WHO calls for stricter alcohol controls in Czechia amid rising health concern
Over 20 organizations, including the Czech office of the World Health Organization and the Czech Medical Chamber, are urging politicians to implement stricter alcohol controls in Czechia. The country has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world, with an alarming 7,000 alcohol-related deaths each year. I spoke with Zsofia Pusztai, head of the WHO's Czech office, to discuss the reasons behind this appeal.
First of all, why have you decided to issue this appeal for stricter alcohol controls in Czechia?
"If we look at alcohol consumption, our European region, not only the Czech Republic, has the highest rate of alcohol consumption globally. And the Czech Republic, if you look inside the European region, ranks third in the highest alcohol consumption. The European average is 9.2 litres of pure alcohol annually, which is already a very high amount, but in the Czech Republic, this is 13.3 litres.
“What is even more worrying is that, if you look at high school students, 50% of them already reported excessive drinking, which means more than five units in one single occasion in the past 30 days. So, if you look at Europe and at the Czech Republic, alcohol seems deeply embedded in our culture. It's socially acceptable, and clearly, it is one of the major risk factors related to 200 injuries or diseases.
“What is not really well known is that it is also closely linked to seven types of cancer. So, we definitely have to talk about how to address evidence-based policies for the high consumption of alcohol."
What specific measures are you proposing to address this problem?
"As you know, the call itself was really based on the WHO European Framework for Action on Alcohol Guidance, but also on the EU guidance. We also just recently released a new Alcohol Policy Playbook that really demystifies everything we ever heard a lot about alcohol.
“We focus on six key policy areas: health information and labelling, the health service response, which prioritizes prevention, the availability of alcohol in certain safe points, the marketing, and limiting marketing, because of the very heavy marketing we observe, also here in the Czech Republic, and also pricing options and community actions. So these are the six areas where quick-win steps can already be taken.
"But, of course, it is also important to redefine how we think about alcohol because it’s not only individual choices. I think we really have to work together to create supportive environments where it’s easier to make healthy choices and where it’s easier to get the information so people can make decisions that are better for their own health and well-being."
Finally, what are your expectations from the government and policymakers in terms of responding to your appeal? Do you feel that they are taking these concerns seriously?
"We already work together, actually, at least as the WHO. We are working together with the Ministry of Health, and key counterparts who work on health. There is a joint agreement that indeed we really would like to put a much higher focus on prevention. There are major risk factors, and alcohol is one of the biggest ones.
"But, as I said, it is also important to address the individuals, the families, the communities, and also address the commercial determinants of health. The reason why I’m talking about it is that it’s not a well-known term yet. But this is also an area where, with political will and certain legislation, more measures could be done, such as regulating or legislating the heavy marketing when it comes to alcohol."
