Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol

Anderson, Peter; Chisholm, Dan; Fuhr, Daniela C.

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)60744-3

Cited by 950 publications

(805 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Although empirically supported policies are desirable, unequivocal evidence of effectiveness has been recognised as an important, but not mandatory requirement in creating public health policies (Ogilvie, Craig, Griffin, Macintyre, & Wareham, 2009). The presence of an evidence-based gambling policy, although important, is insufficient to minimise harms; policy needs to be implemented, assessed and refined (Anderson, Chisholm, & Fuhr, 2009). Given the infancy of the field, the policy recommendations provided here are not intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive list; rather, the intention is to provide a starting point and commence a dialogue that may eventuate in international consistency in standards of harm-minimisation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommendations for International Gambling Harm-Minimisation Guidelines: Comparison with Effective Public Health Policy

et al. 2013

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Problem gambling represents a significant public health problem, however, research on effective gambling harm-minimisation measures lags behind other fields, including other addictive disorders. In recognition of the need for consistency between international jurisdictions and the importance of basing policy on empirical evidence, international conventions exist for policy on alcohol, tobacco, and illegal substances. This paper examines the evidence of best practice policies to provide recommendations for international guidelines for harm-minimisation policy for gambling, including specific consideration of the specific requirements for policies on Internet gambling. Evidence indicates that many of the public health policies implemented for addictive substances can be adapted to address gambling-related harms. Specifically, a minimum legal age of at least 18 for gambling participation, licensing of gambling venues and activities with responsible gambling and consumer protection strategies mandated, and brief interventions should be available for those at-risk for and experiencing gambling-related problems. However, there is mixed evidence on the effectiveness of limits on opening hours and gambling venue density and increased taxation to minimise harms. Given increases in trade globalisation and Gainsbury -Recommendations for international gambling harm-minimisation guidelines 2 particularly the global nature of Internet gambling, it is recommended that jurisdictions take actions to harmonise gambling public health policies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommendations for International Gambling Harm-Minimisation Guidelines: Comparison with Effective Public Health Policy

et al. 2013

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“…In doing so, they provide additional support for stronger measures to tackle alcohol abuse in this region WHO, 2011), especially as, in many of the countries concerned, they have so far been weak and poorly enforced. A key goal must be to restrict alcohol availability, whether in terms of outlet density or opening hours, which, along with higher taxes and restrictions on marketing, are the most effective measure in reducing alcohol-related harm (Anderson, Chisholm, & Fuhr, 2009). The countries concerned vary greatly in the extent to which they have even recognised hazardous drinking as a problem, let alone demonstrate any will to do anything about it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the causal effect of alcohol consumption on well-being for a cross-section of 9 former Soviet Union countries

Mentzakis

Suhrcke

Roberts

et al. 2013

Social Science & Medicine

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While the adverse health and economic consequences attributable to alcohol consumption are widely acknowledged, its impact on psychological wellbeing is less well understood. This is to a large extent due to the challenge of establishing causal effects of alcohol consumption when using standard single-equation econometric analyses. Using a unique dataset collected in 2010/11 of 18000 individuals and also community characteristics from nine countries of the former Soviet Union, a region with a major burden of alcohol related ill health, we address this problem by employing an instrumental variable approach to identify any causal effects of alcohol consumption on mental wellbeing. The availability of 24-hour alcohol sales outlets in the neighbourhood of the individuals is used as an instrument, based on theoretical reasoning and statistical testing of its validity. We find that increased alcohol consumption decreases well-being and that ignoring endogeneity leads to underestimation of this effect. This finding adds a further and previously under-appreciated dimension to the expected benefits that could be achieved with more effective alcohol policy in this region.

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“…The fact that educational measures are more popular than restrictive availability measures is in line with Giesbrecht and Greenfield, who reported that educational measures are popular among an adult population [8], which can also be concluded from our study. However, providing information and education, especially school-based education, is not effective in reducing alcohol-related problems [14,20]. More effective measures to reduce alcohol consumption are raising the price of alcoholic beverages and restricting the sale of alcohol [14,[20][21][22], but these measures are relatively unpopular [8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, providing information and education, especially school-based education, is not effective in reducing alcohol-related problems [14,20]. More effective measures to reduce alcohol consumption are raising the price of alcoholic beverages and restricting the sale of alcohol [14,[20][21][22], but these measures are relatively unpopular [8]. A possible reason why measures related to access to alcoholic beverages are unpopular could be that many people, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three types of alcohol policy measures were investigated in this survey [14,15]: (1) education and information related measures such as school-based education and public information campaigns; (2) addressing the availability of alcohol, e.g. happy hours, selling alcohol pops in supermarkets, selling other alcoholic beverages in supermarkets, selling alcohol in sport canteens; prohibition of alcohol use, and (3) pricing policies, such as increasing price of alcoholic beverages.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The opinion of adolescents and adults on Dutch restrictive and educational alcohol policy measures

et al. 2011

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This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. a b s t r a c tObjectives: The main objective of this study is to explore the opinion of 16-22-year olds on alcohol policy measures compared to the opinion of adults older than 22 years. Methods: Data was collected in 2008 by using a Dutch panel. This panel was based on a representative probability of households with 8280 members of 16 years and older. The study had a cross-sectional design and questionnaires were filled out through internet.Results: According measures related to the availability of alcohol, the 16-18-and 19-22-year olds are significantly more negative about these policy measures than the respondents older than 22 years. Educational measures were more popular than restrictive availability measures among all three groups, and the opinions of the groups differed significantly from each other. Own alcohol use seemed to be the main predictor for the opinion on restrictive availability measures. Conclusions: The 16-22-year olds are more negative regarding restrictive availability measures and educational measures than adults older than 22 years, and the restrictive availability measures are less popular than the educational measures among the adolescents.

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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol

Cited by 950 publications

References 76 publications

Recommendations for International Gambling Harm-Minimisation Guidelines: Comparison with Effective Public Health Policy

Recommendations for International Gambling Harm-Minimisation Guidelines: Comparison with Effective Public Health Policy

Estimating the causal effect of alcohol consumption on well-being for a cross-section of 9 former Soviet Union countries

The opinion of adolescents and adults on Dutch restrictive and educational alcohol policy measures

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