The marketing of responsible drinking: competing voices and interests

WHO's Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful use of Alcohol: An Assessment of Recent Policies and Interventions in Finland and Ontario, Canada

Aim

This paper assesses alcohol policies and interventions in Finland and the Canadian province of Ontario, using the policy options and interventions recommended in WHO's Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol (2010).

Data & Methods

The information and data are based on archival sources, surveys, legislative and government documents, and published papers. The paper assesses both jurisdictions on 10 areas in the WHO document and their sub-topics: 1. leadership, 2. health services response, 3. community action, 4. drinking and driving policies and countermeasures, 5. availability of alcohol, 6. marketing of alcoholic beverages, 7. pricing policies, 8. reducing the negative consequences of drinking and alcohol intoxication, 9. reducing the public health impact of illicit alcohol and informally produced alcohol, and 10. monitoring and surveillance.

Results

Ontario had several recent noteworthy developments in line with WHO recommendations: health services response, controls of drinking and driving, pricing policies, reducing the negative consequences of drinking and intoxication, and monitoring and surveillance. Finland has emphasised pricing policies in recent years, and there have also been significant developments in community action, controls of drinking and driving, alcohol advertising, and monitoring and surveillance.

Conclusions

Challenges and opportunities for strengthening the policy responses are noted, as well as topics for future research.

Episodic heavy drinking and 20-year total mortality among late-life moderate drinkers

BACKGROUND

Analyses of moderate drinking have focused overwhelmingly on average consumption, which masks diverse underlying drinking patterns. This study examined the association between episodic heavy drinking and total mortality among moderate-drinking older adults.

METHODS

At baseline, the sample was comprised of 446 adults aged 55 to 65; 74 moderate drinkers who engaged in episodic heavy drinking and 372 regular moderate drinkers. The database at baseline also included a broad set of sociodemographic, behavioral, and health status covariates. Death across a 20-year follow-up period was confirmed primarily by death certificate.

RESULTS

In multiple logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for all covariates, as well as overall alcohol consumption, moderate drinkers who engaged in episodic heavy drinking had more than 2 times higher odds of 20-year mortality in comparison with regular moderate drinkers.

CONCLUSIONS

Among older moderate drinkers, those who engage in episodic heavy drinking show significantly increased total mortality risk compared to regular moderate drinkers. Episodic heavy drinking-even when average consumption remains moderate-is a significant public health concern.