Authors: Lesley Graham, Tessa Parkes, Andrew McAuley and Lawrence Doi (WHO - Regional Office for Europe)

Alcohol is linked with crime, especially violent crime. Many people are incarcerated because of alcohol-related crime. Alcohol is not permitted in prisons except in a very few cases, and illicit use of alcohol in prison is not a major problem. Nevertheless, imprisonment gives an opportunity to tackle alcohol problems in prisoners, with the potential for positive effects on their families and friends and a reduction in the risk of re-offending, the costs to society and health inequalities.

This publication describes an integrated model of care for alcohol problems in prisoners, with elements for best practice. The model starts with assessment of the seriousness of prisoners’ alcohol problems, using a validated screening tool, the WHO Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and calls for interventions tailored to prisoners’ specific needs.

Authors: Field CA, Klimas J, Barry J, Bury G, Keenan E, Lyons S, Smyth BP, Cullen W.

Problem alcohol use is common among problem drug users (PDU) and associated with adverse health outcomes. Primary care has an important role in the overall stepped approach to alcohol treatment, especially screening and brief intervention (SBI). This study shows that although SBI improves health outcomes associated with problem alcohol use in the general population, further research is needed among high-risk patient groups, especially PDUs.

Author: Science Group of the European Alcohol and Health Forum

Globally, alcohol is the world’s number one risk factor for ill-health and premature death amongst the 25-59 year old age group, the core of the working age population. It is unsurprising, therefore that lost productivity costs feature as the dominant element in social costs studies arising from the harm done by alcohol (contributing to one half or more of the total social costs). There are positive opportunities afforded through work to address problems due to harmful drinking even if they may not obviously impact on productivity. Those in full-time employment – usually about two-thirds of the population of working age - spend about one-third to one half of their waking lives at work and are open to health and wellbeing influences far more frequently than in, for example, conventional healthcare settings.

Authors: Edwin Horlings and Amanda Scoggins (RAND Europe)

The European Commission, Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) has asked RAND Europe to contribute to the Commission’s impact assessment of a proposed Communication on alcohol policy. This Communication presents a comprehensive approach to combat the harmful effects of alcohol use in the European Union. RAND Europe has focused exclusively on the economic impacts of DG SANCO’s options.
This report first examines the nature and extent of the problem posed by alcohol use in Europe, which provides the rationale and focus for the associated policy initiative. Next, it developes a conceptual approach that discusses how alcohol use is linked to macroeconomic development. This approach is then used to examine the future impacts of a successful alcohol policy on a number of macroeconomic aspects.

Author: Primary Health Care European Project on Alcohol (PHEPA)

In the Framework of the Phepa Project (Primary Health Care European Project on Alcohol) was developed an assessment tool to describe the available services for the management of hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption on the primary health sector and its mapping across the Phepa countries. The aim of this process was to identify the available infrastructures and also the deficiencies or areas that need further work and strengthening, both at the country and at the European level.