Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia.
Institute of Public Health, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2023 May;42(4):946-959. doi: 10.1111/dar.13647. Epub 2023 Mar 27.
Latvia has one of the highest alcohol per capita consumption in Europe. This study provides a narrative review of all evidence-based population-level alcohol control policies implemented in Latvia during the past 30 years.
A review of country-level alcohol control policies implemented in Latvia between 1990 and 2020 was conducted. The World Health Organization's "best buys" and other recommended interventions for alcohol control were used to guide the search.
Alcohol control policies in Latvia have evolved significantly over the last three decades. The most changes to alcohol control policy occurred in the transitional period between regaining independence in 1991 and joining the European Union in 2004. A number of significant alcohol control policies have been implemented to reduce alcohol availability and affordability, to restrict alcohol marketing and to counter drunk-driving. However, since 2010, when an increasing trend of alcohol consumption was observed, there has been a reluctance to pursue national public health policy actions to reduce alcohol consumption, and few adjustments to legislation to increase alcohol control have been made.
Despite the progress in alcohol control, Latvia still has considerable potential for strengthening alcohol control to reduce the high levels of alcohol consumption.
Although several alcohol control policies have been established in Latvia, many of the planned activities to limit alcohol intake and related harm have not been executed. Public health goals rather than political and economic incentives should be prioritised to reduce high levels of alcohol consumption in Latvia.
拉脱维亚是欧洲人均酒精消费量最高的国家之一。本研究对过去 30 年来拉脱维亚实施的所有基于循证的人群级别的酒精控制政策进行了叙述性综述。
对 1990 年至 2020 年期间在拉脱维亚实施的国家层面的酒精控制政策进行了审查。使用世界卫生组织的“最佳购买”和其他推荐的酒精控制干预措施来指导搜索。
拉脱维亚的酒精控制政策在过去三十年中发生了重大变化。在 1991 年恢复独立和 2004 年加入欧盟之间的过渡时期，酒精控制政策发生了最大的变化。实施了多项重大的酒精控制政策，以减少酒精的可获得性和可负担性，限制酒精营销和打击酒后驾车。然而，自 2010 年观察到酒精消费呈上升趋势以来，人们不愿意采取国家公共卫生政策行动来减少酒精消费，并且很少对立法进行调整以加强酒精控制。
尽管在酒精控制方面取得了进展，但拉脱维亚在加强酒精控制以降低高酒精消费水平方面仍有很大的潜力。
尽管拉脱维亚已经制定了几项酒精控制政策，但许多限制酒精摄入量和相关危害的计划活动尚未执行。为了降低拉脱维亚的高酒精消费水平，应该优先考虑公共卫生目标，而不是政治和经济激励。
