The WHO’s EU-backed programme to reduce alcohol harm today launched an effort to quantify the burden alcohol places on young people to inform better alcohol policy.
“One-in-three injury deaths is attributable to alcohol and it is the leading cause of disability and premature death among young people in Europe,” said the WHO’s Catherine Paradis (pictured).
Attendees to the EUSEM 2025 emergency medicine conference in Vienna confirmed alcohol is a factor in many cases they see, with some saying it plays a part in well over half.
The WHO’s Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION) now hopes to create a more robust evidence base about alcohol-related emergency cases among young people to help inform policy.
Canada changed its alcohol laws thanks to an effort to gather emergency department data following the death of a 14-year-old after drinking super-sized cans of alcopops in 2018.
EVID-ACTION invited up to five emergency departments to collect data from cases involving 12- to 24-year-olds next summer, potentially paving the way for larger scale data collection.
The initiative arose from the European Health Alliance on Alcohol, a recently-formed group of over 20 medical organisations which last month condemned EU labelling proposals. ■