Population-wide interventions for reducing alcohol consumption: what does the per capita consumption indicator say?

Overview

 

Population-wide interventions are the most cost-effective approach to tackle the root causes of and reduce overall alcohol consumption and harm. Many global commitments and surveillance systems use per capita alcohol consumption to track progress in implementing alcohol control policies. The alcohol per capita consumption presents many advantages as an indicator, including being readily available, extremely reliable, comparable across settings and closely associated with alcohol-related harm.

This Snapshot is part of a series of briefs tackling critical issues related to the determinants driving the acceptability, availability and affordability of alcohol consumption and how it affects people and their communities. The briefs result from a quick scanning of the recent evidence on the topic, insights from leading experts, consultation with selected countries, and discussions during webinars convened to create a platform to match evidence, practice, and policies. It is intended for a broad audience, including professionals working in public health and local and national alcohol policy focal points, policymakers, government officials, researchers, civil society groups, consumer associations, the mass media and people new to alcohol research or practice.