The year 2022 marks a turning point in global policy action against alcohol consumption after countries adopted a new action plan for the 2022–2030 period. The Less Alcohol Webinar Series, first launched in 2021, is one among many efforts to support this policy commitment. Each webinar in the series aims to leverage the latest available evidence and know-how from countries to quicken progress in tackling critical blind spots for the effective implementation of alcohol control policies. In its initial year, the series engaged more than 40 speakers from over 80 countries across all WHO regions, reaching nearly 1 000 attendees.
Over the course of 2022, a range of priority blind spots requiring collective thinking will be explored. These include considering the public health effects of zero and low-alcohol beverages, the need for gender-responsive alcohol control policies, the impact of increased availability of home-delivery alcoholic beverages, and the challenges posed by alcogenic settings and cultures, among others.
Importantly, the discussions that transpire during each webinar inform the further development of a summary document on that topic. The resulting brief is ultimately a “snapshot” of the evidence, experiences from countries, stakeholder insights and expert opinion. These briefs are published in a parallel series. For more information on the “Snapshot Series” and the briefs developed through the 2021 edition of the series, visit the publications of the Less Alcohol Unit here.
Adopting a health promotion approach
The health, social and economic consequences of alcohol consumption are alarming. Adopting a health promotion approach aims to mitigate the burden of ill-health, disease and disability attributable to alcohol by recognizing that all individuals are embedded in systems and influenced by their lived environment, which affects their behavioural choices and subsequently, health and social outcomes. In practice, and in the context of the Less Alcohol Webinar Series, attention is called to three key determinants driving the consumption of alcohol: acceptability, availability and affordability. Addressing each determinant requires a portfolio of health promotion interventions to moderate alcohol consumption and, in turn, enable populations to increase control over and improve their health. Each topic addressed through the series aims to explore the available interventions and support the acceleration of implementation efforts.
Target participants
This series is intended for a broad audience, including people working in public health and local and national alcohol control policy, policy-makers from national, regional and local administrations, government officials, researchers, civil society groups, consumer associations, the mass media, and people new to alcohol control policy, research or practice.
Attending a webinar
All webinars are free to attend. Registration in advance is required and can be completed via webinar-specific registration links shared by invitation. The webinars are 90 minutes in length and are held in English, in some cases with simultaneous interpretation to other languages. In advance of each webinar, a detailed programme of speakers and spotlight countries is announced, together with a concept note outlining the topics the webinar aims to address. Following each webinar, a recording is posted online.
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