Do alcohol control policies have the predicted effects on consumption? An analysis of the Baltic countries and Poland 2000–2020

Rehm, Jürgen; Tran, Alexander; Gobiņa, Inese; Janik-Koncewicz, Kinga; Jiang, Huan; Kim, Kawon Victoria; Liutkutė-Gumarov, Vaida; Miščikienė, Laura; Reile, Rainer; Room, Robin; Štelemėkas, Mindaugas; Stoppel, Relika; Zatoński, Witold; Lange, Shannon

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109682

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Against our hypotheses, the economic crisis of 2008 which affected the Baltic countries at slightly different times (see above) contributed to a reduction of affordability of alcoholic beverages and was associated with a reduction of alcohol per capita consumption 26 . However, within an economic crisis or other crisis situation there may also be an increase in heavier drinkers despite the overall volume of alcohol going down 13,[41][42][43] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…It is possible that the stronger relationship between policies and all-cause mortality in men compared with women may be because alcohol accounts for a larger proportion of total mortality in men than in women. Although alcohol control policies of taxation increase and availability reduction in the Baltic countries and Poland have been found to be effective in reducing alcohol per capita consumption of pure alcohol per year 26 , future evaluation of the impact of these policies on specific population groups such as men and women would be important.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 18 policies, classified as “best buys” and expected to have an immediate effect, were applied in the study period based on the following criteria 15 : (1) taxation increases should decrease affordability of alcoholic beverages (affordability was measured by data on alcohol prices, inflation and disposable income); and (2) availability restrictions should reduce availability by at least 20% (decrease in opening hours at least 20%). Prior analyses showed that these policies had an impact on consumption level 26 . In Estonia, eight policies were selected; Latvia, five policies; Lithuania four policies; and in Poland, one policy (see Table 1 ; for detailed description of policies see Supplementary Tables S1–S4 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Year Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland 2002 June 14 Availability reduced 2008 January 1 Taxation increase, July 1 Taxation increase, July 14 Availability reduced February 1, July 1 Taxation increase January 1 Taxation increase, Marketing restricted 2009 January 1 Availability reduced March 1 Taxation increase 2010 January 1 Taxation increase February 1 Taxation increase 2016 February 1 Taxation increase 2017 February 1 , July 1 Taxation increase March 1 Taxation increase 2018 February 1 Taxation increase January 1 Availability reduced, Marketing restricted 2019 March 1 Taxation increase 2020 January 1 Taxation increase* *This policy was not included in data analysis, because 2001–2019 Poland data were used. More details about all policies published before 14 , 15 , 26 . …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… *This policy was not included in data analysis, because 2001–2019 Poland data were used. More details about all policies published before 14 , 15 , 26 . …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alcohol control policies reduce all-cause mortality in Baltic Countries and Poland between 2001 and 2020

Vaitkevičiūtė

Gobiņa

Janik-Koncewicz

et al. 2023

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Alcohol consumption in the Baltic countries and Poland is among the highest globally, causing high all-cause mortality rates. Contrary to Poland, the Baltic countries have adopted many alcohol control policies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) “best buys”. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these policies, which were implemented between 2001 and 2020, on all-cause mortality. Monthly mortality data for men and women aged 20+ years of age in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were analysed for 2001 to 2020. A total of 19 alcohol control policies, fulfilling an a-priori defined definition, were implemented between 2001 and 2020 in the countries of interest, and 18 of them could be tested. Interrupted time-series analyses were conducted by employing a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) for men and women separately. The age-standardized all-cause mortality rate was lowest in Poland and highest in Latvia and had decreased in all countries over the time period. Taxation increases and availability restrictions had short-term effects in all countries, on average reducing the age-standardized all-cause mortality rate among men significantly (a reduction of 2.31% (95% CI 0.71%, 3.93%; p = 0.0045)). All-cause mortality rates among women were not significantly reduced (a reduction of 1.09% (95% CI − 0.02%, 2.20%; p = 0.0554)). In conclusion, the alcohol control policies implemented between 2001 and 2020 reduced all-cause mortality among men 20+ years of age in Baltic countries and Poland, and thus, the practice should be continued.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… *This policy was not included in data analysis, because 2001–2019 Poland data were used. More details about all policies published before 14 , 15 , 26 . …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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