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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Perihan Torun, who is leading the study of Turkey’s
policies on International Alcohol Control (IAC), said: “Arguments
regarding the benefits of any amount of alcohol consumption have
lost their ground, as recent studies estimate that the global burden
of disease attributable to alcohol consumption is increasing with the
increasing amount of alcohol consumption.”
How would you describe the
current level of global alcohol
consumption?
The
World
Health
Organization
(WHO) reports that almost half of the
global population aged 15+ years has
never consumed alcohol. Alcohol is
consumed by more than half of the
population in three of the six WHO
regions – the Americas, Europe and the
Western Pacific – where alcohol use
starts before the age of 15. Over the last
few years, the per capita consumption
of alcohol is observed to be increasing
in the WHO Western Pacific and South-
East Asia regions, and decreasing in
the European region.
The countries with a low proportion
of drinkers, those with no firm alcohol
control policies and/or shortfalls in
the implementation of control policies
are likely to be targeted by the alcohol
industry as possible growing markets.
It is reported that the commercial
activities of the alcohol sector are
increasing in African countries, and
as a result, alcohol related burdens
are expected to rise. Furthermore, as
consumption of alcohol is reported
to increase as affluence increases,
the countries with rapidly growing
economies are likely to suffer the
consequences.
Evidence of the harm done by alcohol
consumption has been growing over
the last decade with the emergence
of studies with robust methodologies.
Arguments regarding the benefits of
any amount of alcohol consumption
have lost their ground, as recent
studies estimate that the global
burden of disease attributable to
alcohol consumption is increasing
with the increasing amount of alcohol
consumption. National policies should
take into account the current body of
evidence.
What is being done around the
world to protect public health, and
what are the future plans?
In order to protect populations against
the harmful effects of alcohol, it
is important to collect data on the
consumption levels of individuals, and
this data should be taken into account
in alcohol control policies.
Indicator
3.5.2
Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG), which
focuses on national per capita alcohol
consumption,
necessitates
the
monitoring of consumption. A problem
arises with this indicator in countries
with a large proportions of non-
drinkers anda lackof dataon individual
consumption levels. In this case,
when calculating the average alcohol
consumption per capita, calculations
based on the general consumption of
the population are used. As this does
not reflect the situation of a large group
of non-drinkers, especially women, the
obtained data is misleading. This is
one of the reasons why alcohol is not
considered a risk factor in countries
with a large group of abstainers.
Another reason is the religious and
political connotations of drinking, and
hence the sensitivity of information on
personal consumption.
In cultures where non-drinking is also
acceptable and widespread, as in the
Turkish example, the legitimacy of
policies to maintain the proportion
of abstainers should be discussed as
“fewer non-drinkers will contribute to
increases in per capita consumption”.
Research could then focus on capturing
the prevalence and determinants
of abstention, as well as of harmful
drinking.
Interview by: Fatıma Aydın
ASSOC. PROF. DR. TORUN:
“THE WORLD HAS
ACCEPTED THE HARMS
OF ALCOHOL”
As a public health expert and
academician serving in Turkey, she has
been leading the International Alcohol
Control (IAC) Policy Evaluation Study
for Turkey since 2016.
ASSOC. PROF. DR. PERİHAN TORUN
Countries with a low
proportion of drinkers,
with no firm alcohol control
policies and/or that fail to
implement control policies,
are likely to be targeted
by the alcohol sector as
possible growth markets.
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