European report on alcohol policy 2016. A review.

European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare) together with partner organisations compiled existing data on alcohol policies across Europe. The aim was to present information in easy and accessible format. The report illustrates among others: trends in alcohol consumption, alcohol related harm, policies on availability and affordability, review of marketing restrictions, state of play on labelling and low risk drinking guidelines. The policy briefs do not provide an evaluation of alcohol policies in Europe but a glimpse at the current situation. As with all policies enforcement is the key to effective reduce alcohol related harm. On average, adult per capita consumption decreased between 1990 and 2010 in EU28, Norway and Switzerland by 12.4%. This was mainly due to reduction in consumption in southern European countries that started before 1990. The central-western and western country groups also showed an overall decline in consumption. All European countries have a number of laws and regulations addressing alcohol. Area which appears least developed across all countries is provision of information to consumers in form of comprehensive labelling schemes (listing ingredients and nutritional information)