Brand New OECD Report: The Economic and Health System Case for Alcohol Policy

Alcohol Issues Podcast - Episode 19

Brand New OECD Report: The Economic and Health System Case for Alcohol Policy

Movendi International's weekly in-depth conversation about latest alcohol issues in policy and science and new alcohol industry revelations.

Welcome to the Alcohol Issues Podcast and our 19th episode and this fresh, new in-depth conversation about the brand new OECD report on alcohol harms and policy.

The conversation was recorded on May 19, 2021 just before the report was released.

Discussing the potential of alcohol policy solutions to improve health systems, strengthen the economy and build back better after COVID-19

For the 19th episode of the Alcohol Issues Podcast we welcome Michele Checchini. He is the senior health policy analyst and project leader public health at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Grouping 35 member countries and working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

It provides a forum where governments can compare and exchange policy experiences, identify good practices and promote decisions and recommendations. Through its work on health, the OECD helps countries achieve high-performing health systems by measuring health outcomes and health system resource use and by analysing policies that improve access, efficiency, and quality of health care.

The brand new OECD report analyses the cost of alcohol consumption in 52 countries (including OECD, European Union and G20 countries) and the economic case for enhancing policies to tackle alcohol harm.

The report called “Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use” presents new evidence on the health, social, and economic burden of alcohol harm and presents compelling data on the potential of improved alcohol policy solutions that can save millions of lives and generate savings that are greater than the implementation costs.

In this conversation, host Maik Dünnbier and Michele crunch some of the most significant numbers in the report. This means that Michele and Maik discuss alcohol consumption and harm trends before and during the pandemic.

Michele puts the economic figures in context and perspective to illustrate the magnitude of alcohol harm and how it affects health system functioning and the overall economy.

The report makes a compelling case – driven by astounding economic data – for upscaling investment in alcohol policy solutions. Maik talks with Michele about these policy measures. He explains the triple dividend of tackling alcohol harm and what the 4Ps Package is all about.

They explore the gaps that remain in countries’ alcohol policy response – across 6 policy areas.

This conversation is a deep dive into the brand new OECD report with Michele. Talking about the report’s key findings helps put into perspective the potential of alcohol policy solutions. For example, Michele explains the return in investment into alcohol policy measures and in this way helps chart the way to build back better after COVID-19 with the help of alcohol prevention and control.

Resources for the conversation with Michele

You can follow Michele Cecchini's research work, here.

You can read about the OECD's work on health, here.

For further reading:

Find the 2015 OECD report on alcohol harm and policy, here.
Read more about the recent WHO Europe report "Making the European Region Safer: developments in alcohol control policies, 2010–2019 (2021)"
Get all information about the WHO process to develop a global alcohol action plan, with Movendi International's Special Feature, here.

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