Introduction by Peter Anderson - Eurocare Policy advisor

The more alcohol an individual drinks, the greater the harm For all types of alcohol-related harm, including social harms, accidents and violence, alcohol dependence, cirrhosis of the liver, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases, the more an individual drinks, the greater the risk of harm. The risks are due to alcohol and come from all beverage types, including wine.

Alcohol reduces the risk of heart disease; a large amount increases the risk One drink every second day gives almost all the protection that alcohol has on reducing the risk of a heart attack. This protective effect is not relevant for people who are at low risk of heart disease, which includes young people everywhere. Above two drinks a day the risk of heart disease goes up, with the more alcohol drunk, the greater the risk. The biochemical changes that might reduce the risk of heart disease result equally from beer, wine or spirits; they do not result equally from grape juice or red wine from which the alcohol has been removed.

The less a country drinks, the less the harm
The lower the average alcohol consumption of a country, the less harm there is from alcohol. For example, European countries with a male adult per capita consumption of about 14 litres of alcohol have about twice the death rate from liver disease (a sensitive indicator of alcohol-related harm) than countries with a per capita consumption of about 7 litres of alcohol. Also, the lower the average alcohol consumption of a population, the proportion of heavier drinkers is smaller.

A country that reduces its consumption reduces its harm
As a country reduces its alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm also reduces. On average, as European countries in the middle range of alcohol consumption reduce their average male alcohol consumption by 1 Litre per person, the risk of male death from accidents is reduced by 4 per cent, from cirrhosis of the liver by 9 per cent, from homicide by 11 per cent and from heart disease by 2 per cent.

Alcohol causes nearly 1 in 10 ofthe burden of ill-health in Europe
The World Health Organization’s Global Burden of Disease Study finds that alcohol is the third most important risk factor for European ill-health and premature death, after smoking and raised blood pressure. Alcohol is more important than high cholesterol levels and overweight, three times more important than diabetes and five times more important than asthma. It causes nearly 1 in 10 of all ill-health and premature death in Europe.