The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64805

Thomas F. Babor, PhD, MPH, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-6325, 860-679-5482, babor@nso.uchc.edu

This session describes the latest report of the Alcohol and Public Policy project, an international collaborative effort sponsored by the World Health Organization. The project is designed to enhance communication between researchers and policymakers by addressing the need for a systematic analysis of policy-relevant alcohol research. The project was established in 1992 by a small group of alcohol policy researchers under the partial sponsorship of the World Health Organization. The group recruited an international team of research scientists, consulted with experts throughout the world, and published a number of books, monographs, reports and reviews of the accumulated knowledge on how to deal with alcohol problems in the public policy arena. Based on the increasing knowledge base, the changing climate of alcohol policy and international trends in drinking problems, a new report was commissioned by WHO in 1998. The focus of the new report, entitled “Alcohol, No Ordinary Commodity,” is on new developments in alcohol epidemiology, policy research and the policymaking process. To introduce the findings of that report, which will be published by Oxford University Press in September, 2003, this session will consist of the following four papers: 1) Raul Caetano: Global trends in alcohol consumption and patterns of drinking: New epidemiological data (20 min) 2) Juergen Rehm: Alcohol-related global burden of disease (20 min) 3) Robin Room: Alcohol policy: the international context and the policymaking process. (20 min) 4) Thomas Babor: Alcohol Policy: A Consumer’s Guide (20 min) 5) Discussant: Susan Addis (10 min.)

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1)describe the role of alcohol in the global burden of disease; 2)report the major stakeholders in the alcohol policy making pocess; and 3)describe the effectiveness and costs of different alcohol policies.

Keywords: Alcohol, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.