“Strong alcohol policies are among the smartest investments you can make,” said WHO Regional Office for Europe and the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer today at a two-day event launching two Handbooks on Alcohol Policy and Cancer Prevention.
“You can prevent more cancers with a taxation increase than you can with advice from doctors. If you want to prevent cancers you have to think about population policies in the long run,” said Jurgen Rehm, from Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (pictured).
“The WHO European Region, and especially countries of the EU, are paying too high a price for alcohol in preventable cancers and broken families, as well as costing billions to taxpayers,” said Dr Gundo Weiler Director for Prevention and Health Promotion at WHO/Europe.
The pair recommend governments: increase taxes and minimum prices; raise minimum alcohol purchase age or drinking ages; reduce alcohol outlet density or opening hours; implement bans on alcohol marketing; create government monopolies to control alcohol sales.
The IARC Handbook Volume 20A evaluates the impact of reducing or quitting consumption on cancer risk while Volume 20B focuses on alcohol policies to reduce consumption. ■