Informing amendments to the alcohol control legislation directed at reducing harmful use of alcohol in the Republic of Moldova: EVIPNet evidence brief for policy, number 4

ABSTRACT

In the Republic of Moldova, alcohol is readily accessible to the whole population, even children, leading to high consumption levels and a number of alcohol-related negative health and economic consequences. This problem is amplified by incomplete, inadequate and improperly implemented regulations related to policies on alcohol pricing and advertising bans, as well as unrestricted access to beer, wine and wine products in retail outlets.WHO has called upon all Member States (including the Republic of Moldova) to address alcohol-related harm by requesting implementation of effective harm-reduction interventions. In Europe in the period 2006–2010 education and community actions in the area of alcohol control policies expanded rapidly; however, the policies on pricing and advertising control grew weaker and, according to analysis carried out by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, this was “simply the wrong way round”. Some evidencebased interventions are outlined in the subsections below. These have proven to be effective in alcohol consumption control and should be part of national legislation on alcohol control.