Title
Cross-country comparison of proportion of alcohol consumed in harmful drinking occasions using the International Alcohol Control Study
Date Issued
01 August 2018
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Viet Cuong P.
Casswell S.
Parker K.
Callinan S.
Chaiyasong S.
Kazantseva E.
Meier P.
MacKintosh A.M.
Gray-Phillip G.
Parry C.D.H.
Instituto Nacional sobre el Abuso de Drogas
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing
Abstract
Introduction and Aims: This study examines the proportion of alcohol markets consumed in harmful drinking occasions in a range of high-, middle-income countries and assesses the implications of these findings for conflict of interest between alcohol producers and public health and the appropriate role of the alcohol industry in alcohol policy space. Design and Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 10 countries as part of the International Alcohol Control study. Alcohol consumption was measured using location- and beverage-specific measures. A level of consumption defined as harmful use of alcohol was chosen and the proportion of the total market consumed in these drinking occasions was calculated for both commercial and informal alcohol. Results: In all countries, sizeable proportions of the alcohol market were consumed during harmful drinking occasions. In general, a higher proportion of alcohol was consumed in harmful drinking occasions by respondents in the middle-income countries than respondents in the high-income countries. The proportion of informal alcohol consumed in harmful drinking occasions was lower than commercial alcohol. Discussion and Conclusions: Informal alcohol is less likely to be consumed in harmful drinking occasions compared with commercial alcohol. The proportion of commercial alcohol consumed in harmful drinking occasions in a range of alcohol markets shows the reliance of the transnational alcohol corporations on harmful alcohol use. This reliance underpins industry lobbying against effective policy and support for ineffective approaches. The conflict of interest between the alcohol industry and public health requires their exclusion from the alcohol policy space.
Start page
S45
End page
S52
Volume
37
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología
Salud pública, Salud ambiental
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85041998679
PubMed ID
Source
Drug and Alcohol Review
ISSN of the container
0959-5236
Sponsor(s)
The data used in this paper are from the International Alcohol Control Study, led by Professor Sally Casswell. The IAC core survey questionnaire was largely developed by researchers at the SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, College of Health, Massey University, New Zealand, with funding from the Health Promotion Agency, New Zealand. Further development involved collaboration between UK, Thai, Korean and New Zealand researchers. The funding sources for data sets used in this article for each country are: Australia—Australian National Preventive Health Agency and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education; England and Scotland—Medical Research Council National Prevention Research Initiative (Grant ref.: MR/J000523/1); New Zealand—The Health Promotion Agency and Health Research Council of New Zealand; St Kitts/Nevis—International Development Research Centre, Canada; Mongolia—World Health Organization; Peru—International Development Research Centre, Canada; Thailand—International Health Policy Program, Thai Health; South Africa—South African Medical Research Council and International Development Research Centre, Canada; Vietnam—International Development Research Centre, Canada. We would also like to acknowledge support from UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, the excellent work of the interviewers and their supervisors and the time given by the survey respondents.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus