The legal framework for the production of alcohol for personal use within the European Union.

Aim: This paper provides an overview of the legal framework for alcohol produced for personal use in European Union (EU) Member States. Methods: We reviewed the national excise duty legislations of EU Member States and conducted an online mapping survey, in which 10 alcohol experts from seven EU Member States plus Iceland participated. Results: We found that the production of alcohol for personal use is tax exempt in 12 jurisdictions, with four countries stipulating a maximum volume of alcohol that can be produced for personal use. The most common alcoholic beverages concerned were beer and wine, while only one country set a tax exemption for spirits. The results were complemented by the alcohol expert mapping survey; tax exemptions were reported for two additional Member States. Conclusion: Legal exemptions for the production of alcohol for personal use were established in every second EU Member State and may therefore contribute to the unrecorded consumption of alcohol in these countries. In light of the detrimental health effects of alcohol, economic interests to support the local small-scale production of alcohol have to be carefully evaluated against public health interests.

Behavioral risk factors and socioeconomic inequalities in ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States: A causal mediation analysis using record linkage data.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major cause of death in the United States (US), with marked mortality inequalities. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the contributions of behavioral risk factors (BRFs) to socioeconomic inequalities in IHD mortality. To our knowledge, no nationwide study has been conducted on this topic in the US. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this cohort study, we obtained data from the 1997 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey with mortality follow-up until December 31, 2019 from the National Death Index. A total of 524,035 people aged 25 years and older were followed up for 10.3 years on average (SD: 6.1 years), during which 13,256 IHD deaths occurred. Counterfactual-based causal mediation analyses with Cox proportional hazards models were performed to quantify the contributions of 4 BRFs (smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and BMI) to socioeconomic inequalities in IHD mortality. Education was used as the primary indicator for socioeconomic status (SES). Analyses were performed stratified by sex and adjusted for marital status, race and ethnicity, and survey year. In both males and females, clear socioeconomic gradients in IHD mortality were observed, with low- and middle-education people bearing statistically significantly higher risks compared to high-education people. We found statistically significant natural direct effects of SES (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.27 in males; HR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.49 in females) on IHD mortality and natural indirect effects through the causal pathways of smoking (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.20 in males; HR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.13 in females), physical inactivity (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.19 in males; HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.20 in females), alcohol use (HR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.09 in males; HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.11 in females), and BMI (HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.04 in males; HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.04 in females). Smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use, and BMI mediated 29% (95% CI, 24%, 35%), 27% (95% CI, 22%, 33%), 12% (95% CI, 10%, 16%), and 5% (95% CI, 4%, 7%) of the inequalities in IHD mortality between low- and high-education males, respectively; the corresponding proportions mediated were 16% (95% CI, 11%, 23%), 26% (95% CI, 20%, 34%), 14% (95% CI, 11%, 19%), and 5% (95% CI, 3%, 7%) in females. Proportions mediated were slightly lower with family income used as the secondary indicator for SES. The main limitation of the methodology is that we could not rule out residual exposure-mediator, exposure-outcome, and mediator-outcome confounding. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, BRFs explained more than half of the educational differences in IHD mortality, with some variations by sex. Public health interventions to reduce intermediate risk factors are crucial to reduce the socioeconomic disparities and burden of IHD mortality in the general US population.

Forecasting the impact of means restriction on the suicide mortality rate in the Region of the Americas: an ecological modeling study.

Background: The suicide mortality rate has been increasing in Region of the Americas, despite decreasing in all other World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Means restriction is an effective evidence-based intervention for suicide prevention. The objective of the current study was to estimate the impact of implementing national-level means restriction policies (i.e., firearm and pesticide restrictions) on the suicide mortality rate in the Region of the Americas. Methods: In this ecological modeling study, two counterfactual scenarios were investigated using sex-specific suicide mortality data from the WHO Global Health Estimates database for 2000 to 2019. Forecasted sex-specific age-standardized suicide mortality rates were then estimated for each country for 2020 to 2030. Counterfactual scenario 1 involved modeling the impact of a firearm or pesticide restriction implemented in 2020 for those countries where the respective means accounted for 40% or more of all suicides for at least one sex in 2019, while in counterfactual scenario 2 this threshold was reduced to 20% or more. Findings: It was estimated that if a firearm or pesticide restriction had been implemented in 2020 in those countries where the respective means accounted for 40% or more of all suicides for at least one sex in 2019, by 2030 the male and female suicide mortality rate in the Region of the Americas would be 20.5% (from 14.5 [95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 14.1, 15.0] per 100,000 males to 11.5 [95% CI: 11.1, 12.0] per 100,000 males) and 11.1% (from 4.5 [95% CI: 4.4, 4.7] per 100,000 females to 4.0 [95% CI: 3.9, 4.2] per 100,000 females) lower than the rate if no such restrictions were implemented, respectively. When the threshold was reduced to 20% or more, minimal additional gains in terms of number of suicides avoided and suicide mortality rate reduction would be achieved. Interpretation: The implementation of a firearm or pesticide restriction policy in countries where the respective means account for a large proportion of suicides (e.g., at least 40%) could aid the Region of the Americas in achieving the WHO target of a one third reduction in the suicide mortality rate by 2030. Funding: This work received no funding.

Alcohol Rehabilitation Within 3 Months After Alcohol Hepatitis and Survival - A National Analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: There is limited understanding of the benefits of alcohol rehabilitation after alcohol hepatitis (AH). METHODS: We conducted a 2012 to 2021 national longitudinal study involving adult inpatients diagnosed with AH in France. We assessed the primary outcome of liver transplantation or death within 1 year after AH, including in its complicated form (CAH) defined as ≥2 hepatic or extrahepatic complications within 4 weeks after AH. The primary exposure was in-hospital alcohol rehabilitation within 3 months following AH. Patients who died (6.5%; n = 5282) or were censored (12.5%; n = 10,180) ≤4 weeks after AH were excluded. We measured adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) within the full cohort and propensity-matched samples. RESULTS: Among 65,737 patients (median age, 52 years; interquartile range [IQR], 44-60 years; 76% male), 12% died or underwent liver transplantation. In-hospital alcohol rehabilitation was noted for 25% of patients (15.2% among patients with CAH) and was the primary discharge diagnosis for 13.3%. The 1-year transplant-free survival rates were 94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 94%-95%) for rehabilitated patients, compared with 85% (95% CI, 85%-86%) for those without (aHR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.57-0.69; P < .001). Among patients with CAH, transplant-free survival was 78% (95% CI, 76%-81%) with rehabilitation vs 70% (95% CI, 69%-71%) without (aHR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.98; P = .025). In propensity-matched samples, rehabilitation was linked to an aOR of 0.54 (95% CI, 0.49-0.55; P < .001) overall, and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.60-0.89; P = .002) among matched patients with CAH. CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital alcohol rehabilitation within 3 months after AH and CAH improve transplant-free survival rate but remain underutilized.

Trends in drug overdose deaths among adults 65 years of age and older in Canada (2000-2022).

Background: Although young adults and middle-aged adults have borne the brunt of the drug overdose crisis in Canada, older adults are also at an increased risk of harms. We examined trends in drug overdose deaths and opioid overdose deaths among adults 65 years of age and older. Methods: Age-standardized rates of drug overdose deaths in Canada (2000-2022) and of opioid overdose deaths in Ontario (2003-2021) were computed. Drug overdose deaths were based on vital statistics registries, while opioid overdose deaths were based on toxicologic testing. Trends were characterized using joinpoint regression. Results: Drug overdose deaths among adults 65 years of age and older in Canada rose from 4.3 to 9.9 deaths per million in the entire population between 2000 and 2022 (Average Annual Percentage Change [AAPC; 95 % CI]: 3.1 % [2.6 %-3.6 %]). Increases were observed in males (AAPC [95 % CI]: 4.0 % [3.1 %-4.9 %]), females (2.1 % [1.0 %-3.2 %]) and unintentional deaths (6.0 % [1.0 %-11.3 %]) after stratification by sex and manner of death. Opioid overdose deaths among adults 65 years of age and older in Ontario increased from 1.5 to 5.2 deaths per million in the entire population between 2003 and 2021 (AAPC [95 % CI]: 7.5 % [4.5 %-10.5 %]). Conclusions: Drug overdose deaths more than doubled in Canada and opioid overdose deaths more than tripled in Ontario among adults 65 years of age and older during the past two decades. These findings indicate a need for education of patients, prioritization of harm reduction interventions, screening, intervention and treatment and adherence to prescribing guidelines.

Interrupted Time Series Design and Analyses in Health Policy Assessment.

Interrupted time series design is a quasi-experimental study design commonly used to evaluate the impact of a particular intervention (e.g., a health policy implementation) on a specific outcome. Two of the most often recommended analytical approaches to interrupted time series analysis are autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and Generalized Additive Models (GAM). We conducted simulation tests to determine the performance differences between ARIMA and GAM methodology across different policy effect sizes, with or without seasonality, and with or without misspecification of policy variables. We found that ARIMA exhibited more consistent results under certain conditions, such as with different policy effect sizes, with or without seasonality, while GAM were more robust when the model was misspecified. Given these findings, the variation between the models underscores the need for careful model selection and validation in health policy studies.

Surveillance of alcohol use through population surveys in the Americas from 2010 to 2019.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to identify alcohol-related population surveys administered in the Americas, determine which alcohol-related measures are examined and identify coverage gaps regarding alcohol-related measures. METHODS: As part of the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health study, a systematic search was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria to identify regionally or nationally representative survey reports of the general population from 1 January 2010 to 6 August 2019. Alcohol-related measures extracted from surveys were categorized into 10 domains: alcohol consumption status; alcohol consumption; unrecorded alcohol consumption; drinking patterns; symptoms of dependence and/or harmful use; drinking during pregnancy; treatment coverage; second-hand harms; economic; and other. RESULTS: The systematic search identified 7417 survey reports, 94 of which were new and included in this study, with an additional 11 studies included from a previous systematic study of alcohol surveys. In total, 94 unique surveys and 161 unique survey waves were located, representing 105 unique survey questionnaires covering 30 countries. No population surveys were found for five member states; namely, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Kitts and Nevis. All countries with population-based alcohol surveys had had a population survey probing alcohol use in the past year/month. Questions regarding heavy episodic drinking, alcohol use disorders, treatment-seeking for alcohol use, drinking during pregnancy, harms to others and the amounts spent on alcohol were asked in 26, 25, 10, 6, 22 and 11 countries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity in alcohol-related population surveys in the Americas from 2010 to 2019 limits their comparability throughout countries and over time. Future surveys should implement a standardized set of core questions to provide consistency in the monitoring of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.

Trends in alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality in Germany from 2000 to 2021: A modelling study.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to assess: (i) trends in alcohol-specific - that is, fully attributable - morbidity and mortality in the German adult population aged 15-69 between 2000 and 2021; and (ii) changes in alcohol-attributable disease burden - that is, fully and partially alcohol-attributable categories - for 2006, 2012, 2018 and 2021. METHODS: Morbidity data was pulled from hospitalisation and rehabilitation statistics and mortality data was pulled from the causes of death registry. Alcohol use, adjusted for unrecorded consumption, was estimated using the Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse and triangulated with per capita consumption from annual sales data. For major disease categories, alcohol-attributable fractions were estimated for males and females by age groups (15-29, 30-49, 50-69 years) using the comparative risk assessment methodology. RESULTS: For males and females, the age-standardised rate of alcohol-specific morbidity peaked in 2012 and decreased thereafter showing a steep decline from 2019 to 2021. The rates of alcohol-specific mortality decreased constantly from 2000 to 2019 but increased from 2019 to 2021. Compared to 2006 the age-standardised alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality rates in males and females were lower in 2021. For both sexes, the age-standardised alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality rates and the proportions of morbidity/mortality rates relative to all-cause morbidity/mortality decreased between 2006 and 2021. DISCUSSION: The declines in alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality are in line with decreases in consumption and signal that the importance of alcohol in health service utilisation and mortality has weakened. Sex ratios in morbidity and mortality do not indicate a strong converging trend.

The impact of COVID-19-related national lockdowns on alcohol-related traffic collisions, injuries, and fatalities in Lithuania.

BACKGROUND: The national lockdowns that occurred all over the world in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been found to have impacted alcohol use. The aim was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19-related national lockdowns on alcohol-related traffic collisions, injuries, and fatalities in Lithuania. METHODS: Using monthly data from the Lithuanian Road Police Service for January 2004 to December 2022, we performed interrupted time-series analyses using a generalized additive model to evaluate the impact of COVID-19-related national lockdowns on alcohol-related traffic collisions, injuries, and fatalities. In Lithuania, the COVID-19-related lockdowns occurred from March 2020 to June 2020 and from November 2020 to June 2021. RESULTS: Although overall rates for traffic collisions and injuries decreased during the COVID-19-related lockdowns in Lithuania, these lockdowns were associated with a 3.21% (95% CI: 1.19%, 5.23%) increase in the relative proportion of alcohol-related traffic collisions and a 2.46% (95% CI: 0.12%, 4.80%) increase in the relative proportion of alcohol-related traffic injuries. The association between the lockdowns and alcohol-related traffic fatalities was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19-related national lockdowns in Lithuania were associated with a decrease in the overall rate of traffic collisions and injuries, but an increase in the relative proportion of alcohol-related traffic collisions and injuries.

Trend of alcohol use disorder as a percentage of all-cause mortality in North America.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the trend of alcohol use disorder (AUD) mortality as a percentage of all-cause mortality in Canada and the United States (US) between 2000 and 2019, by age group. RESULTS: Joinpoint regression showed that AUD mortality as a percentage of all-cause mortality significantly increased between 2000 and 2019 in both countries, and across all age groups (i.e., young adults (20-34 years), middle-aged adults (35-49 years), and older adults (50 + years)). The trend has been levelling off, and even reversing in some cases, in recent years. The average annual percentage change differed across countries and between age groups, with a greater increase among Canadian adults aged 35-49 years and among adults aged 50 + years in the US. Over the past two decades, AUD mortality as a percentage of all-cause mortality has been increasing among all adults in both Canada and the US.

The effect of an annual temporary abstinence campaign on population-level alcohol consumption in Thailand: a time-series analysis of 23 years.

RATIONALE: A small number of earlier studies have suggested an effect of temporary abstinence campaigns on alcohol consumption. However, all were based on self-reported consumption estimates. OBJECTIVES: Using a time series of 23-year monthly alcohol sales data, this study examined the effect of an annual temporary abstinence campaign, which has been organised annually since 2003 during the Buddhist Lent period (spanning 3 months), on population-level alcohol consumption. METHODS: Data used in the analysis included a time series of monthly alcohol sales data from January 1995 to September 2017 and the midyear population counts for those years. Generalised additive models (GAM) were applied to estimate trends as smooth functions of time, while identifying a relationship between the Buddhist Lent abstinence campaigns on alcohol consumption. The sensitivity analysis was performed using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous variables (SARIMAX) model. INTERVENTION: The Buddhist Lent abstinence campaign is a national mass media campaign combined with community-based activities that encourages alcohol abstinence during the Buddhist Lent period, spanning 3 months and varying between July and October depending on the lunar calendar. The campaign has been organised annually since 2003. MAIN OUTCOME: Per capita alcohol consumption using monthly alcohol sales data divided by the midyear total population number used as a proxy. RESULTS: Median monthly per capita consumption was 0.43 (IQR: 0.37 to 0.51) litres of pure alcohol. Over the study period, two peaks of alcohol consumption were in March and December of each year. The significant difference between before-campaign and after-campaign coefficients in the GAM, -0.102 (95% CI: -0.163 to -0.042), indicated an effect of the campaign on alcohol consumption after adjusting for the time trend and monthly seasonality, corresponding to an average reduction of 9.97% (95% CI: 3.65% to 24.18%). The sensitivity analyses produced similar results, where the campaign was associated with a decrease in consumption of 8.1% (95% CI: 0.4% to 15.7%). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the temporary abstinence campaign was associated with a decrease in population-level alcohol consumption during campaign periods. The finding contributed to a growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of emerging temporary abstinence campaigns.

Changes in medical cannabis use in Ontario, Canada (2014 to 2019): Trajectory of trends, medical authorization patterns and association with recreational cannabis legalization.

Objectives: We characterized trends in medical cannabis use; examined characteristics associated with medical cannabis use without medical authorization; and examined the association between recreational cannabis legalization and medical cannabis use in Ontario, Canada. Methods: Data were from a repeated, population-based, cross-sectional survey of adults (N = 19,543; 2014-2019). Cannabis use was categorized as either medical cannabis use, recreational cannabis use or no cannabis use. The analytical strategy included jointpoint regression, logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression. Results: Medical cannabis use increased from 4 % to 11 % (Annual Percentage Change [APC]: 25 %, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI]: 17 %-33 %) and recreational cannabis use increased from 9 % to 15 % (APC: 9 %, 95 % CI: 3 %-15 %) between 2014 and 2019. Being 18 to 29 years old compared with being 65+ years old was associated with an increased likelihood of medical cannabis use without medical authorization (Odds Ratio [OR]: 4.05, 95 % CI: 2.12-7.72), while being of fair or poor self-perceived health compared with excellent, very good or good self-perceived health (OR: 0.61, 95 % CI: 0.40-0.95) was associated with a decreased likelihood of medical cannabis use without medical authorization. Recreational cannabis legalization was associated with an increased likelihood of medical cannabis use compared with no cannabis use (OR: 1.48, 95 % CI: 1.19-1.85) and of recreational cannabis use compared with no cannabis use (OR: 1.35, 95 % CI: 1.11-1.65). Conclusions: Although medical cannabis use increased, it was largely used without medical authorization. Guidance and education that encourages medical usage under clinical supervision is recommended, and mitigation of known barriers to medical cannabis authorization.

The prevalence of gambling and problematic gambling: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gambling behaviours have become of increased public health interest, but data on prevalence remain scarce. In this study, we aimed to estimate for adults and adolescents the prevalence of any gambling activity, the prevalence of engaging in specific gambling activities, the prevalence of any risk gambling and problematic gambling, and the prevalence of any risk and problematic gambling by gambling activity. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically searched for peer-reviewed literature (on MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycInfo) and grey literature to identify papers published between Jan 1, 2010, and March 4, 2024. We searched for any gambling, including engagement with individual gambling activities, and problematic gambling data among adults and adolescents. We included papers that reported the prevalence or proportion of a gambling outcome of interest. We excluded papers of non-original data or based on a biased sample. Data were extracted into a bespoke Microsoft Access database, with the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool used to identify the risk of bias for each sample. Representative population survey estimates were firstly meta-analysed into country-level prevalence estimates, using metaprop, of any gambling, any risk gambling, problematic gambling, and by gambling activity. Secondly, population-weighted regional-level and global estimates were generated for any gambling, any risk gambling, problematic gambling, and specific gambling activity. This review is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021251835). FINDINGS: We screened 3692 reports, with 380 representative unique samples, in 68 countries and territories. Overall, the included samples consisted of slightly more men or male individuals, with a mean age of 29·72 years, and most samples identified were from high-income countries. Of these samples, 366 were included in the meta-analysis. Globally, 46·2% (95% CI 41·7-50·8) of adults and 17·9% (14·8-21·2) of adolescents had gambled in the past 12 months. Rates of gambling were higher among men (49·1%; 45·5-52·6) than women (37·4%; 32·0-42·5). Among adults, 8·7% (6·6-11·3) were classified as engaging in any risk gambling, and 1·41% (1·06-1·84) were engaging in problematic gambling. Among adults, rates of problematic gambling were greatest among online casino or slots gambling (15·8%; 10·7-21·6). There were few data reported on any risk and problematic gambling among adolescent samples. INTERPRETATION: Existing evidence suggests that gambling is prevalent globally, that a substantial proportion of the population engage in problematic gambling, and that rates of problematic gambling are greatest among those gambling on online formats. Given the growth of the online gambling industry and the association between gambling and a range of public health harms, governments need to give greater attention to the strict regulation and monitoring of gambling globally. FUNDING: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

The role of alcohol control policies in the reversal of alcohol consumption levels and resulting attributable harms in China.

Yearly adult per capita consumption of alcohol in China between 2016 and 2019 decreased by 2.4 L of pure alcohol, or 33%. According to the World Health Organization, this decrease in consumption was accompanied by reductions in alcohol-attributable mortality of 23% between 2015 and 2019. This paper examines the contribution of alcohol control policies in China to these public health gains. A systematic search of the literature was conducted on alcohol control policies and their effectiveness in China as part of a larger search of all countries in WHO Western Pacific Region. In addition to articles on empirical evidence on the impact of such alcohol control policies, we also searched for reviews. The plausibility of changes of traditional alcohol control policies (taxation increases, availability restrictions, restriction on advertisement and marketing, drink-driving laws, screening and brief interventions) in explaining reductions of consumption levels and attributable mortality rates was explored. There was some progress in the successful implementation of strict drink-driving policies, which could explain reductions in traffic injuries, including fatalities. Other traditional alcohol control policies seem to have played a minimal role in reducing alcohol consumption and attributable harms during the time period 2016-2019. However, an anti-corruption campaign was extensive enough to have substantially contributed to these reductions. The campaign prohibited the consumption of alcoholic beverages in everyday life of government officials and thus contributed to a de-normalization of alcohol. While this anti-corruption campaign was the only policy to potentially explain marked decreases in levels of alcohol consumption and attributable mortality, more detailed research is required to determine exactly how the campaign achieved these decreases.

Impact of health spending on hospitalization rates in Baltic countries: a comparative analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the association between healthcare indicators and hospitalization rates in three high-income European countries, namely Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, from 2015 to 2020. METHOD: We used a sex-stratified generalized additive model (GAM) to investigate the impact of select healthcare indicators on hospitalization rates, adjusted by general economic status-i.e., gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. RESULTS: Our findings indicate a consistent decline in hospitalization rates over time for all three countries. The proportion of health expenditure spent on hospitals, the number of physicians and nurses, and hospital beds were not statistically significantly associated with hospitalization rates. However, changes in the number of employed medical doctors per 10,000 population were statistically significantly associated with changes of hospitalization rates in the same direction, with the effect being stronger for males. Additionally, higher GDP per capita was associated with increased hospitalization rates for both males and females in all three countries and in all models. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between healthcare spending and declining hospitalization rates was not statistically significant, suggesting that the healthcare systems may be shifting towards primary care, outpatient care, and on prevention efforts.

Alcohol, No Ordinary Commodity: policy implications for Canada.

Alcohol is a favorite psychoactive substance of Canadians. It is also a leading risk factor for death and disability, playing a causal role in a broad spectrum of health and social issues. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity is a collaborative, integrative review of the scientific literature. This paper describes the epidemiology of alcohol use and current state of alcohol policy in Canada, best practices in policy identified by the third edition of Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity, and the implications for the development of effective alcohol policy in Canada. Best practices - strongly supported by the evidence, highly effective in reducing harm, and relatively low-cost to implement - have been identified. Measures that control affordability, limit availability, and restrict marketing would reduce population levels of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease attributable to it.