The role of social and health issues in alcohol policies at Community level

1
The role of social and health issues in alcohol
policies at Community level

• 1. The EU and its Member States form the
  leading region in the world with regard not only
  to production, export and consumption of alcohol,
  but also to various detrimental social and health
  effects of drinking. This state of affairs is
  being recognised in the Union.
• 2. The levels of consumption and drinking
  patterns in the Member States are in a state of
  flux. Standard images of typical drinking
  cultures are getting invalid.
• 3. The regulation and prevention of alcohol
  consumption and related harm is not yet an
  established policy field at EU level. New forms
  and practices, combining hard and soft law, as
  well as economic and social and health interests,
  should be developed in the years to come.

2
Europe and alcohol policy

• - The EU represents a large share of production
  and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the
  world.
• - So far social and health concerns have used to
  be low on the political agenda in the EU.
• - Alcohol issues are being partially redefined,
  thereby including also social and health
  considerations.
• - Influencing methods in the alcohol policy field
  are still passed to the domain of soft law.

3
Figure. Recorded alcohol consumption in six
current EU Member States 1960-2003, litres pure
alcohol per capita

4
Standard images are in a flux

• - wet cultures vs. dry cultures?
• - wine cultures vs. beer cultures vs. (former)
  spirits cultures?
• - drinking with meals vs. drinking for
  intoxication?
• - formal control cultures vs. informal control
  cultures?

5
A model of the operational environment in alcohol
policy in Member States and on EU level

• The level of the The level of the
• Member State European Union
• __________________________________________________
  _______
• Hard law Key instruments S.Market regul.
• (binding legislation seriously weakened. affects
  AP. Hard
• regulations) law for PH purp.
• excluded.
• Soft law (non- Focus switched to AP issues
  raised
• binding agreements) local prevention, within EU.
• partnerships, etc.