Contextual Determinants of Alcohol Consumption Changes and Preventive Alcohol Policies: A 12-Country European Study in Progress

Abstract

Beginning with France in the 1950s, alcohol consumption has decreased in Southern European countries with few or no preventive alcohol policy measures being implemented, while alcohol consumption has been increasing in Northern European countries where historically more restrictive alcohol control policies were in place, even though more recently they were loosened. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe have shown an intermediate behavior. We propose that country-specific changes in alcohol consumption between 1960 and 2008 are explained by a combination of a number of factors: (1) preventive alcohol policiesAmong others, thanks to the late Eva Buiatti for her great support and scientific cooperation, and to Harold Holder for his suggestions. The research leading to these results has received funding and (2) social, cultural, economic, and demographic determinants. This article describes the methodology of a research study designed to understand the complex interactions that have occurred throughout Europe over the past five decades. These include changes in alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and alcoholrelated harm, and the actual determinants of such changes.

Italy Between Drinking Culture and Control Policies for Alcoholic Beverages

“…This study is part of the European study AMPHORA, work-package 3, that includes 12 European countries, 1 and in particular Italy (Allamani et al, 2011;AMPHORA, 2013). The effectiveness of some intervention policy measures (e.g., tax policies and regulations on availability) on the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and on their direct or indirect-related harm is rather well doc-Thanks to Karin Pantzer, Francesco Maccari, and Giulia Carreras, for their contribution in the collection, management, and analysis of data; to Franca Beccaria, Stefano Casini, Paolo Buscema, Deborah R. Gordon, Guido Maurelli for their suggestions during the drafting of the text.…”

Changing Trends in European Alcoholic Beverage Drinking: Selected Social, Demographic, Economic Factors, Drinking's Related Harms, and Prevention Control Policies Between the 1960s and 2000s

“…• describing the aforementioned contextual factors in Europe for the period 1960s-2000s (see Allamani, Voller, Decarli et al, 2011), • documenting the control policy measures introduced during the same period in Europe, and • the context where they were introduced.…”

Alcohol Consumption Policies and the Prevention of Alcohol Consumption-Related Problems: Needs, Duties, and Responsibilities*

“…These considerations would enable appropriate policies to be adapted for each country. (Allamani et al, 2011) Moreover, the causal 1 and somewhat tautological attribution that an alcohol consumption-related problem is caused by excessive drinking, and conversely the proposition that alcohol policy measures are efficient causes of 1 The reader is referred to Hills's criteria for causation that were developed in order to help assist researchers and clinicians determine if risk factors were causes of a particular disease or outcomes or merely associated. (Hill, A.…”