EU Alcohol Policy Conference_ extract from DG SANCO's ‘Health and consumer voice' July 2010 edition.

DG SANCOSubject: EU Alcohol Policy ConferenceDate published: July 1 2010

The following is an extract from DG SANCO's ‘Health and consumer voice' July 2010 edition. EU Alcohol Policy Conference

The Director-General for Health and Consumers Paola Testori Coggi addressed the participants of the 4th European Alcohol Policy Conference, organized by Eurocare (European Alcohol Policy Alliance) on 21-22 June 2010 in Brussels. This conference series is a key event in the field of alcohol policy taking place every two years. Speaking as part of the welcoming session, Ms Testori drew attention to the impact of harmful alcohol consumption on the European population, particularly on young people, and the EU actions in response to this.

She set out the following headline statistics: 23 million Europeans are estimated to be dependent on alcohol every year; alcohol causes nearly 200,000 deaths annually in the EU, a figure which includes around 50,000 deaths from alcohol caused cancers; every second driver who dies in a single-vehicle traffic crash is under the influence of alcohol; alcohol is responsible for 25% of all deaths of young men in the 15-24 age group.

The Director-General made reference to a French survey on young people published in 2007, which demonstrated that in many EU countries the rates of binge drinking are rising. She stated that alcohol is a drug, and that her intention is to make the protection of young people a key priority for the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers. Ms Testori also drew attention to the impact that alcohol consumption has on the brain development of young people. "Alcohol is a drug that affects brain development, such as memory and personality. This is particularly serious until the end of the development stage of a human being – at around 20 years", she said.

While outlining the European Commission's recent actions in this field, Ms Testori focused in particular on the EU Alcohol Strategy launched in 2006, which constitutes the basis for cooperation between the EU and the Member States. The Director-General praised the progress that has been made so far, but underlined the still uneven implementation of good practices and compliance of the commitments that Member States took in the frame of such strategy. The Director-General highlighted the role of the European Alcohol Health Forum, set up by the Commission to implement the EU Alcohol Strategy and opened to different stakeholders, such as NGOs, industry, media actors and other partners.

The Forum is an open platform for voluntary action in the field of the fight against alcohol; 150 voluntary initiatives have been undertaken today, and Eurocare figures as one of the most active members to this extent. With regards to alcohol marketing, one of the issues discussed within the Forum, she underlined the variable response of Member States and the work carried out by the members of the Alcohol Health Forum in this field. She also expressed her wish to see in the future a minimum set of requirements to protect young people from aggressive alcohol marketing put in place across the EU.

While recognizing the fundamental contribution of the Commission in developing the structures aimed at implementing the EU Alcohol Strategy, Ms Testori stated her desire to focus even more on delivering concrete results in the next future. In conclusion, she thanked the NGOs community for actively participating so far in this process, and underlined the essential role that they play in the fight against alcohol.

For further information, please see:http://ec.europa.eu/health/archive/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/documents/alcohol_progress.pdf