Nearly 6% of all deaths worldwide were attributable to alcohol in 2012, with more than half caused by non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, liver disease and mental health disorders.
In the EU alone in 2014, 72,000 deaths due to alcohol-related diseases could have been avoided and globally it is estimated that 5.1% of the burden of disease as measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) is attributed to alcohol consumption.
The World Health Organization has identified three priority actions for alcohol policy called their ‘Best Buys’:
- Using taxation to help regulate demand for alcoholic beverages
- Restrictions on the availability of alcoholic beverages
- Comprehensive restrictions or bans on alcohol advertising.
To read the full article on the EPHA website: Why Europe urgently needs to buy into the alcohol ‘best buys’