Alcohol as a public health problem. Responsibilities of public institutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20882/adicciones.547Keywords:
Alcohol Policies, alcoholism, public health, public administrationAbstract
Alcohol is the cause of most of the substance abuse cases, excluding tobacco. In fact, 9.5% of Spanish population aged 15 to 65 are risky drinkers, and it is estimated that 2% of the population meet criteria for alcohol dependence. The intensity of the problem generated by the abusive alcohol consumption, near these data, is manifested in the relationship of causality with 3.4% of the annual mortality. In economic terms, the alcohol abuse produces some annual costs that, in Spain, arrive to surpass annually 800.000 millions of pesetas. Before this situation, the different Public Administrations are obligated to plan and develop global policies. These policies should include actions directed to reduce the accessibility to the alcoholic beverages as well as to increase the information of the society and to limit the effect of the advertising in the individual. These actions should be complemented with other directed to reduce the damage associated with alcohol consumption in given situations with the offer of a normalised assistance and based on the scientific evidence.References
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