Impact of the WHO "best buys" for alcohol policy on consumption and health in the Baltic countries and Poland 2000-2020

LTAlkoholio vartojimas yra vienas pagrindinių ligų rizikos veiksnių. Ši apžvalga apibendrina pagrindinių alkoholio kontrolės politikos priemonių, tokių kaip mokesčių didinimas ir prieinamumo ribojimas, poveikį trijose Baltijos šalyse (Estijoje, Latvijoje ir Lietuvoje), 2000 m. – 2020 m. Minėtos kontrolės priemonės sėkmingai sumažino alkoholio pardavimą, nepadidinant neapskaityto alkoholio vartojimo, nors tam iš dalies įtakos galėjo turėti COVID-19 pandemija. Be to, laiko eilučių (angl. time-series) analizės rezultatai rodo bendro mirtingumo ir mirtingumo siejamo tik su alkoholio vartojimu rodiklių sumažėjimą, taip pat sumažėjusius mirtingumo netolygumus tarp žemesnį ir aukštesnį išsilavinimą turinčių gyventojų. Dauguma rezultatų skyrėsi pagal lytį, o alkoholio kontrolės politika labiau paveikė vyrus. Priešingai nei Baltijos šalyse, kaimyninėje Lenkijoje tirtu laikotarpiu teigiami alkoholio politikos pokyčiai nevyko ir kontrolės politika buvo silpninama, todėl čia mirčių nuo kepenų cirozės ir kitų alkoholio vartojimo sukeliamų mirčių skaičius augo. Šių didelių pajamų Europos Sąjungos (ES) šalių, kuriose suvartojama daug alkoholio, patirtis išryškina veiksmingos alkoholio kontrolės politikos svarbą siekiant pagerinti gyventojų sveikatą visame pasaulyje. [Iš leidinio]

ENAlcohol use is a major risk factor for burden of disease. This narrative review aims to document the effects of major alcohol control policies, in particular taxation increases and availability restrictions in the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) between 2000 and 2020. These measures have been successful in curbing alcohol sales, in general without increasing consumption of alcoholic beverages from unrecorded sources; although for more recent changes this may have been partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, findings from time-series analyses suggest improved health, measured as reductions in all-cause and alcohol-attributable mortality, as well as narrowing absolute mortality inequalities between lower and higher educated groups. For most outcomes, there were sex differences observed, with alcohol control policies more strongly affecting males. In contrast to this successful path, alcohol control policies were mostly dismantled in the neighbouring country of Poland, resulting in a rising death toll due to liver cirrhosis and other alcohol-attributable deaths. The natural experiment in this region of high-income European countries with high consumption levels highlights the importance of effective alcohol control policies for improving population health. Keywords: alcohol, control policies, taxation, availability, ban on marketing, all-cause mortality. [From the publication]

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