UN to meet beverage companies on health-related alcohol issues

With alcohol responsible for 4 per cent of the global disease burden, the United Nations lead health agency is calling a meeting with selected alcohol beverage companies to consider the impact of alcohol on global health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will host the meeting on February 12 in Geneva, with the companies representing more than half of total global alcohol sales. Participants will be briefed on current activities in the alcohol policy area and relevant corporate social responsibility initiatives. They will also exchange views on how to curb drinking and driving, and the marketing and promotion of alcohol to young people.

"Worldwide, 5 per cent of all deaths of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 were attributable to alcohol use, and that globally, 140 million people were suffering from alcohol dependence," said Dr Gro. Harlem Brundtland, WHO Director-General. Speaking at the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Young People and Alcohol in February 2001, she also called for a concerted review by international experts of the issue of marketing and promotion of alcohol to young people.

The Geneva meeting follows informal discussions over the past six months with alcohol companies and reflects WHO's determination to engage with all interested stakeholders in formulating a policy to address the public health consequences of alcohol use worldwide. Alcohol is the leading health risk in some developing countries, and ranks third in industrialized nations, causing 1.8 million deaths worldwide, according to the recently released World Health Report 2002.