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Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor contributing to the burden of disease in Australia.
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The National Preventative Health Taskforce recommends the long-term goal of reshaping Australia’s drinking culture to produce healthier and safer outcomes.
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A study of the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm in Australia suggests that policymakers could achieve over 10 times the health gain if they reallocated the current level of investment.
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The optimal package of interventions identified in the study comprises, in order of cost-effectiveness, volumetric taxation, advertising bans, an increase in the minimum legal drinking age to 21 years, brief intervention by primary care practitioners, licensing controls, a drink-driving mass media campaign, and random breath testing.
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Australia has a window of opportunity to significantly expand activities to reduce alcohol-related harm. It is important that federal and state governments take this opportunity to reform alcohol policy in Australia.
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