WHO aiming for a global strategy to reduce alcohol harm

The harm caused by alcohol is now causing so much concern that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed a plan to develop a global strategy to reduce it.

The need for such a plan is thought to be twofold. Firstly, there is concern about the harm drinkers are doing to their own health. In the EU alone some 55 million adults are estimated to drink to harmful levels, according to the European Commission.

Alcohol consumption at harmful levels is also estimated to be responsible for approximately 195,000 deaths each year in the EU. These are as a result of cancer, liver cirrhosis, suicides and neuropsychiatric conditions as well as road traffic and other accidents and homicides. This brings us to the second issue, which is the growing numbers of people who are suffering as a result of the reckless or aggressive behaviour of those who have been drinking.

In the UK, British Crime Survey figures for 2006-07 show that in nearly half (46%) of all violent incidents, victims believed offenders to be under the influence of alcohol. And this figure rose to 58% in cases of attacks by people they did not know. In fact, in more than a million violent attacks, the aggressors were believed to be drunk. Furthermore, nearly 40% of domestic violence cases involve alcohol.

The aim for the WHO global strategy is to look at the best available evidence and best practices around the world and come up with a menu of recommended measures that Member States can implement at a national level.

The WHO plan will be discussed when government representatives meet in Geneva, Switzerland, in May for the annual World Health Assembly and if an agreement is reached, the draft strategy is scheduled to be completed by 2010.