policies and activities, and recognized that alcohol is one of the key
health determinants in the European Community.
The Council stressed the desirability of developing a comprehensive Community
strategy aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm comprising, in particular, an effective
monitoring system on alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm, and policy
measures and their effects in the European Community; and a coordinated range of
Community activities in fields such as research, consumer protection, transport,
advertising, marketing, sponsoring, excise duties and other internal market issues,
while fully respecting Member States' competencies. The Council invited the
Commission to put forward proposals for a comprehensive Community strategy
aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, to complement national policies and with a
timetable for action.
This public health report on alcohol, requested and financed by the European
Commission, will describe the social, health and economic burden that alcohol brings
to European citizens, families and to Europe as a whole; this is a burden that
increases social marginalization and exclusion and places a strain on the viable,
socially responsible and productive Europe, as envisaged by the Lisbon strategy.11
Whilst noting that, in the European Union, alcoholic beverages are important
economic commodities, the report will note that alcohol-attributable disease, injury
and violence cost the health, welfare, employment and criminal justice sectors some
€125bn a year. In particular, alcohol-related harm has a negative impact on the
competitive position of European businesses, since it lowers productivity, and causes
the loss of working life-years, with €59bn of the costs due to alcohol resulting from
lost production. The report will also note that alcohol, as an important contributor to
health inequalities between and within European Member States, risks damaging
social cohesion throughout the Union.
The report will find that, although much has been on alcohol policy in the countries of
Europe, much more can still be done to reduce alcohol’s burden and to promote
individual and European health. The report will note that alcohol policy is everybody’s
business; it is not only an issue for the health sector, but also for other sectors of
public policy, including, amongst others, agriculture, business, criminal justice,
education, finance, labour, municipalities, transport, and social welfare.
The report will find that alcohol policy, a global public good and an integral part of the
health and well-being of the citizens of Europe, can enhance social cohesion and
social capital and improve health and safety in the living environment, thereby
contributing to higher productivity and a sustainable economic development in the
European Union, in line with the objectives set out in the Lisbon Strategy.
Item Type: | Research report (external) |
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations |
Depositing User: | Mita Mondal |
Date Deposited: | 14 Nov 2013 12:47 UTC |
Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2021 10:13 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/36384 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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