Abstract
Purpose of Review
The addictions field lacks a coherent framework for strategies to reduce harm arising from the consumption of alcohol. We need to be able to clarify the mechanisms by which key strategies operate, and encompass aetiological factors that do not involve drinking.
Recent Findings
We outline population and high-risk individual strategies focused on supply- and demand-side factors and propose a system laid out in two tables, for classifying consumption-focused and non-consumption-focused countermeasures.
Summary
Some countermeasures belong in more than one cell, reflecting more than one underlying mechanism. The taxonomy will aid the synthesis of a vast scientific literature and guide new countermeasure development, evaluation, and policy.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Tim Stockwell, Jim McCambridge, and Kittipong Rueanthip for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the paper.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent
This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
What is already known about this topic
There are systems used for classifying alcohol harm countermeasures, distinguishing supply control, demand reduction, and harm reduction. However, they differ in their classification of key countermeasures and do not coherently account for approaches focussed on factors other than alcohol consumption.
What this paper adds
We clarify the conceptual underpinnings of alcohol harm aetiology and prevention strategy, integrating public health and economic frameworks. We present a classification system for alcohol-focused and non-alcohol-focused countermeasures to help guide research synthesis and policy development.
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Alcohol
