Policy in Action: A Tool for Measuring Alcohol Policy Implementation

ABSTRACT

Europe has the highest alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable disease burden in the world. In 2011, all 53 Member States of the WHO European Region endorsed the European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012–2020 (EAPA), which provides a portfolio of evidence-based policy options for mitigating alcohol-associated problems. To assess the extent to which Member States have adopted the recommended policy standards, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has developed 10 composite indicators, one for each action area of the EAPA. This document describes the construction of the EAPA composite indicators and presents an evaluation of the performance of Member States in the European Region in implementing the 10 action areas. The composite indicators measure not only the presence of alcohol policies but also their strictness and comprehensiveness.