Alcohol control

  • Worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol
  • Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen – the same as tobacco smoking – and means it is an acknowledged cause of cancer
  • In 2016, harmful use of alcohol caused 1.7 million deaths from non-communicable diseases

  

Alcohol consumption contributes to 3 million deaths each year across the globe and is a major contributor to disability prevalence and the poor health of millions of people. Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for over 5 per cent of the global burden of disease.

Although it is a known cause of cancer, in many societies and cultures, alcohol consumption is often a routine part of the social landscape. This wide acceptance and integration of alcohol in society makes it easy to overlook or discount the health and social damage caused, or contributed to, by drinking.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals recognise the detrimental effects of alcohol to health, development and societies, committing all Member States to strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including the harmful use of alcohol, which is integral to achieving health for all.

Our contribution

  • Our alumni have worked on alcohol control legislation and regulations in Ghana and Vietnam.
  • We present at international alcohol control conferences on the role of law in reducing alcohol-related harm.
  • We work to strengthen laws to reduce the harmful use of alcohol as set out in the Sustainable Development Goal.