Alcohol is responsible for 7% of total mortality and morbidity in the European Union, lying in third place among risk factors after smoking and hypertension. The total tangible costs accruing to the European Union amount to 1.3% of the Gross Domestic Product and come very close to the value attributed to smoking. Young people pay a significant share of these costs, being particularly vulnerable to sales and marketing strategies: after tobacco and caffeine, alcohol is the psychoactive substance in most widespread use among European youth (Hibell et al 2004, Anderson & Baumberg 2006). The last decade has seen a marked increase in regulatory measures and programmes aimed at tackling alcohol-related problems. The most active international organisation has been the World Health Organisation, whose Europe office has put in place many initiatives to reduce alcohol-related damage among the 52 member states. These measures concern above all scholastic education programmes and forms of restriction relating to drinking and driving, although there is great disparity among the different nations. According to the European Commission (2006), if alcohol-related policies are combined on a single scale, the rate of severity ranges from 5.5 for Greece to 17.5 for Norway: in general policies are less severe in southern (with the exception of France) and eastern parts of Europe, and more severe in northern Europe. However, there is greater uniformity and measures are more incisive than they were 50 years ago. According to the latest edition of the Euro-Barometer (European Commission 2007) even Italy and the Mediterranean countries, cultures traditionally reluctant about prohibition, have shown a tendency to agree to the adoption of specific measures, above all in regard to alcohol-related problems concerning young people, driving, pregnancy and advertising. Using the models of the World Health Organisation, the estimated cost for European governments of a complete set of policies and programmes that are effective at the European Union level, comprising random testing of blood alcohol levels, taxation, restricting access to alcohol, banning advertising, and short-term intervention in the health field, would be € 1.3 billion: about 1% of the total tangible cost of alcohol for society (European Commission 2006).
ON THE QUESTION OF PREVENTION OF ALCOHOLISM IN THE YOUNG “THE DRINK-KING”: A MULTIMEDIA SUPPORT TARGETING HIGH-SCHOOLS
FURLAN, Piermaria;PICCI, Rocco Luigi
2011-01-01
Abstract
Alcohol is responsible for 7% of total mortality and morbidity in the European Union, lying in third place among risk factors after smoking and hypertension. The total tangible costs accruing to the European Union amount to 1.3% of the Gross Domestic Product and come very close to the value attributed to smoking. Young people pay a significant share of these costs, being particularly vulnerable to sales and marketing strategies: after tobacco and caffeine, alcohol is the psychoactive substance in most widespread use among European youth (Hibell et al 2004, Anderson & Baumberg 2006). The last decade has seen a marked increase in regulatory measures and programmes aimed at tackling alcohol-related problems. The most active international organisation has been the World Health Organisation, whose Europe office has put in place many initiatives to reduce alcohol-related damage among the 52 member states. These measures concern above all scholastic education programmes and forms of restriction relating to drinking and driving, although there is great disparity among the different nations. According to the European Commission (2006), if alcohol-related policies are combined on a single scale, the rate of severity ranges from 5.5 for Greece to 17.5 for Norway: in general policies are less severe in southern (with the exception of France) and eastern parts of Europe, and more severe in northern Europe. However, there is greater uniformity and measures are more incisive than they were 50 years ago. According to the latest edition of the Euro-Barometer (European Commission 2007) even Italy and the Mediterranean countries, cultures traditionally reluctant about prohibition, have shown a tendency to agree to the adoption of specific measures, above all in regard to alcohol-related problems concerning young people, driving, pregnancy and advertising. Using the models of the World Health Organisation, the estimated cost for European governments of a complete set of policies and programmes that are effective at the European Union level, comprising random testing of blood alcohol levels, taxation, restricting access to alcohol, banning advertising, and short-term intervention in the health field, would be € 1.3 billion: about 1% of the total tangible cost of alcohol for society (European Commission 2006).
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