News and Press

Alcohol-Related Harm: Is a Global Approach Now Needed?

23 Jun 2011

A recent article published in Addiction Magazine has questioned whether a global approach to alcohol harm now needs to be initiated in response to the increasing global dominance of alcohol supply by a few powerful transnational corporations.

Alcohol is currently one of the most heavily marketed commodities on earth and manufacturers of alcohol are increasingly adopting global-marketing strategies to grow their market penetration. By utilising sophisticated digital marketing techniques increasingly alcohol manufacturers are able to reach a global, and younger, audience more effectively than has ever before been possible.

The article argues that a well funded global response is required in order to defend against this globalised marketing onslaught.

Already there is recognition among the world’s major alcohol policy makers, advocates and campaigners that such a global response needs to be adopted. This November The Global Alcohol Policy Conference 2011 is set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand.

Attended by policy makers, advocates, academics, and campaigners the conference – organised by the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization, the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation – will provide an opportunity to discuss future efforts to reduce the damage caused by alcohol globally.

SHAAP has long recognised the increasing problems caused by the globalisation of alcohol marketing and trade, and widely supports any efforts to provide far greater accountability from the alcohol industry.

Alcohol Harm – The Urgent Need For a Global Response, by Sally Casswell, can be read in full at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03404.x/full

Further information on Global Alcohol Policy Conference 2011 is available at www.gapc2011.com