Alcohol No Ordinary Commodity
Fisseha Aranda
In the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity, a group of esteemed researchers analyse the global burden of alcohol-related disease, the economic and political power of the alcohol industry, and the scientific basis for alcohol policy. The following edited excerpt sets the stage for the book by discussing the dual role of alcohol as a drug and a commodity.
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that has been used since antiquity as a dietary supplement, social lubricant, and intoxicant. Beer, wine, and distilled spirits are also commodities that are bought and sold in the marketplace. And alcohol is a drug with toxic effects that cause physical, social, and psychological harm. In recent years, public discussion of alcohol policies has too often ignored or downplayed the need to understand the nature of the agent, its social and psychological functions, and its harmful properties.
The history of alcoholic beverages shows that drinking has served many purposes for the individual and society. As Heath (1984) noted, alcohol can be at the same time a food, a drug, and a highly elaborated cultural artefact with important symbolic meanings. In contemporary societies, alcohol products are mainly used as beverages to serve with meals, as thirst quenchers, as a means of socialization and enjoyment, as instruments of hospitality, and as intoxicants.
Alcoholic beverages are used in many cultures in a variety of social situations, both public and private (Heath and Glasser, 2003). They are frequently used to commemorate births, baptisms, and weddings. In a religious context, the consumption of alcohol may be limited by ritual expectations, as in the Catholic mass and the Jewish Seder, where only very light drinking is condoned.
Throughout the life cycle from youth to old age, it is associated with many positive aspects of life. It is used in traditional social rituals in many places. In some social situations, even intoxication is seen as an acceptable and pleasurable pursuit.
In many countries, the production and sale of alcoholic beverages are an important economic activity. They generate profits for producers, advertisers, and investors. They provide employment opportunities for wholesalers and retailers, bring in foreign currency from exported beverages, and generate tax revenues for the government. Alcohol is a major source of sales and profits for the travel and hospitality industries, including hotels and restaurants. For these reasons, there are many vested interests that support the continuation and growth of alcohol production and sales.
Consumer spending on alcoholic beverages usually generates tax revenues, which make these products a popular source of income for local, state, and national governments. But alcohol also imposes economic costs on society, including healthcare, policing (plus courts and prisons), crime prevention, property damage, traffic accident damage, workplace unproductivity, unemployment, and premature mortality. Public health responses need to reflect an improved understanding of the nature of an agent that is far from being an ordinary kind of commodity.
Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity was published by Oxford University Press in 2023, with the support of the International Confederation of Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug (ATOD) Research Associations (ICARA) and the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA). It was authored by Thomas F. Babor, Sally Casswell, Kathryn Graham, Taisia Huckle, Michael Livingston, Esa sterberg, Jrgen Rehm, Robin Room, Ingeborg Rossow, and Bundit Sornpaisarn.
The book is available to purchase in paper and e-book form. All royalties from book sales will be donated to the Society for the Study of Addiction in order to finance translations into other languages as well as other dissemination activities.
The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.
Nordic countries have a long history of alcohol consumption, complex challenges with heavy episodic drinking practices, and a reputation of implementing some of the strongest regulations to reduce alcohol-related harms.
Today, alcohol drinking levels in the Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, are among the lowest in the European Union. Unsurprisingly, alcohol is treated in many of these countries as no ordinary commodity and is strictly regulated.
The purpose of monopoly systems is to limit the various negative effects of alcohol on the population and society by reducing the number of outlets where alcohol is sold and enforcing other regulatory measures, such as restricting trading hours and sales promotions. Each Nordic country has its own national alcohol policy framework and retail monopolies are an essential part of it.
Taxation is another powerful measure that many Nordic countries use, not only to increase government revenue but also as a health measure. Even moderate increases in alcohol excise taxation in the Nordic countries have resulted in considerable health gains, as well as state revenues that can be used to invest in health care.
Taxation has also had an important role in protecting young people from the harmful effects of alcohol in the Nordics. High taxes on alcohol have been proven to reduce alcohol consumption and harm for all of society, including heavy drinkers and adolescents. There is also evidence of the benefit of taxation in delaying when young people start drinking.
Given the leading role of these countries in the European alcohol policy agenda, WHO/Europe is exploring possibilities for strengthening collaboration with the Nordic countries to document and disseminate best practices in reducing alcohol-related harm.
An international team of experts are behind the WHO sponsored book. It sums up the research and knowledge on alcohol problems and alcohol policy. Alcohol: No ordinary Commodity builds on the previous volume by Griffith Edwards et. al: Alcohol policy and the public good (1994). The text of the present volume evolved through the development of background papers, many stages of drafting, discussion at plenary meetings and the contributions of a small editorial group. This participatory exercise has resulted in a text that represents the consensus view of the 15 authors.
After Prohibition was repealed, states were permitted to develop their own alcohol systems. North Carolina is unique as it allowed communities to vote to establish local ABC boards for the sale of liquor in their communities, with liquor profits distributed back to those communities, thereby reducing the need to increase local property taxes.
Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity and liquor is different from beer or wine. Alcohol can be an addictive product and abused by some. A control system limits the physical and social damage that can be caused by the misuse of liquor and reduces the costs borne by citizens that result from abusive or irresponsible consumption of liquor.
H 30 anos, a Organizao Mundial de Sade (OMS) vem coordenando um projeto que visa a analisar as evidncias disponveis sobre as polticas pblicas em relao ao lcool. As primeiras concluses foram reunidas em um volume lanado ainda em 1975, Alcohol control policies in public health perspectives. Sobre ele, assinalou Griffith Edwards que "poucos livros tiveram tanta influncia no pensamento e na elaborao de polticas pblicas nessa rea". O sucessor deste primeiro trabalho foi "Alcohol Policy and the Public Good" (Edwards et al, 1994), que estabeleceu as bases cientficas para a elaborao de polticas pblicas para o lcool de uma forma abrangente e facilmente acessvel. Fruto de um trabalho de 17 dos mais renomados especialistas na rea, o livro revela a insuficincia da abordagem mdica do alcoolismo, evidenciando que o consumo de lcool em uma comunidade afeta a toda a comunidade e no apenas pequena minoria de bebedores pesados. A partir dessas evidncias, os autores assinalam que o consumo de lcool deve ser abordado a partir de uma perspectiva da sade pblica, com polticas direcionadas para toda a populao, como nica forma de mitigar o elevado custo social do consumo de lcool.
c80f0f1006