This is a statement made at the 150th Executive Board Meeting of the World Health Organization on the draft action plan (2022–2030) to effectively implement the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority.
Honourable Chair,
Distinguished delegates,
WHF thanks you for the opportunity to respond to the Draft Action Plan.
We applaud the efforts of the Secretariat and Member States to address this global health challenge. The evidence is clear: any level of alcohol consumption can lead to loss of healthy life. Even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of CVD, and contrary to popular belief, no reliable correlation has been found between moderate consumption and a lower risk of heart disease.
In our new policy brief, we summarize this evidence, break down the “harm/benefit” debate, and present recommendations to counter the deadly impact of alcohol, including:
- Strengthening restrictions on availability
- Advancing drink driving countermeasures
- Facilitating access to screening, interventions, and treatment
- Enforcing bans on advertising
- Raising prices through excise taxes
- Promoting intersectoral policies to discourage alcohol uptake, especially in young people,
- Establishing a uniform minimum legal drinking age, and
- Mandating prominent health warnings on labels
We reaffirm support for your endeavours to reduce the burden of alcohol use and thank you for your attention.
