WHO urges higher alcohol taxes globally

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for higher alcohol taxes after a new study showed more than three million people died from harmful alcohol use in 2016.

The WHO has called for greater alcohol taxes to tackle harmful drinking

According to a report released by the WHO last week (21 September), harmful alcohol use is responsible for more than 5% of the “global disease burden”.

The WHO’s Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 looked at global alcohol consumption and how countries are moving to tackle alcohol-related illnesses and deaths. It found that more than three quarters of these deaths were men.

Of all alcohol-related deaths, 28% were the result of injuries, such as car accidents, self-harm and interpersonal violence; 21% were attributed to digestive disorders; 19% were due to cardiovascular diseases; and the rest was caused by infectious diseases, cancer, mental disorders and other health conditions.

It also estimated that 237m men and 46m women suffer from alcohol-use disorders globally, with particularly high numbers in Europe (14.8% men and 3.5% women) and the Americas (11.5% men and 5.1% women).

As a result, WHO is calling for governments around the world to raise alcohol taxes, and impose restrictions and bans on alcohol advertising.

Dr Vladimir Poznyak, coordinator of WHO’s management of substance abuse unit, said: “All countries can do much more to reduce the health and social costs of the harmful use of alcohol.

“Proven, cost-effective actions include increasing taxes on alcoholic drinks, bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, and restricting the physical availability of alcohol.”

US trade body the Distilled Spirits Council has hit back at the calls for punitive alcohol taxes, arguing they “don’t effectively address harmful consumption”.

In a statement, the Distilled Spirits Council said: “The distilled spirits industry is strongly opposed to excessive alcohol consumption and underage drinking in any form.

“We support the WHO’s goal to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, however we are concerned that some policy recommendations such as increasing alcohol taxes are misguided and don’t effectively address harmful consumption.

“We believe meaningful progress can be made through partnerships and evidence-based solutions that target problem drinkers. In the United States, rates of alcohol use disorder among adults, underage drinking and drunk-driving fatalities are at historic lows.

“The distilled spirits industry has contributed to this progress through partnerships promoting tough law enforcement, education and targeted intervention.”