Regional Status Report on Alcohol and Health in the Americas

Abstract

[Introduction]. This Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) report on alcohol and health in the Americas examines the patterns and consequences of alcohol use in the Region and evaluates progress made since the enactment of the Global Strategy and Regional Plan of Action to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. The report is composed of three sections: 1) consumption of alcohol and resulting harm, comparing historical data from the Americas as well as current data across Regions; 2) policies and interventions, focusing on a few of the ten target areas recommended by the Global Strategy; and 3) recommendations for policymakers in the Region. Wherever possible, this report attempts to explain gender differences in consumption and harm. About this publication: Limitations - Collecting high-quality comparable data across countries and time is no simple feat. Lack of financial and human resources as well as political will can impede efforts to gather the information required to monitor consumption and the harms caused by alcohol. Many countries are unable to implement periodic, large-scale population surveys, so data from other countries and/or expert opinions are the main sources of information which can inform public policy. These limitations should serve as a call to action for countries to focus more resources to regularly collect high-quality data, including those available in various governmental sectors which are not accessible or analyzed, and ensuring that these data are produced by entities with no conflicts of interest. This report attempts to detail the burden of alcohol and how it extends beyond the physical and mental health effects on the alcohol consumer to cause a substantial amount of health, social, and economic harms to others than the drinker. Measuring the harms to society as a whole is a difficult undertaking that will require more research and a clearer understanding of these diverse consequences.