Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - WHO Western Pacific Region

7.
Monitoring and
enforcement
Rationale
Effectiveness requires more than the passing of legislation. In some countries it is common
that legislation is in place, but it is not enforced. Experience shows that significant reductions
in alcohol-related harm can be made from fully enforcing existing alcohol legislation.
Alcohol policies and licensing systems are enforced by making certain actions prosecutable
offences, or grounds for suspending or cancelling a business’s licence sell alcohol. The
legislation needs also to establish procedures systems for licence removal (including right of
appeal), to allocate responsibility for regular monitoring, and to ensure resources are available
to support this action.
Licensing allows regulators to be more responsive to the situation of different kinds of
businesses selling alcohol and also more responsive in their enforcement practices (Ayres and
Braithwaite 1992).
Part of the job of administering, monitoring and enforcing alcohol laws is education and
persuasion about what is required and the consequences of not complying. Regulators are
most effective and cost-effective when enforcement is based on assumptions of cooperation
and compliance, but they can respond when necessary with an escalating set of enforcement
practices and formal sanctions.
Since a licence grants a right to sell alcohol, regular monitoring of outlets and the suspension
or cancellation of that licence may be a more appropriate and effective strategy for enforcing
standards of outlet management than prosecution. Both forms of “enforcement” are discussed
below.
Regular monitoring includes irregular monitoring – such as unexpected visits at peak times
or closing time, and purchase attempts by under-age people assisting police or inspectors.
Publicizing the results of controlled purchase operations and also of licence suspensions can
increase compliance by other licensed businesses.
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