In May 2010, the sixty-third session of the World Health Assembly, meeting in Geneva, endorsed a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. It affirmed that the strategy represented a portfolio of policy options and measures that could be considered by Member States, taking into account differing religious and cultural contexts and differing public health priorities. It urged World Health Organization (WHO) regions and Member States to take steps to adopt and implement that strategy.
Industry has been involved as a legitimate stakeholder throughout the development of the strategy, which acknowledges that there is a need for comprehensive action across numerous sectors, including the beverage alcohol industry, governments, and civil society organizations.
In discussions between WHO and beverage alcohol producers, data on production and consumption was recognized as an appropriate area for cooperation. Open informal consultations on data collection were held in February and April 2008 with industry members and WHO. These consultations identified data sources, gaps within existing data, and areas for coordination in data collection. It was agreed at that time that the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) would place in the public domain commercially available data on alcohol production and consumption.
The International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) and Canadean have provided ICAP with country-by-country data. The IWSR presents consumption data by alcohol strength for the period from 2001 to 2011. The Canadean data focuses on beer and cider and includes production, consumption, and alcohol strength for 2000-2011.
Subsequent “Informal Technical Meetings on Alcohol Production and Distribution Data” were held in May 2011 and again in September 2012 in which ICAP staff participated along with representatives of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the WHO Collaborating Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), WHO Collaborating Centre for Substance Abuse Research, Prevention and Documentation (SIPA), the IWSR, and Canadean Limited. The discussions have focused on recent developments, data on alcohol consumption by country and beverage strength, as well as challenges such as the role of non-commercial alcohol.
Disclaimer: The IWSR (http://www.iwsr.co.uk) and Canadean (http://www.canadean.com) have provided these data to the ICAP for dissemination and research purposes. ICAP and its sponsoring companies are not responsible for and do not vouch for the accuracy of the data.
Note: The data are Copyright © 2008-2013 by either The IWSR or Canadean Limited as indicated.