Alcohol harm under academic scrutiny

The western world’s complex relationship with alcohol is the subject of a conference organised by the University's Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE) Centre on Thursday at Te Papa in Wellington.

The one-day conference coincides with the launch of a revised version of a book on how to reduce alcohol’s negative impact on communities. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity has been revised and expanded by its team of international alcohol researchers, including centre director Professor Sally Casswell.

The conference, which has the same title as the book, also coincides with mounting public concern about the harm alcohol causes and the Law Commission’s recent recommendations to reform liquor laws.

Auckland-based Professor Casswell, an internationally recognised expert in her field, will be joined for the conference and re-launch of the book by lead author Professor Tom Babor from the University of Connecticut's School of Medicine.

Professor Babor says alcohol is one of the most prominent causes of health problems in the European Union, accounting for more death and disability than tobacco, obesity, high blood pressure and illicit drugs. “Our book reviews the scientific literature on 42 strategies and interventions used around the world to prevent alcohol problems,” he says. “Interventions with the most empirical support include alcohol taxes, drink driving laws, age restrictions on alcohol purchases, and limits on the physical availability off alcohol.”

Professor Casswell, who promotes research into public health policy in relation to alcohol and drugs, says the conference will also address issues of great relevance to observers of the New Zealand alcohol industry such as marketing and pricing. “The major players in the alcohol industry consistently oppose effective policies, and then take credit for supporting ineffective policies like voluntary self regulation of advertising and alcohol education programmes,” she says.

Other panellists for this discussion include Professor of Marketing at Otago University Janet Hoek, toxicologist Paul Quigley and GP Margaret Abercrombie from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association.