Takeaways from the event
29 June 2023
Riina Sikkut, Minister of Health of Estonia, opened the Baltic Alcohol Control Policy Dialogues, held on 16–17 May 2023, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based alcohol policies and expressing the need to continue the work done on alcohol control in the Baltic countries.
Participants from the Baltic states were presented with the latest research data to implement effective policies, and contributed with new topics for the research agenda. The key takeaways of meeting were that high-impact alcohol control policies have an immediate effect on increasing life expectancy and reducing deaths from all causes, as demonstrated by the latest data from the research project, “Evaluation of the impact of alcohol control policies on morbidity and mortality in Lithuania and other Baltic states”.
The research project, funded by the United States National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), also demonstrated that alcohol control policies, specifically higher taxation of alcohol, can reduce inequalities, and that inactivity or weakening policies will decrease life expectancy and bring an increase in deaths.
An important topic of discussion was that policy-makers across sectors, particularly in neighbouring countries, need to work together and implement coordinated policies to ensure the effectiveness of alcohol control measures and to avoid unintended consequences.
The policy dialogues emphasized the importance of the research project’s findings, which have implications for policy-makers across the WHO European Region and globally, and highlight the need for coordinated action to ensure the effectiveness of alcohol control measures to improve health and well-being.
The meeting also introduced the participants to the WHO–EU Evidence into Action Alcohol Project – a 4-year EU-funded project to reduce harms from alcohol in EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway and Ukraine.
Event notice
14–19 May 2023
The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world, as well as the highest rate of alcohol-use disorders and the lowest share of people abstaining from alcohol.
On 14–19 May, WHO/Europe is organizing a series of events in Tallinn, Estonia for different target audiences: early career researchers, policy-makers from the Baltic states, scientists of a large project funded by the United States National Institute of Health, and health ministry focal points from all European countries.
Initiating a seminar series for early career researchers on alcohol and public health
The first module of the seminar series on alcohol and public health will take place in person in Tallinn on 14–15 May. The seminar series will build capacity among professionals who are at the beginning of their careers, to prepare them to work on the topic of alcohol and public health at a national and international level and raise awareness about alcohol as a key risk factor, going far beyond the clinical field of addiction.
This series is organized as part of the European Union (EU)-funded Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION) to bring scientific evidence to promote and support the implementation of effective alcohol policies for the communities of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Ukraine.
Baltic Alcohol Control Dialogues: a capacity-building platform for intersectoral dialogue and action
Alcohol consumption is particularly high in the eastern part of the European Region. The three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have some of the heaviest drinking rates of anywhere in the world, high average alcohol intake and high burdens of disease, caused by alcohol use. In response to these challenges, the three countries have introduced different alcohol policy measures during different time periods, which presents a unique opportunity to study these interventions as part of a natural experiment. Assessing the impact of these policies is part of the WHO-supported research project “Evaluation of the impact of alcohol control policies on morbidity and mortality in Lithuania and other Baltic states”, funded by the United States National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
On 16–17 May, WHO/Europe will host the Baltic Alcohol Control Dialogues, an intersectoral exchange meeting for researchers and policy-makers, specifically representatives of different ministries, institutes and technical agencies from the Baltic states and neighbouring countries.
EVID-ACTION training session for Member States to build capacity in monitoring and surveillance of alcohol consumption and harms
On 18 April WHO/Europe is organizing an EVID-ACTION training session for Member States to build capacity in the field monitoring and surveillance of alcohol consumption and harms, aiming at technical focal points from health ministries of countries participating in the project. It is expected that this training will help improve national and regional monitoring and information systems. Intersectoral health tax workshop for Estonia Finally, a WHO workshop on 19 May will discuss the topic of health taxes (i.e. the taxation of harmful products such as alcohol, tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages). The workshop will introduce the key considerations for developing and implementing taxes in this area, so as to protect the health of the population and generate tax revenue, and will explore opportunities for Estonia.