WHO consultation with representatives of economic operators in alcohol production and trade on ways they could contribute to reducing the harmful use of alcohol

Economic operators in the alcoholic beverage industry—the brewers, vintners, and producers of distilled spirits—and the distributors, marketers, sellers and servers of these products—have been an integral part of many, but not all, societies for centuries. According to the latest WHO estimates, a majority of the adult population in the world do not drink alcoholic beverages. At the same time the overall disease and social burden caused by the harmful use of alcohol is so significant (3.3 million deaths attributed to alcohol consumption annually) that the harmful use of alcohol is firmly established as one of the most important preventable risk factors for poor health globally. Due to ethanol’s psychoactive, toxic and dependence producing propensities, alcohol consumption is associated with a risk of detrimental health and social consequences for the drinker, the people around the drinker and communities. Those who produce and distribute alcoholic beverages are important players in reducing the harmful use of alcohol in their role as producers, distributors, marketers and sellers of alcoholic beverages.