Authors: Eileen Kaner, Martin Bland, Paul Cassidy, Simon Coulton, Veronica Dale, Paolo Deluca, Eilish Gilvarry, Christine Godfrey, Nick Heather, Judy Myles, Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Adenekan Oyefeso, Steve Parrott, Katherine Perryman, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Shepherd and Colin Drummond

International studies have shown that 20-30% of patients who routinely present in primary care are hazardous or harmful drinkers. Several meta-analyses have shown that screening using short questionnaires followed by brief intervention (comprising simple advice or psychological counselling) significantly reduces alcohol consumption in primary care populations.

This paper reports on the results of one of three trials in the UK's 'Screening and Intervention Programme for Sensible drinking' (SIPS) study. 

The objective of the trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of different brief intervention strategies at reducing hazardous or harmful drinking in primary care, with the hypothesis that more intensive intervention would result in a greater reduction in hazardous or harmful drinking.

The two other SIPS trials were based in emergency departments and probation offices.

Author: WHO Regional Office for Europe
The action plan was endorsed by 53 European Member States at the Regional Committee for Europe in September 2011 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It includes a wide range of policies and programmes that are relatively easy and cheap to implement, can reduce the harmful use of alcohol, promote health and well-being, improve productivity, and enhance human, health and social capital across the life course from birth to old age. This action plan proposes a range of options for the 10 action areas of the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol that all European Member States can engage in.

Authors: Williams EC, Achtmeyer CE, Kivlahan DR, Greenberg D, Merrill JO, Wickizer TM, Koepsell TD, Heagerty PJ, Bradley KA.

Full title: Evaluation of an electronic clinical reminder to facilitate brief alcohol-counseling interventions in primary care

Brief intervention for patients with unhealthy alcohol use is a prevention priority in the United States, but most eligible patients do not receive it. This study evaluated an electronic alcohol-counseling clinical reminder at a single Veterans Affairs general medicine clinic.

Author: Peter Anderson (Maastricht University)

This report commissioned by the WHO Regional Office for Europe shows that there is a substantial evidence base on the effectiveness of different policies in reducing the harm done by alcohol. Policies that regulate the economic and physical availability of alcohol are effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Enforced legislative measures to reduce drinking and driving and interventions individually directed to drinkers already at risk are also effective. The evidence shows that information and education programmes do not reduce alcohol-related harm; nevertheless, they have a role in providing information, reframing alcohol-related problems and increasing attention to alcohol on the political and public agendas. In all parts of the European Union, population-based interventions represent a highly cost– effective use of resources to reduce alcohol-related harm. Brief interventions for individual high-risk drinkers are also cost–effective, but are harder to scale up because of their associated training and manpower needs.

Author: Lila Rabinovich, Priscillia Hunt, Laura Staetsky, Simo Goshev, Ellen Nolte, Janice Pedersen, Christine Tiefensee (RAND Europe)

In spite of extensive evidence that raising alcohol prices reduces alcohol consumption and harms, the real price of alcoholic beverages is decreasing across the EU. This trend has fuelled debate among policymakers, public health practitioners and other stakeholders across the EU about the opportunities, and challenges, of alcohol pricing policies. This study, produced by RAND Europe for the European Comission, DG SANCO and the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, aims to contribute a robust evidence base to inform pricing policy in the region. Towards this aim, the study examines in greater detail a number of issues such as tax changes to consumer prices, trends in on- and off-trade alcohol consumption, and the nature and scale of price promotion and discount activity in the EU.