Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - WHO Western Pacific Region

Addressing the harmful use of alcohol : A guide to developing effective alcohol legislation
crashes. Such phrases as ‘reducing crime and disorder’ and ‘the protection of children’ might
be considered suitable. In some countries in which drinking is less prevalent, but in which the
market is expanding, a goal of arresting the spread of drinking might be appropriate.
Issues to consider
Legislation regulating business activities is often tested through appeals to higher courts. These
test cases tend to lead to narrow interpretations of what the law means and may undermine
the law’s ability to meet public health objectives (unless these objectives are explicitly stated).
This is why the social and public health goals and objectives of alcohol control policy should
be stated clearly and broadly in the legislation. Successive new acts in England and Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland, quoted below, illustrate the trend to wider goals stated in
alcohol legislation. Australian licensing law objectives have shifted from economic growth
to now focusing on reducing harm, including violence and disorder. In Australia, New South
Wales’ objective requires those responsible for liquor licensing to act in the public interest to
minimize harm. Norway’s legislation is explicit in its aim of reducing consumption, a policy
shared by several other Nordic countries. The French government’s action plan for 2004-
2008 on illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol included an objective of reducing average alcohol
consumption per capita by 20% (Riviere 2004).
Objectives such as ‘reducing liquor abuse’ or ‘reducing misuse’ may be insufficient on their
own as they focus decision-making on particular drinker behaviour rather than outcomes and
impacts for the community as a whole. In New Zealand, for example, a legislative objective
of reducing liquor abuse, together with narrow licensing criteria, has limited the licensing
authority to considering evidence of intoxication attributable to the premises. It has been
unable to consider evidence of the wider impacts of alcohol (Hill 2003a; Liquor Licensing
Authority 2003).
The value of a clear statement of public health and social objectives is also demonstrated when
legislation is challenged under trade agreements (see Regional Strategy 4.3.3., Resource Book,
s.3; Babor et al. 2010; Hill and Casswell 2006). Alcohol control policies may be perceived by
some as running counter to competition policies or principles of market access, putting the
policies at substantial risk. However, World Trade Organization trade agreements allow for
the adoption or enforcement of any measure necessary to protect human life or health or to
maintain public order (General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Article XIV). A clear
statement in legislation of the government’s social and public health goals and objectives and
care in the design of restrictive alcohol control measures can avoid the need to defend such
policies against legal challenges (Baumberg and Anderson 2008; Zeigler 2009).
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