Reduce alcohol availability - Restrictions on sales

• The production and/or sale of certain alcoholic beverages are under full control of government monopolies in Finland ( ALKO ), Sweden ( System bolaget ) , Iceland ( Vínbúðin ), Norway ( Vinmonopolet ).
• Licensing systems, whereby governments partially control the production and/or sale of alcoholic beverages, exist in 19 EU Member States (MS).
• Most EU Member States limit the location (places and density) of sales of alcoholic beverages, both on- and off-premises.
• Restrictions on off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages at petrol stations.
• 12 EU Member States restrict off premise sales of alcoholic beverages at petrol stations.
• 16 EU Member States restrict opening hours and days of alcohol sales.

• Restricted sales at specific events such as sport events.

• In Australia, prescribed precincts or "lockouts" have been implemented in order to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence; after the "lockout", patrons are no longer allowed to enter the bars, which are closed 1.5 hours later.

Reduce alcohol availability - Patrons

• All EU MS have set a minimum legal purchasing age, which ranges from 16 to 20 years and which in some cases depends on the type of product and circumstances for consumption (e.g. on or off-premises; to be consumed together with a meal; accompanied by an adult).

• The Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania adopted a raise in the minimum legal purchasing age, from 18 to 20 years starting on 1^st January 2018.

• Regulated limitations on on-premise sales of alcoholic beverages to already intoxicated persons are in place in many countries, including most (23) EU Member States.

Taxes

• Taxation is applied on alcoholic beverages throughout the EU. These taxes include value-added tax (VAT), which in the EU ranges between 17-27%, sales tax, excise tax (harmonised minimum rates set by EU legislation) and other special taxes and tariffs.

• In 2023, only five EU member states (Belgium, France, Italy, Romania and Spain) had adjusted taxation to inflation to ensure that alcohol does not become more affordable in real terms over time. 

• In Denmark, France and Luxembourg, extra excise taxes or additional levy are added to the standard rates for those products which are especially attractive to young consumers, such as alcopops, "premix" beverages, or ready-to-drink mixtures.

Drink- driving policies

• All EU MS have some form of license suspension as a penalty for drink-driving.
• Some EU MS have lower BAC levels in place for novel drivers (e.g. Austria, Germany, The Netherlands)
• In the past decades, most EU MS have reduced the legally permitted BAC levels to 0.5 g/L or less. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania have zero tolerance drink-driving policies (permitted levels of BAC of 0.0 g/L) in place.
• Most EU MS perform random breath testing to prevent alcohol-related road accidents.
• Alcohol inter-locks / alcolocks (devices to prevent driving with excess BAC, implemented to prevent drink-driving, and in particular that of recurrent offenders) have long been in place in Sweden and more recently in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Denmark and France. 

Pricing

• There are few examples of implemented minimum pricing (MP) per litre of pure alcohol or per alcohol standard unit (MPU). Scotland implemented a MUP, after a UK Supreme Court ruling it a legal measure (November 2017). Slovakia has a MP policy in place since 2017. MUP policy came into effect in Ireland in January 2022.

• Few countries ban below-cost sales (that is, selling for a price less than the production cost or, in the Swedish case, less than the purchase price in on-premise sales).

• Ban or regulation of volume discounts (such as two-for-one offers or happy hours).

• In order to reduce excessive drinking, in Finnish premises it is required to have a non-alcoholic alternative at a moderate price. Similarly, Slovenian, German, Austrian and Swiss sellers are obliged to offer alcohol-free beverages, with prices equal or lower to the cheapest alcoholic beverage. In the UK, tap water free of charge has to be made available.

Product formulation

• The Public Health Responsibility Deal, which aims to improve public health in England, includes a specific pledge to reduce alcoholic content in existing beverages.

Preventive measures

• Early identification (to detect a potential alcohol problem through screening) and brief interventions (short advisory sessions) in primary health care are frequently delivered in European and other countries.  
• School-based interventions to reach young people and reduce alcohol related harm, are often delivered in combined form, addressing alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use.

Marketing restrictions

• Restrictions in alcohol advertising. The revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) (EU 2018) sets minimum standards within the EU. It states, e.g. that audiovisual commercial communications for alcoholic beverages shall not be aimed specifically at minors and shall not encourage immoderate consumption of such beverages. It sets limits to what can be portrayed in television advertising of alcoholic beverages (e.g. no  minors consuming alcohol, no links to enhanced physical performance or driving, advertising shall not create the impression that drinking contributes towards social or sexual success).
• The AVMSD sets minimum harmonisation, suggesting self- and co-regulatory measures. EU MS have the possibility of applying stricter measures, and some (France, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania) have much stricter regulations in place, with total marketing bans in several media (Television, printed media). Other non-EU countries in the region such as Iceland and Norway also apply stricter measures.
• In 2018, a total ban on alcohol advertising came to effect in Lithuania.
• Lithuania is the only EU member state to restrict all alcohol advertising via social media. 

• Iceland has a total ban on alcohol advertising and marketing.

• Restrictions in sales promotion (marketing practices designed to facilitate the purchase of a product; e.g. happy hour, two for one).

• Restrictions on sponsoring of sports events. These can arise from voluntary self-regulation and co-regulation initiatives or from statutory regulation. France and Malta do not allow this kind of sponsorship by any alcoholic product. Other EU MS have similar restrictions for spirts only.

Labelling legislation

• Various MS provide health-related information on the label or container of alcoholic beverages. For example, France and Lithuania provide information on labels in the form of text or pictograms to protect pregnant women and the unborn child. Alcoholic beverage containers sold in Ireland will be required to carry cancer and liver disease health warnings from 2026. 
• EU Regulation 1169/2011 on food information to consumers includes mandatory labelling of alcohol strength by volume in beverages containing more than 1.2% alcohol by volume. See paragraph 3 for more details.  

Voluntary labelling

• Voluntary provision of list of ingredients and nutrition information in alcoholic beverages to improve consumer information. The European Commission considered these voluntary initiatives should be allowed to develop further, and signed MoU with the industry.
• Voluntary provision of health-related information on the label of alcoholic beverages. In the UK, the Department of Health recommends several messages to provide health-related information, including a summary of low risk drinking guidelines, the web address Drinkaware.co.uk, and a pictogram or the sentence It is safest not to drink alcohol when pregnant.

Public health campaigns

• Campaigns to encourage safer alternatives to driving after consuming alcohol, such as the use of public transport or designated drivers' schemes.
• Social marketing campaigns to promote low alcohol consumption, in particular of young people.
• Universal prevention campaigns to prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies and FASD prevention.
• Identified good practices in public awareness and school-based interventions.

Recommendations and guidelines

• Most MS have either low-risk drinking guidelines in place, or set maximum amounts of alcohol consumption in their dietary guidelines. These vary between countries, see National low-risk drinking recommendations for details.

Monitoring consumption and harm

• Monitoring of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm is crucial for health care resource planning, policy evaluation. National, regional and local authorities monitor consumption and harm.
• At EU level, Total (recorded + unrecorded) alcohol consumption is a European Core Health Indicator. Total (recorded) alcohol consumption, Hazardous alcohol consumption, and Alcohol-related deaths are under development.

Monitoring enforcement of age limits

• Monitoring enforcement through test purchases by voluntary young-looking adults is in place in several European countries, either performed by NGOs or by competent authorities (Belgium, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, UK, Norway and Switzerland). Mostly police or other authorities are in charge of enforcement

Monitoring marketing restrictions

• There are different bodies in charge of monitoring and sanctioning infringements on marketing restrictions. These can be detected by active surveillance by the government, NGOs, or independent bodies, or may have in place complaint systems or case by case reporting.