Investigating Indicators to Assess and Support Alcohol Taxation Policy: Results From the International Alcohol Control (IAC) Study.

Alcohol taxation is a key policy to reduce consumption and alcohol harm but evidence on tax design and indicators to assess taxation policy are lacking. Tax design and two indicators: tax as a share of lowest retail price and affordability, were investigated in eight high-income and nine middle-income jurisdictions. Collaborators populated the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study online Alcohol Policy Tool, providing measures of tax design, tax rates; and typical lowest prices available for retail take-away alcohol.

Framing alcohol harm in the UN context - the importance of language.

Background: Alcohol is a global health issue with a high level of controversy. After being absent from World Health Organization (WHO) global governing body discussions for about 20 years, alcohol re-entered the agenda in 2005. The expression 'harmful use of alcohol' became the compromise language after hard negotiations, an example of 'adopted language" that has remained for almost 20 years.

Comparing alcohol policy environments in high-income jurisdictions with the International Alcohol Control Policy Index.

Introduction: Considerable evidence exists on the most effective policy to reduce alcohol harm; however, a tool and index to allow comparisons of policy status of the most effective policies between similar jurisdictions and change over time within a jurisdiction has not been widely used. The International Alcohol Control (IAC) Policy Index is designed to address this gap and monitor the alcohol policy environment with regard to four effective policy domains (tax/pricing, availability, marketing and drink driving).

Methods: This study compares IAC Policy Index scores across 11 high-income jurisdictions: Aotearoa (Māori language name for New Zealand); Australia; Finland; Norway; the Netherlands; (Republic of Ireland; Lithuania; Ontario; Alberta; Quebec; British Columbia).

Systemic inequities in alcohol licensing: Case studies in eight Aotearoa New Zealand communities.

Introduction: Many countries, including Aotearoa New Zealand, have socioeconomic and ethnic inequities in alcohol outlet density, yet the potential contribution of alcohol licensing systems is almost unexplored. After licensing reforms in Aotearoa in 2012, community groups and Māori (the Indigenous people) continued to struggle to influence decisions, prompting calls for reform and authority for Māori reflecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. This study explored factors in the failure of public objections in under-resourced neighbourhoods.

Assessing alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards: the International Alcohol Control Study.

Background: The alcohol industry uses many of the tobacco industry's strategies to influence policy-making, yet unlike the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, there is no intergovernmental guidance on protecting policies from alcohol industry influence. Systematic assessment of alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards is also lacking. Here, we aimed to identify the nature and extent of industry penetration in a cross-section of jurisdictions.

A composite index of provincial alcohol control policy implementation capacity in Thailand.

Background: There is a well-published literature on the effectiveness and stringency of alcohol control policies, but not many studies focus on policy implementation, where policies transform into impact. The objective of this study is to create a composite index that measures the capacity for implementing effective alcohol control policies across all provinces in Thailand.

Methods: Based on the international literature, we developed a list of key indicators for tracking the implementation of alcohol policies at the subnational level.

Alcohol Advertising Exposure and Drinking Habits Among Chinese Adolescents in 2021: A National Survey.

To assess the exposure of Chinese adolescents to proalcohol advertising and explore its association with alcohol consumption. A nationally and regionally representative school-based survey was conducted in mainland China in 2021 among students in grades 7 through 12, aged 13 to 18 years. We assessed adolescent exposure to proalcohol advertising and its association with alcohol consumption.

Using the International Alcohol Control (IAC) policy index to assess effects of legislative change in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Background: The IAC Policy Index was developed to allow comparison in alcohol policy between countries and within countries over time including in low resource settings. It measures four effective alcohol policies and takes into account stringency of regulation and the actual impact on the alcohol environment, such as trading hours and prices paid. This framework was used to assess policy in Aotearoa New Zealand in a time period covering two relevant legislative changes.

Quantifying alcohol-attributable disability-adjusted life years to others than the drinker in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A modelling study based on administrative data.

Background And Aims: Quantifying the health burden of alcohol has largely focused upon harm to drinkers, which is an underestimate. There is a growing literature on alcohol's harm to others (HTO), but it lacks the systematic transfer of HTO into a comparative risk assessment framework. This study calculated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), interpersonal violence and traffic injury due to another's drinking.

Addressing the influence of the alcohol industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Alcohol legislation in Aotearoa New Zealand has not been sufficient to minimise the harm and inequities caused by alcohol use, and a comprehensive review of alcohol policies has been postponed. Because of the alcohol industry's vested interests, the World Health Organization notes that industry involvement in public health policy has potential risks that should be minimised. Here we illustrate the significant extent of alcohol industry penetration in Aotearoa and how such influence undermines equity by amplifying the harms of colonisation.

Beverage-specific consumption trends: A cross-country, cross-sectional comparison.

Introduction: The price of alcoholic beverages can vary for a range of reasons, including tax. Risky drinkers purchase more low-cost alcoholic drinks than moderate drinkers, contributing to beverage-specific risks for that category. The study aimed to examine the proportion of total alcohol consumption comprised by each beverage type and their correlates.

Effective alcohol policies are associated with reduced consumption among demographic groups who drink heavily.

Background: Alcohol policies stand out among other noncommunicable disease-relevant policies for the lack of uptake. Composite indicators have been developed to measure the effects of alcohol control policy. We investigated whether drinking patterns among demographic groups from general population samples of drinkers from diverse countries are associated with alcohol control policy as measured by the International Alcohol Control (IAC) Policy Index.

Benchmarking alcohol policy based on stringency and impact: The International Alcohol Control (IAC) policy index.

This study developed a measurement tool to assess stringency and 'on-the-ground' impact of four key alcohol policy domains to create an alcohol policy index suitable for benchmarking alcohol policy and assessing change over time in middle- and high-income countries. It involved a collaboration between researchers in 12 diverse countries: New Zealand; Australia; England; Scotland; Netherlands; Vietnam; Thailand; South Africa; Turkey; Chile; Saint Kitts and Nevis and Mongolia. Data on the four most effective alcohol policy domains (availability, pricing policy, alcohol marketing, drink driving) were used to create an alcohol policy index based on their association with alcohol per capita consumption (APC) of commercial (recorded) alcohol.

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Aotearoa, New Zealand: Estimates of prevalence and indications of inequity.

Introduction: Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is 100% caused by alcohol. The lifelong disability caused by prenatal alcohol exposure cannot be reversed. Lack of reliable national prevalence estimates of FASD is common internationally and true of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Effective alcohol policies and lifetime abstinence: An analysis of the International Alcohol Control policy index.

Introduction: Alcohol abstinence remains common among adults globally, although low and middle-income countries are experiencing declines in abstention. The effect of alcohol policies on lifetime abstinence is poorly understood. The International Alcohol Control (IAC) policy index was developed to benchmark and monitor the uptake of effective alcohol policies and has shown strong associations with alcohol per capita consumption and drinking patterns.

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity-a summary of the third edition.

Background And Aims: This article summarizes the findings and conclusions of the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. The latest revision of this book is part of a series of monographs designed to provide a critical review of the scientific evidence related to alcohol control policy from a public health perspective.

Design: A narrative summary of the contents of the book according to five major issues.

Quantitative tools and measurements for assessing the implementation of regulatory policies in reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms: A scoping review.

Issues: Implementation of alcohol control policy is a global priority as alcohol contributes to negative individual health and societal impacts. However, there are no available reviews that comprehensively provide tools and measurements for assessing the implementation of alcohol control policy. This study reviews tools and measurements for assessing alcohol policy implementation.

Development of Alcohol Control Policy in Vietnam: Transnational Corporate Interests at the Policy Table, Global Public Health Largely Absent.

Background: This paper analyses input from global interests in the policy process leading up to the passing of alcohol control legislation in Vietnam in 2019. The global alcohol industry now relies on growth in volume in emerging markets in middle-income countries such as Vietnam, a large, rapidly industrialising country with a youthful population and emerging middle class. The industry's role in the alcohol policy process is compared with that of global health interests.

Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of Effective Alcohol Control Policies: A Scoping Review.

Implementation of effective alcohol control policies is a global priority. However, at the global and national levels, implementing effective policies is still challenging, as it requires commitment from multiple stakeholders. This review provides a synthesis of barriers and facilitators to implementing effective alcohol control policies.

China's Changing Alcohol Market and Need for an Enhanced Policy Response: A Narrative Review.

This study describes trends in alcohol consumption in the context of an expanding commercial context, current policy responses, and flaws in relation to international best practice for alcohol control in China. We surveyed the literature and other documents in Chinese or English up to December 2020 on policy responses to alcohol consumption and harm, industry structure, and marketing practices in China. Databases searched included PubMed, China National Knowledge Internet, Wanfang Data, Web of Science, and Baidu Scholar.