Alcohol
Policymakers & government officials
Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive and dependence-producing substance. It is a major preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other non-communicable diseases. It also contributes to injuries, violence, mental health harms, family harm and pressure on health and social services.1
Alcohol-related harm is not only about individual behaviour. Price, availability, marketing, social norms, commercial interests and the environments where people live, work and spend time all shape alcohol consumption and its consequences.2
For policymakers, comprehensive alcohol policy is a major opportunity to save lives, reduce inequalities, protect children and young people, and support healthier communities.
2.6 million
deaths attributable to alcohol
worldwide in 2019¹
1.6 million
deaths from NCDs attributable
to alcohol in 2019¹
7
types of cancer caused by alcohol including
breast and bowel cancer³
No level
of alcohol consumption is safe for cancer risk
less means lower risk³
Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity
Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity. It is a toxic, psychoactive and dependence-producing substance. Alcoholic beverages are classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they cause cancer in humans. Alcohol also contributes to cardiovascular diseases, liver disease, injuries, violence, mental health harms and social inequalities.1,3
Heavy episodic and heavy continuous drinking cause a substantial share of alcohol-related harm. However, health risks can also occur at lower levels of consumption, particularly for cancer. For cancer risk, no level of alcohol consumption is safe, and less means lower risk.1,3
Prevention works best when policy addresses the conditions that shape alcohol use and harm, including affordability, availability, marketing, clear health information, access to support and commercial influence.2
What makes prevention harder?
Alcohol-related harm is shaped by more than personal choices. Price, availability, marketing, sponsorship and social norms can make alcohol more affordable, visible and accepted in everyday life. Information alone is unlikely to be enough when these wider conditions encourage consumption.2
Prevention becomes harder when:
- Alcohol is cheap and widely available
- High-strength products are sold at low prices
- Alcohol is promoted through advertising, sponsorship and digital media
- Children and young people are exposed to alcohol marketing
- Sports, music and cultural events help normalise alcohol consumption
- Health risks, including cancer risk, are not communicated clearly
- Alcohol-free options are limited, unattractive or more expensive
- Brief advice, treatment and support services are difficult to access
- Alcohol-related harm is framed only as an individual responsibility
- Policymaking is exposed to commercial influence
Effective prevention requires coordinated action on affordability, availability, marketing, health information, access to support and commercial influence.2,3
What policy can do
Policy can reduce alcohol-related harm by changing the conditions that shape consumption, exposure and risk. WHO’s SAFER initiative highlights five high-impact areas: restricting availability, preventing drink-driving, improving access to screening and treatment, restricting marketing, and raising prices through taxation.2,4
Important policy levers include:
Alcohol taxation and pricing policies
Restrictions on physical availability
Comprehensive restrictions on marketing, promotion and sponsorship
Regulation of digital advertising and cross-border promotion
Clear health warning labels, including cancer-risk information
Drink-driving prevention and enforcement
Accessible screening, brief advice, treatment and support
Protection of children and young people
Monitoring, compliance and enforcement
Safeguards against commercial influence
Effective actions to reduce alcohol-related harm
Effective alcohol prevention combines population-wide policies with accessible support for people who may be at risk or want to drink less. WHO Best Buys identify taxation, restrictions on availability and comprehensive marketing controls among the most cost-effective measures for reducing alcohol-related harm.4,5
Some of these interventions can produce measurable effects immediately or within one year, showing that alcohol policy can deliver results within a political cycle.6
Raise prices and reduce affordability
Higher excise taxes and pricing policies can reduce alcohol consumption and related harm, particularly from cheap and high-strength products.4,5,6
Restrict physical availability
Licensing systems, limits on outlet density and opening hours, and effective sales rules can reduce harmful consumption and make alcohol less present in everyday environments.4,5,6
Restrict marketing, promotion and sponsorship
Comprehensive restrictions should cover television, sport, events, social media, influencers and other digital channels, with particular attention to protecting children and young people.4,5,6
Strengthen drink-driving prevention
Clear legal limits, visible enforcement and effective testing can reduce alcohol-related crashes, injuries and deaths.4,5
Provide screening, brief advice and treatment
Primary care and community services should offer early identification, brief interventions and accessible treatment or support adapted to different levels of need.4,5,6
Communicate health risks clearly
Health warnings, including information about cancer risk, can help people make informed decisions and strengthen public understanding of alcohol-related harm.2,3
Protecting children and young people from alcohol harm
Children and young people can be affected by alcohol even when they do not drink themselves. Alcohol use in families and communities can affect their safety, wellbeing and development, while early exposure to alcohol marketing can shape expectations and make drinking appear more normal or appealing.1,2,7
Alcohol brands are promoted through sport, music, festivals, sponsorship, social media, influencers and other forms of digital content. Because digital marketing can cross borders and be shared widely, traditional age restrictions alone may not adequately protect young audiences.7
Strong protection requires comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship across all media, supported by effective monitoring and enforcement. Policies should also reduce alcohol availability and affordability and ensure that children and families affected by alcohol-related harm can access appropriate support.4,7
Alcohol harm is shaped by commercial environments
Alcohol consumption and harm are shaped by commercial strategies including pricing, product design, discounts, retail availability, sponsorship, digital promotion and marketing. These practices influence how visible, affordable, attractive and socially accepted alcohol becomes.7,8
Commercial actors may also shape public debate and policy by presenting alcohol-related harm mainly as a matter of individual responsibility, promoting voluntary approaches, or opposing and delaying effective population-wide measures.8
A strong prevention approach should ensure that independent evidence and public health goals guide alcohol policy. This requires transparency, clear safeguards for managing conflicts of interest, independent monitoring and appropriate limits on industry involvement in policy development.2,8
Alcohol-related harm is not distributed equally
Alcohol-related harm affects all parts of society, but the burden is not shared equally. People facing lower incomes, unemployment, insecure housing, stress, mental health difficulties or limited access to services may experience greater harm and more barriers to receiving support. Children, families and communities can also be affected by other people’s drinking.9
Population-wide measures can reduce harm and inequalities, but they should be combined with affordable and accessible brief advice, treatment, family support and community services, particularly where needs and barriers are greatest.2,4,9
A fair approach addresses the social and commercial conditions that shape alcohol use, including price, availability and marketing, while providing respectful support without blame or stigma.
Questions for policymakers
An equity-focused approach looks beyond population averages. Policymakers should consider who is most exposed to alcohol-related risks, who experiences the greatest harm, and who may need additional support to benefit from prevention policies.8,9
A strong prevention approach asks:
- Who is most exposed to alcohol marketing, sponsorship and digital promotion?
- Are children and young people adequately protected from alcohol promotion and harm caused by other people’s drinking?
- Are cheap, high-strength products contributing disproportionately to harm in some communities?
- Who faces the greatest barriers to accessing brief advice, treatment and family support?
- Are alcohol-free options affordable, attractive and widely available?
- Are the effects of alcohol policies monitored across socioeconomic and population groups?
- Are local services able to support families and communities affected by alcohol-related harm?
- Are policies designed and communicated without blaming or stigmatising individuals?
- Is policymaking protected from conflicts of interest and commercial influence?
- Are alcohol-industry lobbying, marketing practices and attempts to influence policy monitored transparently?8
Prevention should reduce harm, protect health and ensure that healthier environments and effective support are available fairly across society.
Practical starting points for policymakers
Public institutions and decision-makers can begin by reviewing how alcohol is priced, promoted and sold, how clearly health risks are communicated, whether support is accessible, and whether policy development is protected from commercial influence.2,4,8
Examples include:
- Increase alcohol taxes and ensure alcohol becomes less affordable over time
- Consider pricing measures that particularly address cheap, high-strength products
- Use licensing, outlet-density rules, opening hours and sales restrictions to reduce excessive availability
- Introduce comprehensive restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including digital and cross-border marketing
- Require clear health warnings, including information about cancer risk
- Strengthen drink-driving laws, testing and enforcement
- Ensure screening, brief advice, treatment and family support are accessible and affordable
- Protect children and young people from alcohol marketing and harm caused by other people’s drinking
- Support attractive and affordable alcohol-free options in public institutions, workplaces and social settings
- Monitor alcohol consumption, marketing exposure, related harms and policy effects across population groups
- Strengthen compliance checks and enforcement of existing rules
- Establish transparency and conflict-of-interest safeguards to protect policy from commercial influence
Comprehensive alcohol policy saves lives and supports healthier communities. By acting on price, availability, marketing, health information and access to support, policymakers can reduce inequalities and help prevent cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other non-communicable diseases.1,4,5,9
Explore the prevention areas
Evidence and further reading
The information, statistics and recommendations on this page are based on evidence and guidance from trusted public health organisations.
- Alcohol
World Health Organization - Global alcohol action plan 2022–2030
World Health Organization - Alcohol and cancer
WHO Regional Office for Europe - SAFER alcohol control initiative
World Health Organization - Tackling NCDs: Best Buys and other recommended interventions, second edition
World Health Organization - Quick buys for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases
Galea et al., The Lancet Regional Health – Europe (2025) - Reducing the harm from alcohol by regulating cross-border alcohol marketing, advertising and promotion
World Health Organization - Commercial Determinants of Noncommunicable Diseases in the WHO European Region
WHO Regional Office for Europe - Alcohol use
WHO Regional Office for Europe
